Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Measures) is a concept and a set of rules embodied in the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, an international treaty and provision of the World Trade Organization (WTO). SPS Measures are regulations governments apply to protect human, animal, or plant life or health from risks like pests, diseases, and contaminants that travel through food and agricultural trade.
The SPS Agreement was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and entered into force on 1 January 1995, with the establishment of the WTO. It was created to solve the problem of countries using health and safety standards as disguised non-tariff barriers to restrict imports after tariffs were lowered.
The core mechanism is outlined in Article 2, which grants members the right to take necessary SPS measures, but mandates that they must be based on scientific principles and not be maintained without sufficient scientific evidence (Article 2.2). Measures must not arbitrarily discriminate or constitute a disguised restriction on international trade. Article 3 encourages members to harmonize their national measures with international standards. The principle of Equivalence (Article 4) requires an importing country to accept an exporting country's different measures if they achieve the same level of health protection.
The Agreement connects directly to the WTO and is closely related to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). It promotes harmonization with standards set by three key international bodies: the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) for food safety, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) (now WOAH) for animal health, and the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) for plant health.
The operation of the SPS Agreement is periodically reviewed under Article 12.7. While the core principles remain, the 6th Review was discussed in September 2024 and aimed for conclusion in March 2025 to address modern challenges. The WTO SPS Committee continues to review specific trade concerns, with a record 76 discussed in March 2026.