SPS measure

An SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) measure is any requirement a country applies to protect human, animal, or plant life or health from pests, diseases, contaminants, or additives in traded goods. The WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) disciplines such measures, requiring them to be based on science and risk assessment, applied only to the extent necessary, and not used as disguised trade restrictions. It recognizes three standard-setting bodies as benchmarks: the Codex Alimentarius for food safety, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH/OIE) for animal health, and the IPPC for plant health. Import health certificates and inspections give effect to SPS measures at the border.