restrictions on imports of chinese potted plants in growing medium china indicated that us prohibitions on the importation of chinese penjing in growing medium continued almost six years after the risk analysis had been finished and the protocol had been signed. the united states had relied on the excuse of domestic legal procedures and the need to coordinate work between the relevant government agencies to delay solving the problem. china requested the united states to notify its work procedures concerning the removal of measures prohibiting imports of plants and plant products in compliance with the transparency provisions of the sps agreement. china failed to understand why the united states had proposed to solve only the problem of the importation of one of the types of penjing plants in growing medium instead of considering the five types for which the risk analysis had been completed. the european communities supported the concerns raised by china and noted that it had run into the same difficulties with other varieties of potted plants. the european communities urged the united states to find a rapid solution to the problem. the united states noted that the issue of penjing in growing medium had been the subject of extensive discussions with china. the united states had been working actively to evaluate chinas proposed importation but the importation of plants in growing medium was more complicated from a risk mitigation perspective than importation of bare root plants. while examination of bare root plants could detect certain pests or disease problems inspection of potted plants necessarily involved the removal of the plant from the pot and the growing medium and could damage the plant and reduce its commercial value. although the assessment of the risk to plant health posed by the importation of the five species of penjing was essentially concluded other risks needed to be evaluated before determination if the importation presented an acceptable risk. us regulatory requirements for imported plants and growing medium reflected the need to prevent the introduction of pests and disease that could seriously undermine or compromise native ecosystems as well as cultivated plants and this work was ongoing. the 1997 protocol between the united states and china reflected agreement on the technical issues relating to production inspection and quarantine requirements for chinese penjing that were necessary but not sufficient conditions for imports to occur. the protocol could not take effect until the risk assessments had been completed and the necessary regulatory and notification processes had run their course. the united states acknowledged the importance that china attached to this issue and indicated their commitment to reaching a mutually satisfactory resolution as soon as possible. in march 2004 china stated that the us rule on the importation of artificially dwarfed plants in growing media from china was unnecessary and not viable given chinas production system. chinas proposed measures were rejected by the united states. the united states reported that the risk analysis for five varieties of penjing was completed. on 16 january 2004 a final rule authorizing the importation of five varieties of chinese origin penjing plants in approved growing media had been published and notified as g sps n usa 431 add1. this rule built upon an existing regulation that was first published in august 2002 and notified as g sps n usa 431. the 2002 rule remains applicable and required high risk artificially dwarfed plants including penjing to be produced in phytosanitary secure conditions for two years prior to export. however plants less than two years in age were not subject to the two-year quarantine requirement due to a lower risk profile. this new regulation provided china with additional market opportunities and the united states would continue bilateral discussions with china. in april 2008 china noted that this long-standing concern was still not resolved des