for the Implementation of International Standards
related to Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures
ECONOMIC COOPERATION SUPPORT PROGRAMME (AECSP)
Disclaimer
This e-learning module has been developed for the teaching purposes and material contained in it is of general nature.
It is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice and the concepts and comments may not be applicable in all circumtances.
ECONOMIC COOPERATION SUPPORT PROGRAMME (AECSP)
What are the OIE International Standards?
Introduction
The OIE publishes four key standards for reference for WTO members.
Terrestrial Code
The Terrestrial Animal Health Code provides standards for improvement of animal health and welfare, as well as veterinary public health.
There are two volumes. the first volume describes general measures for early detection, notification, and control of pathogens.
The second volume is disease specific and provides recommended measures to prevent introduction of disease through importation of animals or animal products.
Terrestrial Manual
The Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals in the manual designed to accompany the terrestrial Animal Health Code.
It outlines internationally-agreed diagnostic laboratory methods and requirements for the production and control of vaccines and other biological products.
It is primarily targeted at laboratories, vaccine manufactures and regulatory authorities in Member Countries.
Aquatic Code
The Aquatic Animal Health Code provides standards for the improvement of aquatic health. The sanitary measures outlined in this set of standards can be used for prevention, early detection, reporting and control of pathogens in aquatic animals
Aquatic Manual
The Manual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals provides a standardised approach to diagnosis of the diseases listed in the Aquatic Animal Health Code.
It aims to facilitate health certification for trade in aquatic animals and aquatic animal products.
Resources
Codes and manuals are available in the resources tab. You can also access them online through the OIE website.
Using the OIE International Standards
There are a lot of different ways that Member Countries can use the OIE codes and manuals. Here are some examples.
There are many parts of the OIE International Standards that are important for the trade of animals and animal products.
Recall from the previous modules that the SPS Agreement encourages WTO Members to base sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures related to importation on international standards where they exist.
There are two ways to meet SPS Agreement requirements when importing animals or animal products:
- Use the sanitary measures outlined in the OIE International Standards
- Conduct full import risk analysis (IRA)
Note that when conducting full IRA, the OIE Standards’ chapter on IRA should be followed.
For many countries, the OIE International Standards provide appropriate sanitary measures to meet their Acceptable Level of Protection (ALOP).
In this case, a full IRA may not be necessary.
Countries can use the OIE International Standards to set their own SPS measures when importing animals or animal products.
Instead of conducting a full IRA, the importing country simply identifies hazards associated with the commodity and the applies OIE International Standards related to those hazards.
Further details on using the sanitary measures in the OIE International Standards instead of full IRA can be found in module 4.3.
This is the final slide of module 1.7. The four key points covered by this module are summarised here.
The WTO recognises the OIE as the standard setting body for animal health and encourages Member countries to use the OIE International Standards to meet their obligations under the SPS Agreement.
The OIE publishes two codes and two manuals as principle references for WTO members.
There are many ways to use the four core publications of the OIE, including as a basis for sanitary measures when importing animals or animal products.
In many cases, full IRA is not necessary and Member countries can opt to use the sanitary measures in the OIE International Standards instead.
ECONOMIC COOPERATION SUPPORT PROGRAMME (AECSP)
