Develop and disseminate timely market intelligence on processed food products,
foreign technical standards, regulations and
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Sanitary
and Phytosanitary (SPS) and
Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT) notifications on behalf of U.S. public and
private sector stakeholders. Advise policy makers and private sector on
agriculture-related measures, compliance with the obligations of the WTO TBT Agreement, USDA representation on WTO TBT
Committee and TBT-related
Codex
Alimentarius Committees.
Division Contact
List
Responsible for:
WTO TBT Committee and
Agriculture-Related TBT Notification Coordination Activities:
The
WTO TBT Agreement requires
Member states to report all central government and sub-central level
government procedures that may adversely or significantly affect trade with
other nations. PPTRD works with the designated WTO TBT U.S. Enquiry Point
and Notification Authority located at the U.S. Department of Commerce,
National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI),
National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) to review, analyze, coordinate, and provide comments on
agriculture-related TBT notifications of technical regulations and
conformity assessment procedures that may pose a barrier to U.S. food and
agricultural trade interests. PPTRD is also responsible for the coordination
and clarification of food and agricultural TBT issues with the U.S. SPS
Enquiry Point and National Notification Authority – located in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA),
Foreign Agricultural Service
(FAS), International Regulations and
Standards Division (IRSD).
U.S. WTO
TBT Enquiry Point Activities
u
Educational Presentation and Other Resources Information
u
U.S.
TBT Foreign Notifications search engine
u
U.S. TBT Notifications
u
U.S. WTO TBT Enquiry Point and
Notification Authority
u
WTO Website on
Technical Barriers to Trade
WTO TBT Committee and Processed Products
Representation
PPTRD participates as a member of a multi-agency U.S. delegation (Trade
Policy Sub-Committee (TPSC)) to the
WTO Committee
on TBT, headed by the
Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative (USTR), and analyzes and coordinates WTO SPS
notifications and enquiries related to processed products with the U.S. SPS
Enquiry Point and National Notification Authority.
WTO TBT Committee Meeting Summary Reports
u March 2008 meeting
u July 2008 meeting
u July 2008 WTO TBT FAS Position Papers
U.S. WTO SPS Committee Meeting:
Processed Products SPS Issues
u June 2008 meeting
TRADE MONITORING AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Export Certification
Working Groups (ECWG)
Terms of Reference
Working Group (WG) meeting minutes
Active ECWG Sub-working Groups Activities:
u Certificate of Free Sale WG
u
Conformity Assessment Requirements
u Electronic Certification Trends and E-Gov
Trends WG (TRACES)
u Halal/Organic and other Processed Based Measures (PBM) related WG
u Health Certification WG
u Radiation/irradiation Certification WG
Calendar of upcoming WG Meetings and Events
Food and Agriculture
Import Regulations and Standards Reporting Systems
u
Food and Agriculture Reporting System (FAIRS): “Country Report,”
“Export Certificate Report” and “Subject” Report - website search
engine.
u
U.S. State
Government Export Certificates issuing officials by State - website
search engine.
Processed Products Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade
(ATAC) PPTRD works with the FAS
Office of Trade Programs (OTP)
and
Office of Negotiations and
Agreements (ONA) to coordinate activities of the Processed
Products ATAC to ensure ongoing liaison between the federal government and
the private sector regarding agricultural trade issues, to assist in the
identification and resolution of technical barriers to U.S. trade in
processed foods.
u
Processed Products ATAC Members
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
AGREEMENTS AND OTHER TRADE-RELATED ACTIVITIES
PPTRD monitors and provides comments on the application of TBT measures as
they relate to food and agricultural products in WTO Accessions,
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs),
Financial and Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAAs),
Trade
and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs), and at trade engagements
such as U.S. Consultative Committees on Agriculture (CCAs) and other trade
fora impacting agriculture. PPTRD supports FAS participation on trade issues in the
following international fora:
u
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North
America (SPP) – Food and Agriculture Working Group (Prosperity Agenda)
û Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP) Agreement: 2007 Ministerial meeting
u North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Technical Working Group on Food Labeling,
Standards, and Packaging (FLSP)
û 2008 NAFTA TWG
Minutes from April meeting
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS-SETTING FORA
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and
World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Codex
Alimentarius Committee (Codex): PPTRD representation
u Committee on
Food Additives
u Committee on Food Labeling
u Committee on
Import/Export Inspection and Certification Systems
u Committee on Milk and
Milk Products (geographic indicators (GI) issues)
u Committee on
Pesticide Residues, and others as required.
û
Global Minor Use Summit
International Organization for
Standardization (ISO): TBT issue coordination
u
Conformity Assessment policies
and procedures
u
ISO TC– 34 - Food products
u
ISO TC – 176 - Quality
management and quality assurance
u
Quality Systems International
Harmonization
Other TBT
and/or Processed Products Issues covered include
u
Bioterrorism and Food Security
Measures
u Contaminants
u Country of Origin
Labeling
u Environmental and
Animal Rights Measures
u General Labeling and
Claims Measures
u
Halal Products Measures
u Maximum Residue Limits
(MRL) Issues
u
MRL Database
u
Organic Products
Measures
u
Quality and Grade trade related
issues
Generally Asked Questions
and Answers
Training and Capacity
Building Activities
Educational Presentations and
Other Resource Information
t back to
PPTRD