measures on shrim in october 2012 ecuador flagged the drastic decrease in its shrim exports due to brazils regulation 39 that placed conditions on the authorization for shrim imports so as to prevent the introduction of white spot and yellow head virus. ecuador had spent considerable resources in protecting and preserving its shrim production from these two diseases through the residue and contaminant monitoring plans which had been provided to brazil. the brazilian authorities had indicated that the measures adopted in regulation 39 had been lifted however the brazilian ministry of agriculture published another standard 12 establishing procedures for import risk analysis that was yet to be implemented. bilateral discussions had resulted in information exchange and ecuador hoped for a rapid mutual solution to the issue. brazil noted that it had been informed of this trade concern at short notice and did not have sufficient time to prepare a substantive response. the concerns would be conveyed to the relevant authorities in the hope that a solution could soon be found. in march 2013 ecuador reiterated its concern regarding brazils import ban on shrimp. following brazils implementation of regulation 39 on 4 november 1999 ecuadors shrim exports to brazil first decreased and then completely stopped in 2000. brazil had justified its import restrictions on the basis that the measure protected the country from white and yellow spot diseases. however following the implementation of the residues and contaminants monitoring plan in 2007 ecuadors shrim entered markets that had stricter requirements than brazil e.g. the european union japan and north america. brazil had not provided the necessary information to justify its measures nor a risk assessment and ecuador considered that the measures were discriminatory and not in compliance with article 2 of the sps agreement. brazils ministry of fisheries had announced on 21 february 2013 that the risk identification phase of this issue would be concluded in two weeks but there was still no official statement on its outcome. ecuador urged brazil to provide information on this issue. brazil confirmed that a risk analysis on ecuadorian shrim was being conducted and was now in the phase of risk and hazard identification. this was a complex exercise given that the issue dealt with an aquaculture product. for this reason it had not been possible to conclude and release the report of the risk identification phase in march but the report was expected to be published soon. brazil looked forward to moving on to the subsequent phases of the risk analysis as soon as the report on hazard identification was published. in march 2014 meeting ecuador again urged brazil to complete the risk assessment within a reasonable time and stressed that ecuador had quarantine mechanisms in place to detect white spot disease in its fisheries. ecuador offered to provide information and enable inspections from the brazilian authorities in order to ensure compliance with brazils requirements and accelerate the process of risk assessment. brazil noted that the risk assessment was a complex task but the process was moving forward and brazil had concluded its public consultations. it was prepared to send an inspection delegation to ecuador in june as a follow-u to a questionaire sent in march. in october 2016 ecuador reiterated its concern regarding brazils suspension of shrim imports from ecuador. this measure was in effect since 2000 and aimed at protecting brazil from endemic pathologies such as white spot syndrome virus and yellowhead disease. both diseases also existed in brazil. ecuador emphasized the importance of shrim exports for its economy recalling that brazil had initiated an import risk assessment ira for ecuadorian shrim at the beginning of 2011. the first of the four steps of the ira had only been finalized in june 2013 and the second ste had not yet been concluded. ecua