WTO Committee Agrees to Set Up Working Group on Transparency of SPS Measures
The World Trade Organization's Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures agreed during its meeting June 17-19 to establish a new working group on improving the transparency of sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
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After previously endorsing a recommendation to set up a transparency working group for a two-year period, the committee agreed last week to start working group discussions in November. The group will "focus on how to improve SPS notifications, track how comments are taken into account, and examine possible enhancements" to the current electronic notification platform. New Zealand and Chile volunteered to lead the group.
The committee also launched a new mentoring system to aid developing and least-developed countries with "transparency and engagement on SPS matters." The system will open this month with a pilot phase running through June 2026.