The Importance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures to Fisheries Negotiations in Economic Partnership Agreements

by Martin Doherty

Fisheries, Trade and Sustainable Development Series • Issue Paper 7

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Sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) have become an increasingly important topic of debate in international trade. These SPS measures are a major cause of market access concern for many developing countries, even beyond tariff barriers in certain sectors such as fisheries. This is due to the complexity in number and nature of food safety requirements that countries have to meet in order to access the European Union (EU) and other global markets and the capacity of developing countries to comply with such requirements.

Indeed, many countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) have inadequate human, financial or technical resources to meet the required standards of food safety. The Global Financial Crisis has placed further restrictions on developing countries’ ability to raise funds to upgrade their food safety capabilities. This aspect is seen as particularly relevant in view of the potential negative impact of climate change on fisheries through the introduction and spread of new diseases to fish, and changes in their traditional operating environment.

This study seeks to examine those challenges and to contemplate possible policy responses. It argues that the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union and ACP countries represent an opportunity to achieve solutions to several problem areas associated with EU SPS requirements. The importance of addressing SPS concerns in the fisheries sector cannot be overemphasized given that the EU accounts for 75 percent of ACP fisheries exports.

Moreover, fisheries are a key source of employment, export revenue and food security for many ACP countries. Internationally, fisheries are one of the few areas where their share of world trade is increasing. Consequently, if the impact of some of the SPS ‘barriers’ were reduced, it could facilitate a further potential expansion of this sector. This paper suggests that in this light, SPS can quite properly be viewed as a tool of development for the purposes of the EPAs, and therefore merits funding on this count alone.

In considering what might usefully be achieved within the framework of rule-making under the Economic Partnership Agreements, consideration is also given to the World Trade Organization SPS Agreement and some of the ambiguities that the SPS Agreement poses in this respect.

Finally, this paper sets out a number of recommendations for consideration by the EPA negotiators. These cover both specific textual wordings dealing with the SPS Agreement ambiguities, capacity building, and the need for regional institutions and regional approaches to the problem, as pests and diseases do not respect political boundaries. Some other recommendations are also made, which whilst relating to SPS issues, have a broader development objective.

This paper is part of ICTSD’s project on fisheries, trade and sustainable development, which aims to foster an inclusive and informed process for crafting multilateral, regional and domestic trade rules and policies in the fisheries sector that are supportive of sustainable development.