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WASHINGTON — In a statement released worldwide last week, the
Office of International Epizootics said it has become
"increasingly concerned about reports of international trade
disruptions involving the misinterpretation of OIE standards."
OIE is the scientific body responsible for international animal
health standards.
While carefully avoiding any direct reference, the statement
was an evident reaction to broadscale trade restrictions applied
against United States beef after the late-December discovery of BSE in
a Washington state dairy cow of Canadian origin. It serves as a
reminder to the countries imposing those bans that their actions
violate World Trade Organization treaty obligations.
In its statement, the group, a division of the World
Organization for Animal Health, said that recent published information
on categorization of countries by the OIE "indicates there are
some apparent misunderstandings" about OIE international
guidelines for trade in beef among member countries dealing with
bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
"The OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code contains
standards, guidelines and recommendations to be used by national
veterinary authorities to prevent the introduction of infectious
agents pathogenic for animals and humans into the importing country
during trade of animals and animal products, while avoiding
unjustified sanitary barriers," the statement said.
While the code describes conditions for the classification of
countries into one of five BSE risk categories, OIE does not assign
countries to all these categories. OIE currently identifies five
status levels for a beef exporting country, based on risk level: BSE-free,
provisionally BSE-free, at minimal risk of BSE, at moderate risk of
BSE, and at high risk of BSE.
Importing countries use these classifications in determining
specific import-export conditions. However, OIE was asked to examine
BSE country classifications voluntarily submitted to determine whether
they meet the conditions to be officially classified by OIE as "BSE-free"
or "provisionally BSE-free" as described under the code.
"The code draws attention to the obligations under the
provisions of the World Trade Organization-Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Agreement," the statement noted, "whereby an importing
country cannot be more trade-restrictive than necessary to achieve the
desired national level of protection. Its measures must not be
different from those applied to products within the domestic
market."
Trading rules for various commodities progress through an
increasing degree of restrictions commensurate with the risks
presented, OIE emphasized. For example, fresh meat may be imported
safely from a country of any BSE status but requires increasing
restrictions for each risk level. Thus, countries at high risk of BSE
require more severe measures applied to cattle and to the beef itself.
"The experts consider that, if these (risk-related)
measures are followed, the meat is safe," the OIE report stated.
It noted, however, that certain commodities, such as meat and bone
meal, should not be exported even from countries presenting a low BSE
risk.
"It is apparent that some member countries are applying
trade bans when an exporting country reports the presence of BSE,
without consulting the recommendations in the code or conducting a
risk analysis in accordance with its OIE and WTO obligations,"
OIE said. "While the code provides increasingly restrictive
recommendations which are commensurate with the level of BSE risk in
each of the country status categories, it does not recommend any other
ban than the above mentioned on trade of animals or specific animal
products."
With BSE in the European Union, Japan, Canada and the United
States, OIE noted that the existence of valid, up-to-date standards
failed to prevent major trade disruptions. This was due to "a
failure by many countries to apply the international standard when
establishing or revising their import policies," OIE said in its
statement. "This
has been particularly evident in the case of commodities for which the
code recommends that no restrictions be applied, regardless of the BSE
status of the exporting country.
"Except for short trade suspensions during investigation(s)
following a new epidemiological event, it is of particular concern to
the OIE that many countries apply trade bans when an exporting country
reports its first case of BSE, without having conducted a risk
analysis as described in the code," the statement concluded. "Such
situations penalize countries with a good and transparent surveillance
system for animal diseases and zoonoses, and which have demonstrated
their ability to control the risks identified. This may result in a
reluctance to report future cases and an increased likelihood of
disease spread internationally." |
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