SPS Committee addresses record number of trade concerns, transparency and SPS mentoring

Specific trade concerns

Members raised a new record high of 79 specific trade concerns (STCs) at the SPS Committee meeting. Ten of the STCs were raised for the first time.

The new STCs included concerns related to mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons in various plant products; maximum residue levels for pesticides in spices and imidacloprid in cabbage; the transfer of the maximum levels for ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages to a list of contaminants and other adulterating substances in foods; delays in market access approval for poultry meat and gelatin-based products; suspension of shrimp imports; import restrictions due to African swine fever; and delays in the approval of an assurance scheme for hormone growth promotant-free products.

A list of the STCs discussed is available in the Trade Concerns Database.

Transparency

The SPS Transparency Working Group, under the stewardship of Fernando Catalán (Chile) and Sally Griffin (New Zealand), provided an update on discussions at recent meetings held on 28 April and 23 June respectively. The working group was set up last year as a key outcome of the Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement. 

The working group benefited from the insight of participants in a two-day transparency workshop held earlier in the week for national notification authorities, enquiry points and other transparency experts from 26 developing members and observers. The discussions covered topics such as notification templates, institutional and cross-cutting capacity-building issues, and the uptake of the ePing SPS&TBT Platform (ePing), which is used across public and private sectors to track SPS and technical requirements for products. These discussions link to an ongoing STDF project implemented by the WTO Secretariat to improve ePing in Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

Mentoring system

The WTO Secretariat reported on the pilot phase of the SPS mentoring system, which was launched in June 2025 to connect government officials in order to establish informal, ad hoc supportive relationships for knowledge-sharing, peer learning and engagement on SPS-related issues. 

A total of 56 requests were received from 23 members and observers, from which nine applications were selected, and five mentoring partnerships were established. The topics most frequently addressed were transparency, participation in the WTO SPS Committee, operational implementation of a specific SPS issue or WTO SPS Agreement provision, leadership and coordination on SPS matters.

Members that participated in the pilot phase shared their experiences with the programme. Many members that took the floor expressed support for the programme, and the committee agreed to extend the SPS mentoring system for two years, with a mid-term update planned in 2027. A new set of mentee/mentor pairs is expected to undertake work on specific SPS objectives starting in the second half of 2026.

MC14 decision on special and differential treatment 

Members discussed the MC14 Decision on Enhancing the Precise, Effective and Operational Implementation of Special and Differential Treatment Provisions of the SPS and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreements (MC14 S&DT Decision). The G90 group of developing and least-developed countries welcomed the decision as a milestone marking significant progress for the multilateral trading system. They also reiterated proposals for continued structured discussions on S&DT in the SPS and TBT Committees, improvements to notifications and transparency, and optimization of technical assistance and capacity-building, including through innovative methods of financing.

In this context, the G90 group proposed including a standing agenda item in both the SPS and TBT Committees to further the discussions. It requested the assistance of the WTO Secretariat in undertaking a factual stock-taking and mapping exercise of existing efforts and initiatives to provide a shared understanding of what has been done so far and avoid duplication. Members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) endorsed the G90 call to start implementation of the MC14 S&DT Decision.

Next meeting

The next SPS Committee week is scheduled to take place on 2-6 November.