Brussels / Geneva, 29/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is preparing guidelines to ensure convergence between its rules and national measures covering the risks linked to food safety and to animal health. A preliminary draft, prepared by the committee on animal and plant health, received relatively broad support within the Geneva organisation. The "precautionary principle", however, which was put forward by the EU, caused perplexity and distrust.
The debate held on 15 and 16 March within the above-mentioned committee stressed the need not to use the precautionary principle to justify arbitrary measures likely to hinder trade. The European Union had specified to its partners the reasoning behind the discussion paper presented on 2 February in Brussels by the European Commission, stating that this was just a contribution to the debate. WTO countries welcomed the transparency of the European discussion, noting the fact that it was now "shared" with them. Some, including the representatives of the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, nonetheless expressed concern about the fact that the guidelines envisaged by the Europeans could weaken WTO rules by reducing their certainty and predictability. They fear that the "precautionary principle" would overturn the delicate balance between rights and obligations achieved during the Uruguay Round (which set the current rules in place). Any country could invoke this principle for protectionist reasons. Finally, while recalling that this principle is already mentioned in Article 5.7 of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, some asked about the lawfulness of the European interpretation, to which the EU replied that its White Paper in no way modified this agreement.
A final draft of guidelines on the coherence of national rules with those of the WTO is now ready. Some delegations still need time to examine it but, generally speaking, it was favourably welcomed by the SPS committee which will be called upon to adopt it in June this year. The guidelines it sets out will not be legally binding. They will serve as an instrument for decision-makers in order to help them to follow the provisions of Article 5.5 of the SPS Agreement, when they have to deal with the levels of protection of public health or adopt and implement measures concerning food safety, animal health and plant health. At the centre of the problem raised by this risk, there is the concept of the level of protection that measures must procure and that it is difficult to specify, measure and compare. The guidelines recommend to authorities ways for tackling this kind of difficulty. The Committee, moreover, undertook to discuss, during its next meeting (21-22 June), the main concerns raised by developing countries, which essentially concern the implementation of the provisions of the SPS Agreement on the special and differentiated treatment reserved for them.
During the meeting, the EU pointed out that the problem of dioxin is no longer a threat. The countries that still impose restrictions have been invited to lift them.