IGTC President Gary C. Martin and Vice President Iliana Axiotiades enjoyed working with IGTC staff and representatives of IGTC Participants in Geneva this week. The successful meetings focused on advancing the IGTC agenda and operations. 

A highlight was an in-person meeting held with Tang-Kai Wang, Chair of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee and his colleagues at the WTO.  Attendees identified opportunities to strengthen the implementation of the WTO SPS Agreement and a global rules-based trading system building on the achievement of the “SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY DECLARATION FOR THE TWELFTH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE: RESPONDING TO MODERN SPS CHALLENGES” (link here). All current IGTC files have application to the implementation and application of the SPS Agreement in line with the themes identified in the declaration and our mutual interests to promote and facilitate the performance of the supply chain for grains, oilseeds, pulses and derived products

Other actions while in Geneva included meetings with government representatives to international organizations and meetings with accounting and banking service providers to advance business and administrative functions.

SPS Committee Chair Wang and his colleagues will again join us on September 7 in a virtual Global Grain Trade Round Table. We encourage broad and robust attendance at this meeting. All IGTC partners, corporate stakeholders, members, and government representatives in their respective countries are invited to join.