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The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Department of Commerce) is in the process of finalising three Enquiry Point relating to Sanitary & Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) measures which will handle all queries or comments on SPS notification/regulations issued by other member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The Department of Commerce (DOC) has been emphasising the potential of gaining from the WTO SPS Agreement by implementing this Agreement effectively. To this end, it has also been engaging in upgrading systems and procedures in India and bringing it at par with international so as to facilitate India’s external trade.
These three enquiry points will be: the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation for plant protection; Ministry of Health for food safety; and Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying for animal health products. Presently, there is only one SPS-related Enquiry Point – Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. All the relevant Ministries/departments/ Regulatory Bodies and trade bodies have also been requested to coordinate with Department of Commerce more regularly so as to adequately address any discrimination faced by Indian goods in their export markets and put in place an effective system to combat such discrimination – through bilateral or multilateral modes.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Department of Commerce) organised a three-day National Seminar on Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary issues from 17th May to 19th May, 2005 and a bilateral interface between the WTO representatives and the industry representatives on 20th May, 2005. The Seminar was organised under the technical assistance programme of the WTO. The participants in the Seminar included government officials from Central and State Departments, scientists working on setting food and other related standards, trade and industry representatives, Commodity Boards etc. Experts from WTO and Codex Alimentarium Commission were the main resource persons for the Seminar.
The Seminar aimed to provide an opportunity for all the participants to be informed of the various SPS related provisions/ requirements and the present stage of discussions at the WTO SPS Committee, so as to enable them to develop a proper understanding of the issues for encouraging trade. Participants also got an opportunity to discuss the standards/ guidelines and procedures for setting them, with officials from OIE and International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). For effective implementation of various provisions of the WTO SPS Agreement, awareness among the stakeholders is considered essential. This will also go towards fulfilling the trade objectives. Capacity building which includes improved infrastructural facilities and additional manpower are the other crucial factors for upgrading systems and procedures in the country and bring it at par with the international standards. Department of Commerce has requested the Planning Commission to take note of the special needs in terms of financial resources of the Ministries/Departments for capacity building.
The participants said that the Seminar improved their understanding of various issues relating to international trade and this would help in enhancing the trade, both imports and exports.
Department of Commerce further plans to organise a sequence of National Workshops at regional level on Risk Assessment Procedures and other related issues under the WTO technical assistance programme within the next six months as a follow-up to this WTO-sponsored Seminar.
SB/MRS
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