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 NAPPO/NAFTA TERMS OF REFERENCE
    April 28, 1998
TERMS OF REFERENCE
for the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO)  In support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - SPS Committee
The North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) was created under Article VIII of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) which provides for the establishment of regional plant protection organizations as coordinating bodies.  These regional organizations cooperate with the IPPC in developing and promoting the use of international standards.

The NAPPO Cooperative Agreement of October 1976 highlights the importance of on-going cooperation between the three NAPPO countries in preventing the introduction into, and the spread within North America, of quarantine pests of plants and noxious weeds; and in fostering the conservation of plant resources.  The key method of achieving this protection is through the harmonization of phytosanitary measures in regional (NAPPO) and international (IPPC) standards.

NAPPO Position Paper 945-037 clearly sets out the role of NAPPO in providing technical assistance to the NAFTA SPS Committee in dispute resolution and in the development of regional phytosanitary standards.

Canada, Mexico and the United States, therefore, reconfirm NAPPO's role as the regional phytosanitary standard setting organization and agree that:
  • NAPPO is willing, upon request to provide technical assistance to the NAFTA SPS Committee in order to assist the Committee in dispute resolution;
  • This technical assistance could include, for example, the development of regional standards; the establishment of scientific panels to provide recommendations to the NAFTA-SPS Committee on particular issues; providing the names of international experts who might contribute to the resolution of the dispute; the review of Pest Risk Assessments; and other tasks which may be agreed upon by the two parties, within the limits of the financial resources of the two parties.
  • NAPPO will continue to play a key role, as per the priority document 97-02 within the region hemisphere and internationally in the development and uniform application of phytosanitary measures for the facilitation of global trade.
  • NAPPO will be prepared to consider NAFTA requests to the NAPPO agenda, at their work planning sessions at the annual general meeting, or via meetings of the Executive Committee whenever they occur.
  • The NAPPO annual report and work plan will be available to the NAFTA SPS Committee upon request or via the NAPPO homepage.

Comments by e-mail to Ian McDonell, Executive Director, NAPPO
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