WTO: SPS Committee Thematic Session on Science-Based SPS Import Controls to Facilitate Safe Trade
Mode: Online/Hybrid
Date: Starts 2 Nov 2025 / Ends 3 Nov 2025
The SPS Committee held a thematic session on science-based SPS import controls to facilitate safe trade, following an initial proposal by the European Union (G/SPS/GEN/2292) to hold a thematic session on how to facilitate safe trade via efficient import controls using modern IT tools (IT risk analysis, AI, e‑commerce, etc.). The programme of this thematic session was contained in document G/SPS/GEN/2343/Rev.3. This thematic session followed-up on a recommendation in the Report of the Sixth Review of the SPS Agreement for the Committee to continue to engage and encourage Members to share experiences with new technologies and digital tools to facilitate safe trade, and to continue discussions on how to promote the adoption of novel approaches and related technologies, including digital tools to facilitate safe trade (G/SPS/74, para. 2.29). This session also built on the Committee's Thematic Session on Approval Procedures held in November 2019 and Thematic Session on Digital Tools held in June 2024.
According to the WTO SPS Agreement, Members have the right to determine their appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection and adopt SPS measures and controls based on scientific risk assessment. The chosen level of protection is applicable both for domestically produced and imported goods. Import controls are crucial in verifying compliance with the relevant SPS requirements of the importing Member in order to protect human, animal and plant life and health. They can be complex, time and resource-intensive procedures, and there is an opportunity to determine whether some of these controls can be streamlined and modernized, including by using IT tools.
The thematic session supported the implementation of the SPS Agreement by addressing the following questions:
Date: Starts 2 Nov 2025 / Ends 3 Nov 2025
The SPS Committee held a thematic session on science-based SPS import controls to facilitate safe trade, following an initial proposal by the European Union (G/SPS/GEN/2292) to hold a thematic session on how to facilitate safe trade via efficient import controls using modern IT tools (IT risk analysis, AI, e‑commerce, etc.). The programme of this thematic session was contained in document G/SPS/GEN/2343/Rev.3. This thematic session followed-up on a recommendation in the Report of the Sixth Review of the SPS Agreement for the Committee to continue to engage and encourage Members to share experiences with new technologies and digital tools to facilitate safe trade, and to continue discussions on how to promote the adoption of novel approaches and related technologies, including digital tools to facilitate safe trade (G/SPS/74, para. 2.29). This session also built on the Committee's Thematic Session on Approval Procedures held in November 2019 and Thematic Session on Digital Tools held in June 2024.
According to the WTO SPS Agreement, Members have the right to determine their appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection and adopt SPS measures and controls based on scientific risk assessment. The chosen level of protection is applicable both for domestically produced and imported goods. Import controls are crucial in verifying compliance with the relevant SPS requirements of the importing Member in order to protect human, animal and plant life and health. They can be complex, time and resource-intensive procedures, and there is an opportunity to determine whether some of these controls can be streamlined and modernized, including by using IT tools.
The thematic session supported the implementation of the SPS Agreement by addressing the following questions:
a. how to better understand import controls, including new tools and developments, as well as opportunities for trade and the economy;
b. how Members may improve import controls in their own jurisdiction;
c. how the SPS Committee could continue its work on import controls.
The thematic session was moderated by Mr Knut Berdal (Norway), Specialist Director at the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
The thematic session was held in Geneva on Monday 3 November from 15:00 to 18:00 (CET), and on Tuesday 4 November 2025, from 10:00 to 13:00 (CET), continuing in the afternoon from 15:00 to 18:00 (CET). The thematic session could be attended in person or via Zoom with WTO credentials using this link. The event was also livestreamed: Monday, 3 November: https://youtube.com/live/IAjqXdGX5qg?feature=share; Tuesday, 4 November: https://youtube.com/live/F5XBB-i-meA?feature=share. Interpretation was provided in English, French, and Spanish.
Monday session (afternoon)
Tuesday session (morning)
Tuesday session (afternoon)
The moderator's report of the thematic session is contained in document G/SPS/GEN/2373.
Read the full story: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/sps_03112025_e/sps_03112025_e.htm