GATT has a responsibility in national treatment, but the GATT standards are insufficient to deal with concerns of health and protection. The Accord on Technical Barriers to Trade, reached during the Tokyo Round of negotiations, was the first official agreement. In addition to the health measures, this agreement was extended to all “technical regulations” and “standards.” During the Uruguay Round, a particular standard was established based on these new contracts. ‘TBT Agreement’ is what it was called. The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Accord (the SPS agreement) was also drafted during the negotiations. “Sanitary and phytosanitary” (SPS) agreements are essential to the well-being of humans, animals, and plants. Either directly or indirectly, it has an impact on global commerce. Import bans and limitations are common SPS measures. There shall be a formal investigation to ascertain the truth of any concern raised by this measure. Some measures are not meant to limit commerce, but they are often used as a method to do so. These agreements with SBS and TBT come within that category.
SPS agreement states that all members are entitled to adopt sanitary and phytosanitary measures that are essential for the protection of the environment and living organisms.
According to Article 2.2, all SPS measures must be founded on scientific principles and supported by scientific data, and should only be used when absolutely necessary to safeguard the environment. Article 2.3 guarantees that SPS measures do not arbitrarily discriminate between members when the same or comparable conditions prevail. Article 2.3. (MFN and NT type). Disputes have been resolved by a narrow interpretation of it. Member countries must adhere to GATT 1994 requirements in order to implement SPS measures, Article 2.4 states.
Technical, standard, and procedural measures are all included in the TBT agreement. In terms of product features and manufacturing procedures, the technical requirements include administrative provisions such as terminologies, packaging and processes.
Normative measures are papers that are frequently re-used for the sake of establishing norms and recommendations.
Any method used to establish the needs of technical and standard rules.
As far as product standards are concerned, global harmonisation has not yet been accomplished, and there is a good chance that the specific standard will never be attained. The term “Harmonization” appears in Article 3 of the SPS agreement. Its provisions encourage domestic SPS measures to be based on international standards, guidelines, and recommendations. These principles will serve as a model for other countries to follow when it comes to safeguarding people, animals, and plants.
Continuous usage of some biological, chemical, or conditional elements can be deadly to the surrounding environment. Use of pesticides and insecticides, for example.
Court rulings:
An appeal to the Appellate body from Japan said that Japan had put just a few quarantine measures in place for the colding moth, a pest that eats fruit such as apples, cherries, and pears. Imported plants and goods must be checked by plant quarantine personnel at all major airports before they reach Japanese territory, because plant protection is vital under quarantine regulations. In addition, a look around the property was done.
The panel said that Japan’s variety testing requirement should be kept because of the country’s broad diversity of plants, which have less variances. In light of Japan’s inability to present evidence, it was concluded that Japan had broken article 5.7.
Article 3.1 of the EC-Hormones Treaty explains the disagreement as “based on” rather than “conforming to.” ‘Founded or constructed’ is a typical way of referring to something that had a predecessor.
In accordance with proviso 3, the appellate body issued certain guidelines. Article3.1,3.2, and 3.3 all apply and address each other, rather than the Panel’s Characteristics of Article 3.1.
Author: Monalisa Chandra,
NLUJAA 2021 Research Scholar
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