An Analysis on the relationship between sanitary and phytosanitary import procedures under the SPS Agreement of the WTO and the Advanced Informed Agreement procedures of the Biosafety Protocol

An Analysis on the relationship between sanitary and phytosanitary import procedures under the SPS Agreement of the WTO and the Advanced Informed Agreement procedures of the Biosafety Protocol

 

Title
An Analysis on the relationship between sanitary and phytosanitary import procedures under the SPS Agreement of the WTO and the Advanced Informed Agreement procedures of the Biosafety Protocol
Author
Yu Wen-Chen Shih
Keywords
 living modified organisms, World Trade Organisation,Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, import proceduresof genetically modified crops
Abstract
The impact of genetically modified crops on food supply security and on the
environment has been an on-going debate. From the viewpoint of biodiversity
conservation, the Biosafety Protocol provides procedural-based rules to regulate
the first transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs) through a
set of advanced informed agreement (AIA) procedures. On the other hand, the
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS
Agreement) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) authorizes its Member to
promulgate sanitary and phytosanitary measures to protect the domestic
environment. The compatibility of these two sets of import control procedures
hinges on the relationship between international environmental agreement and the
WTO. The level of import control is also related to how a government plans to
balance the interests of protecting its domestic environment and promoting the
development of biotechnology. All these issues are highly controversial and
attracted keen debate amongst scholars and practitioners. This paper will focus on the procedural design of these two sets of import control system and seek to avoid
potential conflict between these two regimes by proposing a set of procedures that
can meet the requirements under these two regimes. Meanwhile, the Biosafety
Protocol authorizes Parties to conclude bilateral, regional or multilateral
agreements with non-Parties concerning the transboundary movement of LMOs.
Taiwan is not a Party to the Protocol. This paper, thus, will discuss possible
strategies Taiwan may adopt when facing such negotiation
Abstract Article

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