Agriculture Ministers Say They're Concerned About Rise in Protectionism

The agriculture ministers from the largest economies around the world said they "are concerned about the increasing use of protectionist non-tariff measures, inconsistently with WTO rules." The ministers met in Buenos Aires July 27-28, and issued a statement at the end of the meeting about numerous issues, including trade. They said they are committed to setting sanitary and phytosanitary regulations on international standards and assessment of risk appropriate to the circumstances, and intend to "refrain from adopting unnecessary obstacles to international trade." The statement says they also "welcome and support the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) decision on developing a globally harmonized Electronic Phytosanitary Certification Basis (ePhyto) as a concrete and efficient way of facilitating international trade."