Analysis of China’s WTO/SPS notifications from 2012 to 2021

Abstract

ObjectiveWhile reviewing the notification of sanitary and phytosanitary （SPS） measures in China in the past 10 years and carrying out relevant research on the notification of SPS measures in China， the shortages in the implementation of SPS notification transparency work were analyzed， and suggestions were put forward for further improving the SPS transparency work， which can provide reference for further strengthening the notification of SPS measures in China and better fulfilling the obligation of transparency.MethodsChina’s SPS notification from 2012 to 2021 was obtained from the SPS Information Management System developed by the WTO Secretariat. This paper made a statistical analysis on the number of SPS notifications， different types of SPS notifications and notification measures from 2012 to 2021 in China by further collation， summary and translation. And the notification of SPS measures of China’s major trading partners was obtained through the system.ResultsFrom 2012 to 2021， China notified the WTO/SPS secretariat of 743 SPS measures， including 736 regular notifications， 5 emergency notifications and 2 supplement notifications. In terms of areas involved， 443 items were notified of SPS national standards on National Food Safety Standards related to food additives.ConclusionChina has fulfilled the WTO/SPS transparency obligation， while there are still some problems such as the subsequent changes were not notified in a timely manner. The transparency of WTO/SPS should be further strengthened and improved in the future.

Keywords

• china
• wto
• sps measures
• notification
• food safety