One of the papers revealed that EU negotiators want the SPS chapter of the negotiations to build on the existing Veterinary Equivalence Agreement (VEA) between the EU and the US, and make it “part of the overall architecture of any future comprehensive Free Trade Agreement”.
It stated that SPS measures should be based on science and international standards, with measures imposed without sufficient science applied only “to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant health” and reviewed “within a reasonable period of time”.
However, it added that while it was important to seek to resolve market access issues on both sides, all parties should maintain the right to appraise and manage risks in accordance with the level of protection they deemed appropriate.
“It should be without prejudice the right of the EU and Member States to adopt and enforce, within their respective competences, measures necessary to pursue legitimate public policy goals such as public health and safety,” it said.
The paper also encouraged technical cooperation to build confidence between the two sides and said that transparency should be improved “by bringing certainty consistency and no discrimination to the adoption and application of SPS measures”.
Barriers to agricultural trade are expected to form a major part of the TTIP negotiations, which kicked off in Washington earlier this month. The EU wants the US to lift its ban on EU beef and relax its zero tolerance standards for listeria and E.coli 0157:H7 in meat. The US wants the EU to lift its ban on meat raised with growth promoter ractopamine and the prohibition of pathogen-reduction treatments for poultry.