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Denis Prévost addresses in the chapter “Health Protection Measures as Barriers to EU Exports to China in the Framework of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures” in the book “China´s Influence on Non-Trade Concerns in International Economic Law” a non-trade concern that is to a large extent associated with an eventual conflict potential when confronted with trade liberalization: public health. Unrestrained trade liberalization in the area of food and agricultural products might lead to a higher presence of health risks in the regions importing these products, for instance in a form of insect pests, infectious animal diseases or food safety risks. In order to protect the health of their population, States might adopt protective measures leading to eventual restrictions of imported food and agricultural products. However, from the perspective of a strong supporter of trade liberalization, these measures might often conceal protectionist intentions, which might appear to be in a conflict with the World Trade Organization´s Agreement on Agriculture. The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures attempts to create certain balance on the one hand between the objective of trade liberalization and public health concerns on the other. The pertinent agreement introduces a set of measures and assessment requirements, including control mechanisms, which might be imposed on the products entering or leaving the domestic market. Due to the fact that the adoption of these measures is often in the competence of respective national States aiming at protecting their population, the positive contribution of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures rests in certain predictability and transparency with respect to other States wishing to distribute their products in the territory of the States adopting protective measures. The transparency requirements enshrined in the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures might be seen as beneficial in this regard. According to these criteria, exporting countries should be able to gain the information about the adoption of new or intended measures. The clear set of criteria as enshrined in the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures represents also a guarantee that the adoption of protective measures is based on objective scientific criteria. This approach might reduce the suspicion of protectionist motivations. Denis Prévost invites readers to learn more about these issues in his chapter.
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