Streamlining Export Certificate Requirements for Food Products in the APEC Region

As economies have increasingly focused on food safety, the number and complexity of certificate requirements for imported foods have expanded rapidly. While some science-based certificate requirements may be necessary to verify the safety of imported foods, this proliferation strains both governments’ and companies’ ability to comply with and enforce certificate requirements. Consistent, transparent, risk-based application of requirements would more efficiently protect public health and also facilitate trade in safe food products.

This publication gives an overview of APEC’s initiative on streamlining export certificates in response to APEC Leaders having called in 2011 for, in particular, the reduction of “unnecessary requirements in official export certificates for agricultural products.” APEC Leaders’ 2011 Statement also called for eliminating “requirements that are not based on science and essential to ensuring food safety.”