Urgently clarify SPS measures in food exports

Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) are a type of legal measure used in the Global Trade Agreement to control risks to human, animal, and plant health from diseases, epidemics, or other harmful effects from food and agricultural products. Recently, the Prime Minister of the Government has requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to remove obstacles as hundreds of tons of dragon fruit and pepper are stuck in cold storage, unable to be exported to the EU due to difficulties in obtaining food safety certificates. This is a signal indicating the urgent need for transparency in SPS measures for food exports. Transparency in SPS brings dual benefits In the context of global economic integration, transparency in SPS has become a core element to help Vietnam enhance its competitiveness in food exports. As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Vietnam is committed to complying with the SPS Agreement, ...