Agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures

The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, also known as the SPS Agreement, is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization. According to this agreement, those imports that have serious effects on the health of plants, animals, or humans these products can be banned. Under the SPS agreement, the WTO sets constraints on member-state policies relating to food safety (bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection, and labeling) as well as animal and plant health (phytosanitation) concerning imported pests and diseases.

For example, our honey is famous worldwide but it was banned for a certain duration by the EU because of the residual effect. Three standard organizations set standards on which WTO members should base their SPS methodologies. They are the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).

• Nepal became a member of WTO on 23rd April,
• 147th member country, 1st LDC
• WTO, the only international body to deal with the trade between the
• SPS Agreement is one of the 29 different Agreements of
• SPS Agreement deals with non-tariff barriers in the international
• IPPC, International Plant Protection
• Standard setting body accountable for preventing the introduction, spread, and establishment of pests of plants and plant products. Till now IPPC has developed 36 ISPMs (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures) and several guidelines and recommendations