International standards and obligations

Contents

•  
•  What are international plant quarantine rules?
•  How are international plant quarantine rules set?
•  The IPPC Secretariat homepage

What are international plant quarantine rules?

International rules are set out in agreements known as treaties. Often treaties set out general principles and allow members or signatories to the agreement to make specific sub-agreements or standards. Australia is a signatory to (ie. member of) a number of treaties in the area of plant quarantine.

The two agreements that relate most closely to plant quarantine are the

• WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (known as the WTO/SPS Agreement), and the
  
• IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention)

The major obligation on members (including Australia and most of our trading partners) under these treaties is not to restrict trade more than is necessary to maintain quarantine security.

Australia (and most of our trading partners) must use scientific principles in setting quarantine measures and follow relevant international standards.

The use of relevant international standards is not required in some clearly defined situations. These agreements also encourage Australia, and other developed country members, to provide technical assistance to developing countries.

As a signatory to these agreements, Australia stands to gain increased market access opportunities because specific import conditions must be removed if a scientific analysis shows that they are unnecessarily restricting trade.

Australia therefore has a way of arguing against import conditions that unfairly block access to new markets. International standards developed under the International Plant Protection Convention help build arguments against unjustified barriers as well as demonstrate that justified concerns of importing countries can be addressed.

How are international plant quarantine rules set?

The primary agreement that affects how Biosecurity Australia sets quarantine measures is the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO/SPS Agreement).

As well as setting an international framework, this agreement requires members to adopt standards developed in most circumstances by particular bodies. The three specific bodies are the

• IPPC
• Codex Alimentarius, and
• OIE.

The IPPC is the body relevant to plant quarantine. There are thirty four phytosanitary standards in place and more are being developed.

The IPPC Secretariat homepage

Please refer to the IPPC Secretariat homepage for information on the IPPC and related issues.