• How to further develop and strengthen national enquiry points and notification processes through technical cooperation? 
  
  
• An agreement to establish a comprehensive, issue-specific, list of competent representatives in the fields of animal health, plant health and food safety. 
  
  
• To encourage an open system of timely notification and counter-notification of planned and existing SPS measures. 
  

Problem Identification and Resolution:

• To identify and facilitate resolution of SPS related problems between Parties. In this regard, the Consultative Group may examine the usefulness of referrals to recognized experts for non-binding technical advice or recommendations. 
  
  
• How best to use the good offices of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the International Office of Epizootics and the International Plant Protection Convention, as well as their relevant regional bodies within the hemisphere for advice and assistance on problems arising between Parties or identified by the Consultative Group? 
  

Operational Guidelines:

• Establishing operational guidelines to facilitate the effective and timely implementation of the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement within the hemisphere in a manner which does not create new rights or obligations. For example, in situations where an importing party conducts a risk assessment for the purposes of establishing equivalence or approving products, the guidelines could encourage that the assessment be carried out in the time strictly necessary to gather, process and analyse the information pertinent to the assessment, and propose written justification in situations of undue delay. 
  

Institutional Cooperation:

• How can regulatory authorities within FTAA countries better cooperate in order to improve the effectiveness of their regulatory/approval systems (e.g. biotechnology) and enhance collaborative surveillance activities on issues such as zoonotic diseases and emerging pathogens? 
  
  
• How can FTAA countries share their experiences vis-à- vis risk assessment methodologies, principles and practices? 
  

Hemispheric Coordination in Multilateral and International Fora:

• Prioritizing sectoral interests and coordinating positions in relevant international standards-setting bodies and within the WTO SPS Committee. 
  
  
• Hemispheric strategies, positions and priorities to further equivalency work in both the relevant international bodies and amongst Parties. 
  
  
• How to improve the ability of international standards-setting bodies to incorporate and reflect in their work the positions and views of all FTAA countries? 
  

Technical Assistance:

• How to design and deliver effective programs of technical assistance and cooperation amongst FTAA Parties to facilitate achievement of all the above issues?