SPSAbkommen

The SPS Agreement, officially known as the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, is a treaty administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO). It governs the food safety and animal and plant health regulations of its member countries. The primary objective of the SPS Agreement is to ensure that measures taken by governments to protect human, animal, or plant life or health are not used as disguised restrictions on international trade.

The agreement recognizes the right of members to implement necessary measures to achieve legitimate objectives, such as protecting public health, preventing the introduction or spread of pests and diseases, or protecting biodiversity. However, it also establishes a framework to ensure that these measures are based on scientific principles, are not unnecessarily restrictive, and do not discriminate between trading partners with similar conditions.

Key provisions of the SPS Agreement include the principle of basing measures on international standards, guidelines, and recommendations where they exist. If a member country chooses to implement measures that are more trade-restrictive than international standards, it must demonstrate that these measures are based on a scientific risk assessment and are necessary to achieve its stated objectives. The agreement also includes provisions for transparency, requiring members to publish their SPS measures and to notify other members of new or revised regulations. Furthermore, it outlines procedures for dispute settlement within the WTO framework to resolve disagreements concerning SPS measures.