Health and Safety

On a global level, the WTO administers various agreements on non-tariff barriers to the opening of world markets. They include the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreement and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) agreement. The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) is currently working on various fish trade-related disputes between member states generated by alleged violations to the TBT and SPS agreements. In the UN family, the joint FAO/World Health Organisation (WHO) Codex Alimentarius Commission sets the health and safety standards the WTO refers to in the SPS and TBT agreements. Other international governmental organizations (IGOs), especially standard-setting organizations, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), complete the framework.