In this lesson, you will learn how the principles of the SPS Agreement affect regulatory actions, and you will learn about additional requirements the United States has for the regulatory process. As discussed earlier in this module, a country’s system and process for imposing sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions must be consistent with the SPS Agreement. Therefore, regulators must keep in mind the basic principles of the SPS Agreement as they develop such restrictions. However, regulators normally need to keep other things in mind as well. For this reason, the SPS Agreement also gives countries flexibility to develop a system consistent with local priorities, legal structures, and statutes. In the United States, there are statutes, executive orders, and other guidance that affect all rulemaking, including those on sanitary and phytosanitary issues. These analyses do not deal directly with SPS issues, but can provide valuable information for decision-makers to consider in the context of evaluating a market access request.