WTO Committee Hears Concerns About Members' Food Safety Restrictions, Etc.
A World Trade Organization committee dealing with food safety and animal and plant health met on July 10 and 11, where it heard concerns about proposed new European Union limits on cadmium in cocoa and chocolate, and agreed to accept a number of additional organizations as observers, three of them from Africa, said the WTO. The committee discussed five new specific trade concerns and nine that had been raised before. The new issues were: from Argentina about Japan’s foot-and-mouth-disease restrictions, and access to the U.S. market for fresh lemon; from the EU about Schmallenberg virus restrictions; and from India about Taiwan’s maximum residue levels on coffee and the EU’s testing of pesticide residues. The WTO also said that the committee discussed the resolution of Costa Rica’s concerns about the U.S. prohibition of ornamental plants larger than 18 inches.
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Members Call for Clarification, Grace Period on EU Cadmium in Cocoa and Chocolate Measures
With respect to the EU’s limits on cadmium in cocoa and chocolate, some members urged the EU to clarify the contribution of different types of chocolate to consumers’ weekly or monthly cadmium intake, to work with scientific experts to establish an agreed method for setting maximum permitted levels, and to research and examine more data on the subject, to comply with the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement’s requirements and to be consistent in setting its standards for various products. They also referred to recommendations from a workshop on cadmium in cocoa and cocoa products held at the London headquarters of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO, www.icco.org) and called for the EU to give producers at least five years to adjust, the WTO said.
The EU said it is listening to concerns, particularly about the impact on small farmers, and is planning a phase-in period to allow producers to adjust
Committee Also Discusses Indian & Argentine Concerns about U.S. Measures, Etc.
The committee also discussed nine concerns that had been raised before, including, among other things: from Argentina, the U.S. failure to recognize South Patagonia as Foot and Mouth Disease-free and to import beef from north of the 42nd parallel; from India, U.S. default Maximum Residue Limits, limits of determination or limits of quantification on basmati rice; and from the U.S. and EU, Vietnam’s ban on offals.