Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 18 • 20th October 2006
Developing Countries Concerned About Private Sector Standards
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A number of developing countries raised concerns over the impacts on their exports of private sector standards, such as supermarket requirements. The issue was discussed at a meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) on 11-12 October in Geneva.
St Vincent and the Grenadines — supported by Argentina, Ecuador, Jamaica and Peru — had raised the issue for the first time in the SPS Committee at its June 2005 meeting, citing requirements for exporting bananas and other products to European supermarkets as an example. These requirements have been developed by the Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group (EurepGap), a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products. St Vincent and the Grenadines complained that the EurepGap standards were stricter than governments’ requirements.
In response, the EU had argued that it was not in a position to intervene with private sector standards which it said simply reflected consumer demands. The EU encouraged countries who felt that the requirements constituted EU standards to raise their concerns with Brussels. Otherwise, the countries should approach the non-governmental bodies directly.
At the October meeting, St Vincent and the Grenadines, joined by Argentina, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya and South Africa, reiterated these concerns and called for a more systematic discussion of these issues in the Committee. To support their case, some Members pointed to Article 13 of the SPS Agreement, which calls on countries to implement measures to ensure compliance of non-governmental standards with the Agreement’s provisions.
Committee Chair Juan Antonio Dorantes Sanchez of Mexico suggested that Members provide concrete examples for discussion.
The issue of private standards has also come up in the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). While SPS measures related to food safety and animal health are often implemented by government bodies, many voluntary schemes that would be covered by the TBT Agreement are imposed by private actors. In this context, the proliferation of eco-labels in developed country markets has attracted particular concern from developing country exporters.
ICTSD reporting; “Sri Lankan cinnamon’s future brightens, SPS Committee told,” WTO NEWS, 11-12 October 2006; “Private sector standards discussed as SPS Committee adopts two reports,” WTO NEWS, 29-30 June 2005.
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