PhD Candidate Nguyễn Thị Thu Thảo

Lecturer in International Law Faculty, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law

Abstract

Food trade accounts for a major part of global trade, and domestic consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety of imported food. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), now rebranded as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), represents a new model of mega-regional trade agreements, to set higher standards for promoting trade liberalization and ensuring the right to health protection in general and the right to safe food in particular of the citizens of member states. Therefore, the CPTPP stipulates more provisions on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) of members compared with the provisions of the SPS Agreement. These rules can be called “SPS plus”. This article analyzes the development of “SPS plus” in regional trade agreements (RTA); expression “SPS plus” through regulations on risk assessment and scientific evidence in the CPTPP; opportunities and challenges in implementing “SPS plus” requirements for risk assessment and scientific evidence when enacting regulations to ensure the safety of imported food in Vietnam.