The government of Sweden has pledged SEK 40 million over the period 2020-2023 to help developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) participate more actively in agricultural trade.
This grant to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) aims to support developing countries in complying with international food safety, animal and plant health standards.
The objective is to increase their access to global and regional markets and contribute to sustainable economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction, in line with the STDF’s Strategy (2020-2024).
The pledge was made to the WTO on 9th December 2020.
WTO Deputy Director-General Alan Wolff said: “We thank Sweden for this generous contribution, which will help developing countries and LDCs to maximize the benefits of trade by improving their ability to comply with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements.
“Sweden is one of the biggest contributors to our technical assistance activities and is demonstrating once more its continued commitment to helping developing countries and LDCs participate more actively in global agricultural markets.”
“For Sweden, international trade is the key to development, and I am happy we can continue our long-term commitment to developing countries by supporting the STDF. It is an important part of our support within the broader framework of Aid for Trade to further integrate these countries so that they fully benefit from the possibilities presented through global trade”, Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Trade, Anna Hallberg said.
The STDF is a global coordination platform that connects diverse public and private sector organizations across agriculture, health, trade, and development to share experiences, identify opportunities for collaboration and promote a more coherent approach to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) capacity development.
The STDF provides support and funding for the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative SPS projects that promote compliance with international standards and other SPS requirements.
The STDF was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the WTO, which houses and manages the STDF partnership.
Overall, Sweden has donated just over CHF 56 million to the various WTO trust funds over nearly 20 years.
Between 2nd to 13th November 2020, the Committee on SPS Measures held a meeting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the SPS Agreement and reflected on future challenges to facilitate trade in safe food.
The meeting saw a high level of engagement, with over 200 delegates attending remotely, and members addressed a high number of specific trade concerns. The Committee approved the request of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development for ad hoc observer status, the first new observer organization since 2016.
Discussions focused on a variety of topics, including actions related to COVID-19 that affect trade, restrictions and approval procedures for imports of animal and plant products, and pest risk assessments (PRAs), pesticide policies, and maximum residue levels (MRLs).
They also discussed certificate requirements for food derived from genetically engineered plants and the impact on third parties of Phase 1 of the Economic and Trade Agreement between the United States and China.
On COVID-19, Canada and the United States raised concerns regarding China’s actions affecting trade in food and agricultural products. China explained that the measures were provisional, science-based, in agreement with WTO rules and relevant provisions of international organizations, and were aimed at protecting people’s lives.
