Page 36 - Trade and Food Standards

Although the TBT Agreement does not explicitly recognize Codex, or any other international standard-setting body, Codex is the most frequently referenced body in TBT notifications when it comes to measures dealing with food. Reference to Codex standards in TBT notifications has become more common over the past ten years, showing that members are more frequently drawing on Codex standards as the basis for food- related TBT measures, in particular measures addressing food labelling or quality.
Specific trade concerns
Specific trade concerns
Should a measure lead to market access problems, a WTO member can raise it for discussion as a STC.
The proportion of STCs brought before the SPS and TBT Committees in which the use of Codex standards was at issue has increased between 2007 and 2016, especially in the TBT context (see Figure 2).
The SPS Committee deals with food safety and animal and plant health issues, and a large share of the STCs discussed relate to food products. Many STCs deal with food safety measures that have an effect on another WTO member’s exports. WTO members regularly refer to Codex standards in such STC discussions, as shown in Figure 2. In some cases, the exporting member encourages the importing member to base its measures on a relevant Codex standard, with a view to facilitate trade. However, STCs often arise in areas where there is no relevant Codex standard, and members refer to the lack of such a standard during the discussions.
At SPS and TBT Committees meetings, WTO members discuss trade issues relating to a specific measure put in place by one WTO member that is constraining the exports of another. These are called STCs. The discussion provides an opportunity for WTO members
to ask their trading partners to explain or justify requirements that make it difficult for them to export. It is a technical and pragmatic exchange between regulators and experts that helps ease trade frictions and avoid disputes.
Antioxidant residues in shrimp
In October 2012 and at subsequent meetings, India raised an STC in the SPS Committee regarding Japan’s introduction of mandatory testing for residue levels of Ethoxyquin, an antioxidant used in some countries as a preservative in feed for aquatic animals, to control browning in pears, or as a food additive. Japan had notified a measure based on its Food Sanitation Act of 2005 that defined permissible residue levels of Ethoxyquin for some products, but did not include MRLs in shrimp. Japan explained that no Codex standard for Ethoxyquin in shrimp existed when it changed its legislation. A risk assessment was under way. The default tolerance level of 0.01 ppm applied in the meantime.
India argued that, while the threshold level for shrimp was set at 0.01 ppm, the level for fish was
1 ppm, and Codex had set an MRL of 3 ppm in pears. The very low level applied by Japan did not take into account the objective of minimizing negative effects on trade. According to India, there was no scientific evidence on the toxicity or carcinogenicity of the substance. India was the largest supplier of shrimp to Japan and this measure had an adverse effect on its exports.
Codex indicated that it had placed Ethoxyquin on the priority list for evaluation. Eventually, Japan concluded its risk assessment and proposed a draft MRL of 0.2 ppm, and in October 2014 both members reported that the concern had been resolved.
Source: WTO Secretariat
24 Trade and food standards
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