Until recently, the issue of regionalization was only superficially addressed in both practice and scholarship compared to other provisions of the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. The notion of regionalization, established in Article 6 of the SPS Agreement, secures that SPS measures are not based on political borders of the Members but adapted to the specific conditions of regions. Thus, Article 6 establishes an important right of the Members to ensure access to other Members’ markets for products originating in disease-free areas. Recently, several disputes with respect to regionalization were brought before the WTO dispute settlement system. This article considers how, in Russia – Pigs (EU), the Panel and the Appellate Body clarified the SPS Agreement’s provisions on regionalization, furthering previous conclusions and identifying what Members can expect from future applications of the regionalization provisions of the SPS Agreement.
Legal Issues of Economic Integration