   
  
G/SPS/R/106  
 
2 September  2022 
(22-6586) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
REPORT  
SPS COMMITTEE WORKSHOP  ON TRANSPARENCY  
MONDAY, 20 JUNE  2022 
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA  
PARTICIPATION IN PERSON AND VIA ZOOM  
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO) organized a half-day workshop on 
transparency on 20 June 2022. This was the ninth  SPS workshop on transparency (or transparency 
and coordination) organized by the Secretariat ; the first eight took place  in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2010, 
2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019 .2 The workshop was held in hybrid format, with interpretation in the 
three working languages of the WTO. There were around 30 participants attending in person and 
over 200 connections on Zoom worldwide . Mr Juteau Déadjufo Toussé , Chairperson of the 
SPS Committee  for the period 2021-2022,  moderated the workshop. A dedicated webpage for the 
workshop  had been made available ahead of the event, with relevant information , including the 
programme , circulated on 15 June 2022 in document G/SPS/GEN/2015/Rev.1 . In addition to the 
workshop, a "notifications clinic" targeted to SPS notification authorities and enquiry points was held 
virtually via Zoom on  the afternoon of  20 June 2022 , with over 150 connections . 
The workshop covered the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement, ongoing transparency 
related work in the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), WTO onl ine tools and sources 
of SPS information, and presented in detail the functionalities of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform , 
which went live in March 2022. Participants also learned about the use of ePing in Viet Nam as p art 
of an International Trade Centre (ITC) project.  A brief summary of the workshop's different sessions 
can be found below.  
Presentations  from the workshop as well as the trilingual recordings are available on the workshop's 
dedicated webpage  and can be accessed from the "Events, workshops and training" section under 
the WTO  SPS Gateway ( http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/events_e.htm ). 
1  OBJECTIVE OF THE WORKSHOP  
1.1.  The purpose of th e workshop was to provide an update on recent developments related to 
transparency and present the main functions of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform , which integrate s 
SPS and TBT online transparency tools.  
1.2.  The workshop covered an o verview of the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement and 
of relevant Committee/Ministerial Decisions  (session 1), t ransparency work in the TBT Committee  
(session 2), WTO tools and sources of SPS information  (session 3), an o verview of the new ePing 
SPS&TBT Platform  (session 4), and the s haring of experiences related to the use of the new  Platform  
(session 5).  
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 The reports of these workshops are contained in documents G/SPS/R/16 , G/SPS/R/32 , G/SPS/R/47 , 
G/SPS/R/60 , G/SPS/R/68 , G/SPS/R/80 , G/SPS/R/89  and G/SPS/R/96  respectively.  G/SPS/R/106  
 
- 2 - 
 
  2  WORKSHOP SESSIONS  
2.1  Introduction ( Session 1 ) 
2.1.  In the fi rst session, Mr Rolando Alcal á (WTO Secretariat) provided an overview of the  
transparency provisions in the SPS Agreement , contained in Article 7 and Annex B; of relevant 
Committee and Ministerial Decisions, in particular , the Recommended Transparency Procedures 
(G/SPS/7/Rev.4 ) and the Doha Ministerial Decisi on on Implementation -Related Issues and Concerns 
(WT/MIN(01)/17 ); as well as of relevant discussions in the SPS Committee. The Secretariat 
highlighted  that a new technical revision of document  G/SPS/7/Rev. 4 to update outdated information 
related to online tools  will be circulated to Members ahead of the November 2022 SPS Committee 
meeting for their review  and adoption . The Practical manual  for SPS national notification authorities 
(NNAs) and SPS national enquiry points ( NEPs)3 would also be updated.  It was outlined that the 
main transparency obligations under the SPS Agreement were the obligation for WTO Memb ers to 
notify draft regulations, publish regulations, establish an NEP, and designate an NNA. The session 
also discussed relevant recommendations on transparency contained in G/SPS/7/Rev.4  as well as 
those related to equivalence ( G/SPS/19/Rev.2 ), special and di fferential treatment 
(G/SPS/3 3/Rev.1 ), and regionalization ( G/SPS/48 ). Als o highlighted was the 5th Review of the 
SPS Agreement concluded in 2020, which contained specific recommendations related to 
transparency and coordination (see document G/SPS/64  and Addendum ). Furthermore, 
the Secretariat  noted that the duties of SPS NNAs and NEPs could go beyond transparency 
obligations, for example to raise awareness at national level and build capacity. The last annual 
report of the level of implementation of the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement had been 
circulated in document G/SPS/GEN/804/Rev.14; G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.22 . 
2.2.  In resp onse to questions from participants, it was clarified that while the SPS Agreement 
required the establishment of an NEP to respond to reasonable questions, some Members have found 
it more functional to establish more than one NEP, for example to cover the areas of food safety, 
animal health and plant health. It was important that the contact information for the NEP(s) be 
communicated to the WTO. It was also noted that "reasonable questions"  referred to in Annex B(3)  
were those related to SPS  matters, and th at according to the Recommended Transparency 
Procedures, questions or comments should be addressed to the Member notifying the measure,  that 
should respond within five working days.  
2.2  Transparency work in the TBT Committee ( Session 2 ) 
2.3.  Ms Serra Ayral  (WTO Secretariat) provided a snapshot of the transparency recommendations 
resulting from the triennial reviews of the TBT Agreement.  The 9th Triennial Review of the 
TBT Agreement , which concluded in 2021 ( G/TBT/46 ), contained 19 transparency -related 
recommendations including on developing new formats and guidelines, improving coordination 
through the ePing Platform, and exploring the use of IT tools for the translation of notifi ed 
docume nts. Regarding improvements to online tools, the process to streamline TBT tools had been 
facilitated by feedback from Members participating in the "Friends of eTools" group, established in 
2021. In 2021,  83 Members submitted at least one TBT notification and 61 per cent of new 
TBT specific trade concerns referred to notifications. The TBT Committee had established a new 
working group in March 2022 to move forward with transparency -related recommendations.  
2.4.  In response to a question on the use of tools for t he translation of notified documents , it was 
clarified that possible tools discussed in the TBT Committee  could be explored for use in the SPS 
Committee. It was noted that in 2021, a total of 7,800 notifications had been circulated in the WTO, 
of which aro und 75 per cent were related to SPS or TBT. Regarding the reviews of the SPS and 
TBT Agreements, it was explained that following the 2001 Doha Minis terial Decision , it had been 
decided that the SPS Agreement would be reviewed every four years, instead of every three years 
like the TBT Agreement.  
2.3  WTO tools and sources of SPS information  (Session 3 ) 
2.5.  Ms Nazia Mohammed  (WTO Secretariat) provided a brief overview of relevant sources of 
SPS-related information, including: (i) Documents Online , a repository of all WTO documents, 
 
3 The Practical Manual for SPS National Notification Authorities and SPS National Enquiry Points can be 
downloaded fr om: http://www.wto.org/spstransparency . G/SPS/R/106  
 
- 3 - 
 
  including SPS ; (ii) Trade Concerns Database , which provide s information on trade concerns including 
those discussed in the SPS Committee , as well as the TBT and Market Access Committees ; 
(iii) eAgenda , which had improved transparency in the work of the SPS Committee by allowing 
authorized  users to submit online agenda items  ahead of SPS  Committee  meetings , which are made 
available for other users in real time ; and ( iv) the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform , which integrate s all 
SPS and TBT transparency tools, as well as the ePing alert system, into a single platform . A recap 
of the functionalities and types of SPS information available from the different platforms was also 
presented.  
2.4  Overview of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platfor m (Session 4 ) 
2.6.  Mr Rolando Alcal á and Ms Carmina B áez (WTO Secretariat) presented in detail, through a 
live demo, the main functions of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform , including: (i) searching of 
information on notifications, specific trade concerns, NNA and NEP contact information; 
(ii) submission of notifications; and (iii) communication/outreach functions. It was noted that 
registered users benefitted from additional f eatures, including receiving email alerts on notifications 
on products and/or markets of interest , as well as reach ing out to other Members' notification 
authorities and enquiry point s. In addition, certain functions, such as the submission of notification s, 
were password -protected. Some of the benefits highlighted included: extracting data from a single 
source, reducing errors and maintenance costs; searching information across the SPS and 
TBT Committees; and using the WTO single sign -on authentication sys tem. It was highlighted that 
the official launch of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform, with senior officials from the three ePing 
partner organizations, WTO, UNDESA, and ITC, had been tentatively planned for 13 July 2022.4 
2.5  Sharing of experiences related to t he use of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform  
(Session 5 ) 
2.7.  In the last session, Mr Vianney Lesaffre  (ITC) shared insights from an ITC project 
implemented in Viet Nam to help t raders comply with SPS and TBT requirements by receiving alerts 
on regulatory changes in foreign markets, using the e Ping alert system. According to an ITC business 
survey on regul atory and procedural trade obstacles, technical measures (SPS/TBT) accounted for 
the largest share of non-tariff measures  for the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. 
The presentation highlighted how transparency -related issues, including difficulties fi nding 
information on regulations, affected exports in several sectors. Mr Lesaffre also shared an example 
of how a university project had provided translations and explanations of selected notifications  into 
Vietnamese . In closing, he noted that there were  over 800 registered ePing users from Viet Nam, 
from the public sector, private sector, non -governmental organizations (NGOs) and academia.  
3  NOTIFICATIONS CLINIC  
3.1.  Following the workshop, a "notifications clinic" targeted to SPS NNAs and NEPs  was held 
virtual ly via Zoom on 20 June 2022  afternoon, with interpretation in the three working languages of 
the WTO.  This was the first time ever that a "notifications clinic " was held for SPS officials. The highly 
interactive format facilitated an open discussion on the  more practical transparency issues.  
Specifically, it  provided an opportunity for direct consultations with the Secretariat on questions 
related to the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform . 
3.2.  The WTO Secretariat provided a brief overview of the main functions of the ePing SPS&TBT 
Platform , and presented the notifications submission and outreach functions of the Platform  through 
a live demo.  Many  questions were discussed , including on the different noti fication access  rights, 
email alerts, advanced search filters, multiple notification administrators, domestic coordination, and 
the development of a mobile application  to facilitate private sector use of the Platform. There were 
over 150 connections  to the  "notifications clinic".  
 
__________  
 
4 The official launch of the ePing SPS&TBT Platform took place on 13 July 2022. See news item here: 
WTO | 2022 News items - Improved online platform launched to ease access to product information . 