multilateralmonitoringoffoodsafetylaw.docVIP

Multilateral Monitoring of Food Safety Law in China: The WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM), 2006–2014 Francis Snyder( ABSTRACT Established within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM) reviews periodically the trade policies of all WTO Members. The review includes many aspects of food safety regulation. China’s trade policy is reviewed every two years. This paper analyses in detail the reviews of China’s trade policy in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. It focuses in particular on food safety law and types of standards, alignment of domestic standards with international standards, the role of different domestic institutions, transparency and notification of food safety measures under the WTO agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), import and export, and geographical indications (GIs). It concludes that the WTO TPRM can contribute, within its mandate, to reform of Chinese food safety law and improvement of food safety in China. It notes that China has already undertaken substantial reforms of its system for regulating food safety. It recommends that China should continue to participate actively in the TPRM, and follow its own path with regard to alignment and learn selectively from other WTO Members. Key Words: China, Chinese food safety law, food safety, food standards, Public health, Consumer welfare, World Trade Organization, WTO Law, Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM), SPS Agreement, TBT Agreement.  This article is dedicated to the memory of Simon Roberts (1941–2014), until recently Professor of Law at the London School of Economics, whose publications on the anthropology of law never cease to stimulate the imagination. table of contentS I. Introduction 325 II. Multilateral Monitoring within the WTO 328 A. China’s WTO Rights and Obligations 328 B. The Transitional Review Mechanism 330 C. The Trade Policy Review