WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3731/97 by Daniel VARELA SUANZES- CARPEGNA to the Commission. Technical barriers to imports
C 223/20 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 7. 98 The Commissionís communication on consumer health and food safety (1) and the green paper on the general principles of food law in the European Union (1) testify to the importance that the Commission will always attach to protection of human health. Awareness of its importance is also reflected in Agenda 2000 (2). It should be possible in the reform of agricultural policy for an approach to be taken that maintains a proper balance between agriculture, consumer expectations on food quality and safety and environmental protection requirements. (1) COM(97) 176 final. (2) COM(97) 2000 final. (98/C 223/20) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3731/97 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (21 November 1997) Subject: Technical barriers to imports Although agreement to remove technical barriers to imports was reached among the signatory states to GATT, and subsequently the WTO, in reality this is far from the case. Day-to-day experience shows that technical barriers without any technical justification continue to exist, as is the case with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Canadian laws on imports of processed fishery products. Does the Commission not consider that, in the interests of fairer and more balanced trade, these countries should accept Community rules as a legitimate defence of Community interests? Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan on behalf of the Commission (13 January 1998) Following the establishment of the World trade organisation (WTO), a large number of technical trade barriers have been eliminated by its members, but some do still exist. The Honourable Member refers to specific national standards set up to protect human health and life. All countries apply such standards, including the Community, which generally speaking has chosen to set its standards at a relatively high level. According to the WTO SPS Agreement sanitary measures should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect human animal or plant life or health and be based on scientific principles and not be maintained without sufficient scientific evidence. Furthermore, they must not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between Members, where identical or similar could thus prevail or function as a disguised restriction on trade. The measures should either be based on international standards, such as the Codex Alimentarius or the International office of Epizootics or be based on a decision to have a higher level of protection than the one achieved by the international standards if there is scientific justification, or as a consequence of the level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection a member determines to be appropriate in accordance with the relevant provisions of Article 5 of the WTO SPS code (risk assessment). As a general rule, the Community supports the policy of preparing international standards inside the relevant multilateral fora, thereby gradually eliminating the various national technical trade barriers. The Commission is not aware of any current import problems related to United States or Canadian legislation for canned fisheries products