SPS国家通报机构(NNA)
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SPS咨询点(NEP)
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与SPS通报相关联的HS代码树映射
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参与有关SPS贸易问题的讨论
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3.100. Imports of food deemed "high risk" require a health certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country. High-risk foods comprise meat and meat products (including poultry meat), fish and fishery products, and packaged liquid eggs, egg whites, and yolks. Imports of medicines, vaccines, nutraceuticals, biologicals, breast-milk substitutes, and food supplements must be preapproved by the MFDA. To obtain preapproval, importers must register the products they wish to import with the MFDA. Imports of plants and animals require a sanitary/phytosanitary certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country. Imports of coconut palms are subject to additional phytosanitary requirements
3.101. During the period under review, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare introduced an automated system, the Agriculture Online System, to process the relevant SPS import documentation and issue approvals.[101] The system lists all import requirements for plants and animals. For its part, the MFDA is testing the trade modules of its own automated system. At the time of writing (March 2024), SPS certificates for imports still had to be submitted in paper format. The authorities note that both automated systems will be part of Maldives' NSW (Section 3.1.1)
3.102. The authorities note that the MFDA conducts random physical inspections of food imported into Maldives. Such inspections comprise visual inspection, temperature control, and label checks. According to the authorities, laboratory analysis is required only in exceptional circumstances, for example if the MFDA receives an alert. In such cases, the MFDA relies on the National Health Laboratory, which is accredited to ISO 17025 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories) and, according to published sources, follows CODEX analytical methods.[102] The National Health Laboratory also conducts tests on fish products for export (Section 4.1.2). Imports of plants and animals are also subject to physical inspection at the border
3.103. The MFDA is present in four seaports (Malé, Hulhumalé, Hithadhoo, and Kulhudhuffushi) and two airports (Velana and Gan), while the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare is present in Velana International Airport and the ports of Malé and Hulhumalé
3.104. The MFDA has developed several food safety standards, which, according to published sources, are "formulated by adopting Codex standards".[103] MFDA standards include the Standard for Transport, Handling and Storage of Food (MFDA-FCD-STAN-7-2017); the National Standard for Labelling Pre‑packaged Food (MFDA-FCD-STAN-4-2014); the Standard for Importing Food Items for Personal Use (MFDA-FCD-STAN-6-2021); and standards for fish, eggs, and spices, and a guideline for drinking water. Several agencies have jointly developed a halal standard for exports of fish to Islamic markets
3.105. Food safety standards and other requirements are contained in public notices issued by the MFDA. According to the authorities, public notices usually stipulate grace periods of up to six months to allow businesses to familiarize themselves with the relevant requirements and adapt their production processes. Public notices are not subject to public comment periods. All public notices issued by the MFDA are published in the official gazette. The authorities note that in December 2019, the MFDA issued a public notice stating that CODEX standards apply whenever no Maldivian standard exists
3.106. The use of risk analysis in the development and enforcement of SPS requirements and related inspections appears to be limited. The authorities note that risk analysis approaches are applied in the context of establishment audits, inspections, complaints and food alert management, and product registration and pre-authorizations. It has been reported that, even though officials have received training by FAO and WHO on risk assessment processes, they find it difficult to apply risk assessment tools due to a lack of data.[104]
3.107. Maldives has not submitted any notification to the WTO SPS Committee. Its notification authority and enquiry point is the MEDT. No specific trade concerns have been raised against Maldives in the WTO SPS Committee, nor has Maldives raised any such concerns. Maldives is a member of Codex Alimentarius, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE), the and International Plant Protection Convention
3.97. The main legislation on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements is the Plant Protection Act, 2011; the Fisheries Act, 2019; and the Public Health Act, 2011. SPS regulations include the Regulation on the Import of Livestock; Regulation on Import, Produce, and Sale of Breast Milk Substitutes; Regulation on Fishery Export Licensing; Regulation on Port Health; and Plant Quarantine Regulation. A new Food Safety Act (Act No. 6/2024) was ratified in May 2024 and will come into effect in August 2024
3.98. The main competent authorities on SPS matters are the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare, responsible for plant and animal health, and the MFDA, which operates under the Ministry of Health, and is responsible for food safety
3.99. During the period under review, the MFDA published a Food Safety Policy, to be implemented over the period 2017-26.[99] The policy seeks to "advance the national food safety system based on national and international standards aimed at safeguarding human, animal, and plant health and the facilitation of trade through the application of science based principles, enabled by an integrated institutional framework, effective interagency collaboration and appropriate legislation, as well as a strengthened public/private sector partnership".[100]
TBT咨询点
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参与关于TBT贸易问题的讨论
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3.86. Maldives' standards system remains underdeveloped. There is no general legislation on standards and quality infrastructure. The MEDT has a Standards and Metrology Section (SMS) under its Fair Trade Department. The SMS has prepared a Cabinet Paper on Quality Infrastructure seeking guidance from the new Government, which took office in November 2023, on the future direction of policy in this area. The SMS provides legal metrology services upon request
3.87. Several ministries are involved in the development of standards in Maldives, including the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA), the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, and the Ministry of Tourism. There is no uniform method for the development and adoption of standards across standards-setting bodies, nor is there a publicly available catalogue of standards
3.88. Technical regulations are developed by ministries and agencies in their respective areas of competence. The authorities note that it is common practice in Maldives to conduct public consultations on draft regulations, even though there is no legal requirement to do so. Public consultations are also part of the process leading to the adoption of draft bills in Parliament
3.89. In principle, technical regulations are published in the official gazette, and are only available in Dhivehi. There is no central registry of technical regulations available to the public. No mechanism is in place that would allow the SMS to identify and, if necessary, notify draft technical regulations to the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), though the authorities note that the Cabinet Paper on Quality Infrastructure proposes to establish such a mechanism. The authorities also said that they needed technical assistance to comply with the TBT Agreement's notification requirements
3.90. Each agency is responsible for the enforcement of technical regulations in its area of competence. In general, the MCS enforces regulations at the border
3.91. Maldives does not have an official accreditation body
3.92. The MFDA's National Health Laboratory, which has been accredited to ISO 17025, supports Maldives' food control system (Section 3.3.3). In 2020, Maldives published a National Policy on Health Laboratories with assistance from the World Health Organization. The Policy contains a set of strategies to strengthen Maldives' clinical and health laboratory system, which is regulated under the Ministry of Health's Quality Assurance and Regulation Division.[96]
3.93. At the regional level, the MEDT is a member body of the South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO), which is a specialized body of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). SARSO was set up in 2011 to develop harmonized standards for the South Asia region.[97] SAARC has developed and published standards for food and agricultural products; building materials; and electrical, electronic, telecommunications, and information technology equipment.[98]
3.94. Maldives is a party to the SAARC Agreement on "Multilateral Arrangement on Recognition of Conformity Assessment". The Arrangement, which came into effect on 18 July 2017, seeks to facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results among SAARC parties
3.95. At the international level, Maldives has designated the Fair Trade Departments of the MEDT as its enquiry point under the TBT Agreement. Maldives has not yet submitted its one-time notification on its organizational setup for the implementation of the TBT Agreement, nor has it made any other notification to the WTO TBT Committee. Neither has Maldives raised any specific trade concerns there
3.96. Maldives is not a member of the International Organization for Standardization or a member (or participant in the affiliate country programme) of the International Electrotechnical Commission