'Operationalising' special and differential treatment of developing countries under the SPS Agreement

Special and differential treatment (SDT) of developing countries is provided for in many of the agreements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in order to take account of developing country1 constraints. However, the effectiveness and enforceability of these provisions has been called into question, and they are seldom relied upon in WTO dispute settlement proceedings. The need for effective SDT is particularly acute when it comes to WTO agreements creating extensive disciplines in areas of national regulation.One such agreement is the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). This article aims to evaluate the existing SDT provisions in the SPS Agreement, in order to determine the possibilities open to the Panel to give them an effective interpretation. While inspired by Argentina's initiative in the EC-Biotech dispute, it will not limit itself to an examination of the particular provision relied upon by Argentina, and the arguments it made in support of its claim. Instead, it will look more generally at SDT provisions in the SPS Agreement.