Part III World Trade Law and Regional Trade Agreements, XV The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)

Subject(s):

International investment law — International monetary law — Specific trade agreements

This chapter presents an overview of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). The SPS Agreement establishes standards for trade restrictions which protect the life and health of humans, animals, and plants. The SPS Agreement ‘applies to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures which may, directly or indirectly, affect international trade’ and requires that ‘[s]uch measures shall be developed and applied in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement’. In legal terms, the SPS Agreement has a double function: it subjects even non-discriminatory and otherwise GATT-consistent measures to rather detailed requirements. At the same time, conformity of measures with the SPS Agreement always signifies conformity with GATT.