Public Opinion and the Interpretation of the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline E. Foster
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures

The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization: Debunking Its Reliance on Scientific Evidence and Reluctance to Endorse Potential Biotechnology Risks

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Muhammad ISLAM
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
The World ◽  
Precautionary Measures ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures ◽  
Biotech Products

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) relies on scientific evidence as a conclusive risk assessment criterion, which ignores the inherent limitations of science. This article highlights certain trade-restrictive effects of scientific evidence and comments on the Agreement’s aversions to precautionary measures and the consumer concern of the harmful effects of biotech products that may be necessary to protect public health and biosecurity in many WTO Member States. These measures and concerns have become pressing issues due to surging consumer awareness and vigilance concerning environmental protection and food safety. The Agreement is yet to overcome the weaknesses of its endorsed international standardising bodies, the problematic definition of scientific evidence and treatment of justification for scientific risk assessment methods and the implementation difficulties faced by most developing states. This article analyses these issues under the provisions of the Agreement and the interpretations of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body in disputes involving SPS matters, which fall short of addressing scientific uncertainty surrounding biotech products and their associated risks.

scholarly journals Food Safety Issues in International Trade

EDIS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 2004 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald H. Schmidt ◽  
Robert P. Bates ◽  
Douglas L. Archer ◽  
Keith R. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Cooperative Extension Service ◽  
Extension Service ◽  
Food Science ◽  
University Of Florida ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
The World ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures

With the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, specific principles and rules were conceived. These rules, or Sanitary & Phytosanitary Measures (e.g., SPS Agreement), relate to three primary issues or concerns: food safety, animal health, and plant health. While still controversial, the WTO/SPS Agreement does provide for more detailed control of food safety concerns and for more standardization and harmonization regarding rules and regulations. This document is FSHN034, one of a series of the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, University of Florida. Publication: March 2003.  https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs100

The Role of Risk Assessment in Precautionary Intervention: A Comparison of Judicial Trends in the EC and WTO

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 455-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elen Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
European Community ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Case Law ◽  
World Trade Organisation ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
The World ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures

AbstractThis paper focuses on the meanings attached to the "precautionary principle" in judgments passed down by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Community (EC) courts. It speaks to claims that, in response to WTO litigation, the EC courts are beginning to construe the precautionary principle in a manner that more closely resembles obligations arising from the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement). It illustrates that although disparities between interpretations in EC and WTO case law of legitimate precautionary intervention are growing to be less obvious, inconsistencies continue to exist.

A WTO Ruling Matters: Citizens’ Support for the Government’s Compliance with Trade Agreements

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Matsumura
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Trade Dispute ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Wto Agreements

AbstractAn international court’s ruling is expected to influence public opinion because of the perception of its legality and the subsequent costs of noncompliance. However, there has been little direct empirical evidence to support this claim. To close this lacuna, I conducted a survey experiment to examine the power of a court’s ruling in the context of a trade dispute. The experiment shows that citizens become less supportive of their government’s noncompliance with GATT/WTO agreements when the World Trade Organization issues an adverse ruling, compared to when their government is verbally accused of a violation of the same agreements by a foreign country. However, the experiment also finds that the impact of a ruling is conditional upon the level of compliance of the winner of the dispute.

Global Public Policy and the World Trade Organization after Shrimp/Turtle and Asbestos

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 253-352
Author(s):  
Maureen Irish
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Policies ◽  
Technical Barriers To Trade ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures ◽  
Global Public Policy

SummaryRecent decisions of the Appellate Body of the WTO deal with the interpretation of GATT Article XX, which provides exemptions from trade obligations for important non-trade policies such as the protection of health and the environment. The article discusses those decisions, as well as the balance between trade and non-trade interests in the provisions of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

scholarly journals A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE PLANT HEALTH (PHYTOSANITARY) BILL’S COMPLIANCE WITH THE SALIENT ASPECTS OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES

Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Vinti
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Competent Authority ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Plant Health ◽  
Phytosanitary Measure ◽  
The World ◽  
Scientific Principles ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures ◽  
Definition Of

This paper juxtaposes the long-mooted Plant Health (Phytosanitary) Bill with its corollary, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). Firstly, this paper finds that the Bill creates an ambiguity by including in the definition of “phytosanitary measures”, those “measures, regulations or procedures that limit the economic impact of regulated non-quarantine pests”, without any guidance on the relevant factors to be considered in this regard. Secondly, it is found that the Bill explicitly establishes the requirement that the new phytosanitary regime is based on “scientific principles”. Thirdly, the paper argues that the Bill also establishes the general rule that makes “sufficient science” the basis of any phytosanitary measure in conformity with South Africa’s core obligations under the SPS. Fourthly, this paper finds that the Bill contravenes Article 5.7 of the SPS in that it provides for the implementation of the so-called “emergency and provisional measures” by the competent authority as an exception to the “sufficient science” rule, without any of the necessary safeguards created by Article 5.7. Lastly, the paper finds that the Bill has unduly shifted the primary burden of preventing the entry and establishment of a pest, from the competent authority to the “user of land”.

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