Lesson 2: The SPS Agreement

Topic 2: What the SPS Agreement Does Not Cover

The SPS Agreement allows countries to use measures to protect themselves in several important ways. In this topic, you will learn about certain measures that are not covered by the SPS Agreement.

Objective:

  • Describe the differences between SPS measures and different types of measures covered by other WTO agreements. For example, measures covered by the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
Does it Fall Under the SPS Agreement?

The SPS Agreement covers all measures that protect human or animal health from food-borne risks, protect human health from animal- or plant-carried diseases, or protect animals and plants from pests or diseases. However, the SPS Agreement does not cover all types of protection that a country may wish to impose.

The SPS Agreement does not cover:

  • Environmental protection
  • Protection of consumer interests
  • General welfare of animals

There are other types of measures that might be confused with those covered by the SPS Agreement. For example, the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement covers technical regulations, voluntary standards, and the procedures that ensure that these regulations and standards are met. Measures covered by the TBT are identified by their type, not their purpose. Measures covered by the SPS Agreement are determined by their intent or goal. The measure is an SPS measure if the purpose of the measure is covered under the SPS agreement.

An example can be found in product labeling. The TBT Agreement covers information about nutrition and packaging requirements, while the SPS Agreement covers pesticide residue levels. Information about nutrition and packaging is provided to benefit consumers but has nothing to do with the overall safety of the product, while pesticide residue information relates directly to human health.

Learn more about the types of measures covered under the TBT and SPS agreements. Click the TBT and SPS tabs below, then click the hotspots to view examples.

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In this topic, you learned the types of measures that are not covered by the SPS Agreement. Specifically, you learned how measures covered under the SPS Agreement are different from those covered under Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement.

To continue, select the Lesson Summary from the Topics menu above or click here.