The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) is an essential agreement that regulates the safety of products traded globally. The SPS agreement was created to ensure that countries’ food safety and animal and plant health measures do not create unnecessary trade barriers.

The agreement requires member countries to implement science-based measures to protect human, animal, and plant health while preventing technical barriers to trade. The SPS agreement covers a broad range of issues related to the safety of food, plant and animal products, and other related matters.

The SPS agreement provides guidelines and a framework for countries to follow while setting their own SPS measures. The measures can include regulations, laws, and other administrative procedures aimed at ensuring the safety of products traded internationally. Such measures include the inspection of goods imported into the country, the certification of farms and processing plants, and the testing of foodstuffs for potential health hazards.

The agreement provides for a transparent and predictable process for assessing the safety of products. It requires countries to base their SPS measures on scientific evidence and to provide scientific justification where necessary. Additionally, the SPS agreement mandates that countries inform their trading partners when they are planning to introduce new SPS measures.

The SPS agreement also establishes a dispute settlement body to resolve disputes between WTO member countries regarding SPS measures. The dispute settlement body is an essential aspect of the SPS agreement as it provides a mechanism for resolving issues without resorting to trade sanctions.

Overall, the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures is vital in ensuring that international trade of food, plant, and animal products takes place in a safe and healthy manner. It provides a framework for member countries to follow while setting their own SPS measures and offers a transparent and predictable process for assessing the safety of products. The agreement is essential in preventing technical barriers to trade and promotes open, fair, and predictable trading systems globally.