HC Deb 09 June 1999 vol 332 cc345-6W
Mr. Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what elements of the World Trade Agreement prohibit(a) the United Kingdom and (b) the European Union from placing restrictions on the import of animal-based foodstuffs liable to contain high levels of antibiotic substances; which officials (i) negotiated, (ii) agreed to and (iii) endorsed on behalf of the negotiating parties those elements; and what ratification procedure was followed in (1) the European Union and (2) the member states. [86231]

Mr. Wilson

UK and EU regulation in this area is governed by the WTO Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. This Agreement recognises the right of members to take measures necessary for the protection of human, animal or plant health. It requires, however, that any trade measures are based on scientific principles and are not maintained without sufficient scientific evidence. In a case where insufficient scientific evidence is currently available, WTO Members are allowed to impose a temporary ban while a thorough risk assessment is carried out. This agreement formed part of the WTO Agreement which concluded the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations on 15 December 1993. The WTO Agreement was negotiated by the European Commission in consultation with EC member states under the provisions of the EC Treaties. The Agreement was signed on behalf of the United Kingdom by the former right hon. Member for Hove, the then Minister for Industry, in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994. Under the Ponsonby rule, the Agreement was laid before Parliament in May 1994 and debated on 14 June 1994.

The United Kingdom's instrument of Ratification to the WTO Agreement was deposited with the GATT Legal Adviser on 30 December 1994. For the EC, the WTO Agreement was accepted by means of a Council decision and assent given by the European Parliament. The Agreement entered into force on 1 January 1995. The main WTO Agreement was published as Treaty Series No. 57 of 1996 (Cm 3277), and the Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures as No. 54 of 1996 (Cm 3275). The UK's certified copy of the WTO Agreement resides in the Public Record Office.