import ban on livestock in june 1998 the united states sought clarification from turkey whether its fmd-related import ban on cattle and meat products had ever been officially published or notified to the wto. the united states requested an explanation of the measures scientific basis especially in view of the fmd-free status of the united states. in september 1998 the united states noted that turkey had extended its import ban for the eighth time. turkey replied that the policy was geared at preventing the spread of fmd in the country. a rigorous nation-wide eradication programme was in place and considerable progress had been made. turkey believed that the application of temporary measures with the objective of creating the necessary animal health conditions within its borders was justified but was open to dialogue with its trading partners to reach a mutually agreeable solution. in june 2000 hungary recalled that several members had challenged the wto-consistency of turkeys import restrictions on live cattle and beef meat. hungary had been free from fmd for nearly 20 years and had pursued fmd control policies which made vaccination redundant. hungary suggested the turkish ban violated article 2.2 of the sps agreement. based on articles 5.1 and 5.8 hungary asked turkey to provide its risk assessment on the importation of live cattle and beef from fmd-free countries. new zealand asked if turkey had an import licensing system and if so how risk was assessed and how licenses were issued. turkey committed to providing a report on an interdepartmental review of the sanitary measures. in july 2001 the united states indicated that turkey had assured the united states in september 1999 that the import ban was no longer in force g sps gen 265 . the united states considered this trade concern resolved. in october 2001 hungary reported that its concerns were still outstanding. in april 2003 hungary again raised concerns over the on-going restrictions on imports of live cattle and beef maintained by turkey. according to the oie hungary had been free from fmd for nearly 20 years. hungarian live cattle and beef was also free from bse. hungary had questioned this measure several times bilaterally and in the sps committee but had not received any explanation or risk assessment studies from turkey. turkey explained that many countries had imposed import restrictions or bans on live animals and animal products originating from some european countries due to bse and fmd to protect their public health and livestock. turkey had simply taken the same measures based on available information and to satisfy the widespread public concern over bse. in june 2003 turkey stated that cattle and beef imports from some ec member states and from hungary had been temporarily suspended as cattle from these countries had not been vaccinated or achieved immunity against fmd and rinderpest which was present in turkey at that time. the ban had been lifted in 1999 however due to bse concerns the import of livestock had been partly banned again. in november 2017 the secretariat informed that in september 2017 it had contacted all members who had raised specific trade concerns stcs that had not been discussed in the previous year to request an update on their status. in furtherance of this request information was received from the european union on the resolution of this stc. the secretariat indicated that the information received had been circulated in document rd sps 28 of 31 october 2017 and that the sps ims would be updated on this basis using the date of the november 2017 sps committee meeting as the date of resolution of the relevant stcs