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be prevented from spilling over to their territories, and providing information about any pest and disease situations. Putting in place nondiscriminatory measures for the domestic market, in synergy with the export and import controls.
B O R D E R M A N A G E M E N T M O D E R N I Z AT I O N
16 4 Sanitary and phytosanitary measures and border management
Market access. Exporting countries confront a range of requirements imposed by importing countries. Market access requests are decided on the basis of risk assessment procedures, for which the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the International Plant Protection Convention, and OIE—among others—have provided standards. Requirements include product and process standards and may also address producers and production facilities, production methods, storage and transport facilities, disinfection treatment, required certificates, and capacities of competent authorities. Importing countries commonly require certificates affirming product health and safety. They include veterinary health certificates for nearly all animals, animal products, and animal production inputs; phytosanitary certificates for nearly all plants, plant products, and plant production inputs; and, in many cases, food safety certificates for fresh and processed food. First time exports of most agricultural and food products to a country usually must be approved. Exporting countries usually are required to provide data on their pest and disease situations based on international standards (especially International Plant Protection Convention and OIE standards). Not providing such information may result in product bans based on the precautionary principle.4 Importing countries, however, may not ban imports of goods from countries with pests and diseases that are also widespread in the importing countries’ own territories and for which the importing countries have no control programs. International standards allow for establishing pest free or disease free zones that, in principle, can divide a country into different zones for export and import requirements. However, establishing such zones demands much capacity, and getting them recognized by trading partners is difficult. For animal products (including fishery products), many countries require preapprovals for imports, preapprovals that are given only if hygienic and structural conditions in the food processing plants
are acceptable. Such preapprovals may also depend on the ability of competent authorities to control the safety of exported products. Inspection teams from the importing country may visit the exporting country to verify—before market access is granted—that production, processing, and transport facilities, and the capacities of the competent authority, comply with importing country standards.5 Agricultural inputs—such as seed, feed, pesticides, and veterinary drugs—present high risks. Seed, other propagation materials, and live animals can carry new pests and diseases into a country. Importation therefore usually requires formal quarantine or post entry quarantine measures, and trade from countries with certain pests and diseases may be forbidden. Feed may contain pathogens (the pathogen responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, is a notorious example) and may be tainted with dangerous pollutants and toxins. Once these undesirable contaminants enter the food chain they cannot be removed, resulting in food products that are dangerous to consumers and possibly leading to export bans—so feed warrants intensive controls. The same applies to forbidden pesticides and veterinary drugs, or forbidden formulations of these substances. For animal and plant health issues, the capacity of public agencies and the relations between governments are crucial to gaining and maintaining market access. Private capacities play a less important role in market access for these issues—except for enterprises that deal with breeding stock or with seed and planting material.6 In contrast, for food safety, once market access has been obtained, responsibility lies mainly in the private sector—unless frequent noncompliance by an exporter triggers public intervention in the importing country.7 Most countries waive the risk assessment requirement for products that have long been imported without problems. But if noncompliance with import standards is frequent, if there is a case of a food hazard, if a plant or animal disease breaks out in the country of origin, or if quarantined pests and diseases are detected, then trade may be suspended until a risk assessment is conducted and special measures are agreed. Examples of suspensions include: • The European Commission’s ban on seafood products from China, Thailand, and Vietnam when forbidden antibiotics were detected. 265