Note by the Secretariat prepared for the Formal Meeting of the World Trade Organisation Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, 16-17 March 2016.

OVERVIEW

The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) is a global partnership that supports developing countries to implement international food safety, animal and plant health standards, guidelines and recommendations, and hence to gain and maintain access to markets.

The STDF acts as a coordinating and financing mechanism. As part of its coordination role, the STDF increases awareness, identifies and disseminates good practice and strengthens collaboration in SPS capacity building. Sections two to five of this document highlight recent work undertaken by the Facility as part of its coordination function. As a financing mechanism, STDF provides grants for projects and support to applicants on SPS project development through project preparation grants (PPGs). Information is available in sections six and seven of this document. Annex 1 provides a brief overview of on-going STDF projects and PPGs.

Delegates who would like to receive more information on the STDF are invited to visit the STDF website and subscribe to the STDF electronic mailing list. The next STDF Working Group meeting will be held on 14-15 March 2016.

PRIORITIZING SPS INVESTMENTS FOR MARKET ACCESS – INFORMATION SESSION

Developing countries face considerable demands to enhance their SPS capacity in the context of broader domestic economic and social policy objectives, including the desire to boost agri-food exports. In most cases, the resources available to governments from national budgets, donors and/or private businesses are insufficient to meet all of the identified needs, especially when prevailing export-oriented SPS capacity is weak. This requires hard choices to be made between competing investments that may all be likely to bring appreciable benefits, for example in terms of export performance, agricultural productivity and/or health protection. The STDF has developed a framework to help inform and improve SPS planning and decision-making processes. The framework – known as “Prioritizing SPS Investments for Market Access” (P-IMA) – aims to inform decisions on where to invest in SPS capacity building.

The STDF will hold an information Session on the P-IMA framework on Wednesday, 16 March 2016 from 13:00 – 14:00 at WTO headquarters in Geneva. The objective of the information session is to briefly present the new P-IMA user Guide and share experiences from countries that have used this approach. A new STDF briefing note on the P-IMA framework is available on the STDF website.

IMPLEMENTING SPS MEASURES TO FACILITATE SAFE TRADE – REPORT ON SOUTHERN AFRICA

A new report, entitled “The Implementation of SPS Measures to Facilitate Safe Trade: Selected Practices and Experiences in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia”, is available on the STDF website. The report examines how SPS measures are implemented in practice for selected products in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia, and identifies opportunities and good practice to reduce SPS-related transaction costs, while reinforcing health protection. The report includes a number of country-specific recommendations, as well as more general recommendations that can be of interest to other countries interested in facilitating safe trade. A new STDF briefing note draws on the findings of the report on Southern Africa as well as similar STDF-funded research in Southeast Asia. It highlights opportunities to improve the implementation of SPS measures in a way that facilitates safe trade, while minimizing transaction costs, based on the SPS Agreement.

The findings and recommendations of STDF’s work on implementing safe trade are aligned with the 2014-15 Aid-for-Trade (AfT) work programme, “Reducing Trade Costs for Inclusive, Sustainable Growth”, which reiterated that high trade costs inhibit many developing countries from fully exploiting their trade and development potential. Trade costs remain particularly high in some critical sectors where growth is associated with strong poverty reduction effects, most prominently in the agriculture sector. The new AfT work programme for 2016-2017 will focus on “Promoting Connectivity” and will continue to build on insights emerging from the AfT work in 2014-2015. More information is available on the WTO website.

ELECTRONIC SPS CERTIFICATION

The STDF will organize an information seminar on Electronic SPS Certification on Tuesday 5 July 2016 at WTO headquarters in Geneva, back-to-back with the WTO SPS Committee. The main objective will be to share information and experiences about the use of electronic certification (e-certification) in the SPS area, including identification of key challenges and opportunities for developing countries. The seminar will be open for SPS delegates, other trade and development officials as well as for those working in the area of certification. Information on the seminar, including a detailed programme and on registration, will be made available in the coming weeks on the STDF website.

JOINT EIF/STDF ANALYSIS ON SPS ISSUES IN DTIS STUDIES

The STDF and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Secretariat have undertaken a joint study that analyses the coverage of SPS issues in EIF Diagnostic Trade Integration Studies (DTIS) and identifies good practice for future studies and their implementation. The study highlights a number of good practices and lessons learned to inform SPS analysis in future DTIS reports and processes. First and foremost, the EIF Secretariat may wish to explore more systematic ways of engaging the international standard-setting bodies, as well as organizations or programs with a specific role in SPS capacity building, in the preparation of DTIS reports and their follow-up. It is expected that the study will be available on the STDF website by mid-April 2016.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

The STDF provides advice and support to applicants on issues related to SPS project development and finances project preparation grants (PPGs). PPGs, normally up to US$50,000, are available to help applicants articulate their SPS needs and develop technically sound and sustainable project proposals. PPGS can be requested to: (i) apply SPS capacity evaluation and prioritization tools; (ii) prepare feasibility studies before project development to assess the potential impact and economic viability of proposals in terms of costs and benefits; and (iii) develop project proposals for funding by donors or the STDF.

A total of 70 PPGs have been approved and funded by the STDF since its inception. Information on on-going and completed PPGs is available on the STDF website. The STDF Working Group may approve additional PPGs for funding at its next meeting on 14-15 March 2016.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Project grant financing up to a maximum of US$1,000,000 is available from the STDF. Favourable consideration is given to projects that: (i) identify, develop and dissemination good practice in SPS-related technical cooperation, including the development and application of innovative and replicable approaches; (ii) apply regional approaches to address SPS constraints; and/or (iii) implement collaborative approaches across food safety, animal and plant health and trade.

Beneficiaries must contribute to the project from their own resources, either in the form of financial or in-kind contributions such as staff time, use of premises, vehicles or other existing assets.

A total of 75 projects have been approved for STDF funding since its inception. Information on on-going and completed PGs is available on the STDF website. The STDF Working Group may approve additional projects for funding at its next meeting on 14-15 March 2016 – depending on the resources available in the STDF trust fund.

Annex 1 provides an overview of on-going STDF projects and PPGs. Since its inception, the STDF has devoted 54% of its project and PPG resources to LDCs and other low income countries (OLICs). Hence, the STDF continues meeting its target to devote at least 40% of its project and PPG resources to LDCs and OLICs. In particular the allocation of PPG resources to LDCs and OLICs remains high (i.e. 74% of the overall budget for PPGs). 50% of the number of STDF projects and PPGs has gone to Sub-Saharan Africa, 20% to Asia, and 17% to Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, 11% of STDF projects and PPGs can be classified as global.

Applications for STDF funding can be made at any point in the year but should be received at least 60 working days in advance of each Working Group meeting in order to be considered at that meeting. The next deadline for the submission of applications is 19 July 2016.