inspection regime for agricultural products in june 2005 costa rica noted that as developed in document g sps gen 582 panamas new inspection system notified in april 2005 as g sps n pan 43 posed problems to several costa rican firms trying to export tomato paste milk and animal products to panama. panama had changed its rules regarding the inspection of plants without prior notification to the wto and provision of an adaptation period. although costa rican enterprises already had certifications from panamas ministry of health for exports of sweetened milk and animal products to panama now according to the new rules they also had to undergo inspection by the ministry of agriculture. costa rica had unsuccessfully requested panama to avoid the second inspection. costa rica had also requested that panama provide the risk assessment and scientific justification supporting this new requirement. argentina canada colombia the european communities and the united states reported experiencing similar difficulties accessing the panamanian market. argentina had sanitary difficulties in relation to fmd and bureaucratic difficulties which did not seem to be designed to protect animal health in panama see panama- fmd restrictions . the european communities had suddenly been faced with a new panamanian health legislation referring firstly to a system which seemed to link obtaining an import licence for panama to a payment and secondly to an inspection system which would be paid for by the exporting country. the united states recalled an issue raised at the march 2005 meeting of the committee concerning the expansion of panamas inspection programme to most food processing establishments and the non notification of this significant change in panamas import regime. canada had been experiencing problems with panamas requirement for plant-by-plant approvals for meat exports and the recent changes to panamas inspection regime. panama reminded the committee that it was the first time that this issue of plant inspection was raised by costa rica before the sps committee. panamas inspection regime followed the fundamental principles of the sps agreement and of oie and ippc standards. risk assessment methods comprised two parts the protection of panamas health status and the functioning of the ministry of agriculture. the excellent quality of panamas exports of cattle and dairy products was due to a stringent application of the sps measures domestically and to imports. because of its geographical situation as a hub for world trade panama was exposed to a greater risk of introduction of pest and animal diseases and therefore had to undertake a risk assessment prior to authorizing imports from countries affected by exotic diseases. the risk assessment undertaken by the panamanian authorities would shortly be given to the costa rican delegation. in february 2007 panama recalled costa ricas concerns regarding its inspection regime in particular with regard to dulce de leche and tomatoes as detailed in document g sps gen 582. following a number of bilateral meetings in october 2006 costa rican officials had issued a communication indicating the resolution of these issues. in june 2007 costa rica recognized that panama had established a new regulation and on the basis of an analysis of this costa rica concluded that its concerns had been resolved.