REGIONALIZATION practical considerations

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REGIONALIZATIONpractical considerations

• Ing Agr. Diana Maria Guillen
• National Director for Plant Health
• SENASA
• Argentina
• February 2006

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Basic Assumptions

• By adopting the principle of regionalization,
  the SPS Agreement aimed at two goals
• Urging Members to improve their sanitary and
  phytosanitary condition
• Facilitating access of agri-food products to
  foreign markets.
• It is our opinion that these two goals must be
  considered provided the issue is discussed when
  adopting international regulations or in
  multilateral and bilateral negotiations.

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Basic Assumptions

• It has been noted that
• A significant number of Members, in particular
  developing ones,have reported unnecessary and
  unjustified delays in proceedings for
  regionalization recognition.
• Such delays undermine one of the Agreement goals,
  to the detriment of and causing disbelief among
  Peers.
• In many occasions delays are due to legal,
  administrative or procedural matters.

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Basic Assumptions

• Experience gathered over 10 years of work in the
  plant protection area was shared in Notice
  distributed under G/SPS/GEN/606.
• It should be noted that no consideration has been
  given to unjustified delay, as the strategy used
  by some countries unwilling to open their
  markets.
• An attempt has been made to systematize
  difficulties encountered during recognition of
  areas with sanitary and phytosanitary
  differences.
• Possible causes for delay incurred by countries
  when responding to a regionalization request of a
  third country have been evaluated.

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What does regionalization involve for an
exporting Member?

• National identification and recognition of a
  region with different sanitary or phytosanitary
  condition is a process that
• Takes years of work.
• Requires large human resources and big financial
  investments.
• Demands application of new annual resources to
  maintain the status, surveillance and
  contingencies.
• Such investment of time, manpower and money
  is worth for a society, which is always affected,
  when there is a chance of entering markets until
  then closed or presenting complex or even
  expensive application restrictions.

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Problems Identified

• They can be break down as follows
• Regarding domestic order of importing country.
• Regarding importer/exporter bilateral
  relationship.
• Regarding reference international regulations.

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Regarding Domestic Order of Importing Country

• Lack of domestic legislation compatible with new
  International Agreements (acts passed before
  1995).
• Confused and non-explicit definitions of Suitable
  Protection Levels, leading to the application of
  the risk 0 concept.
• Lack of domestic legislation providing for
  proceedings to determine and/or recognise
  regionalization in a practical manner (free
  areas, low prevalence areas, etc)
• Lack of regulations and clear definitions at
  decision-making level promote doubt and confusion
  in technicians, who delay proceedings.

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Regarding importer/exporter bilateral
relationship

• Absence of a pest in the importing country may
  cause
• Lack of knowledge of pest biology, hosts,weather
  changes affecting it, etc resulting in
  uncertainty of surveillance and monitoring
  systems, their sensitivity, taxonomic
  identifications, of lab analyses and their
  sensitivity and depriving the actual possibility
  of identifying areas with different status, etc.
• Technicians lacking specific training on the pest
  and the possibility of identifying differentiated
  areas.
• Other limitations may derive from
• Large number of applications for area
  recognition.
• Long periods lacking communication, with
  reiteration of information requests, etc.
• Lack of knowledge and reliability among Services.
• Pressure exerted on regulatory bodies, whether by
  the private sector or by judicial authorities.

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Regarding reference international regulations

• World Organization for Animal Health
• If it is a disease dealt with at OIE level
• Recognised status.
• Scarce Members participation in evaluation
  meetings may result in lack of knowledge of
  systems applied by country requesting
  regionalization. It is decided not to rely on it.
  
• Lack of short proceedings allowing immediate
  status recognition following OIE recognition.
• Members that, in spite of OIE recognition, go
  through all steps of recognition procedures.
• Not recognised status
• Members decide not to deal with the issue until
  OIE does so.
• Negotiations are delayed in fear of recognition.

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Regarding reference international regulations.

• INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION CONVENTION
• In case of lack of specific standards,
  horizontal-general standards are applied. Stages
  identified in the Annex are carried out.
• The possibility of developing an OIE like system
  is under discussion however, several Members
  believe that given the characteristics and number
  of pests to be regulated the system might hinder
  trade instead of fostering it.

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Actions and critical point Flow Chart
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Final considerations

• Difficulties identified above are not exhaustive
  and a series of measures should be adopted to
  overcome them, which includes
• Preparing guidelines within the framework of the
  WTO/SPS Committee, to have clear, foreseeable and
  precise rules regarding recognition proceedings.
• Adopting said guidelines in domestic legislation.
• Executing co-operation agreements among Members,
  in particular regarding bilateral negotiation of
  regionalization whenever regulatory arrangements,
  technical training and pest information are
  required.

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Lets remind that although this topic is
extremely significant to all countries, it is
particularly important to developing countries,
and goals of the SPS Agreement will not be
achieved unless we provide ourselves with
effective instruments to open markets within a
reasonable time and with sanitary safegurads.
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Thank you