import measures on animals and animal products in october 2009 the european communities raised concerns with regards to the imposition of an inspection requirement on all establishments wanting to continue exporting a wide range of animal and animal products to ukraine. there was no justification for the sudden introduction of such comprehensive inspections. the european communities questioned the scope range of products covered and how the inspections would be carried out. assurance was needed that trade would not be unjustifiably and unnecessarily disrupted. the measure would take effect on 14 january 2010 and the ukraine should clarify that if it had not completed inspections by 14 january this would not result in the rejection of goods as had been stated in bilateral meetings with the ukraine veterinary services. the european communities requested the postponement of the entry into force of the measure. canada iceland norway and the united states expressed similar concerns with respect to ukraines new import conditions on animal products. they indicated that their respective authorities had submitted comments to ukraine regarding the new measure. ukraine stated that the measure was intended to protect health and safety within its territory. ukraine would take note of the concerns raised and the comments that had been received during the comment period for the original notification. notification g sps n ukr 3 rev.1 corr.1 had been distributed to wto members with a deadline for comments of 30 november 2009. ukraine authorities had been in contact with the concerned members and remained willing to further rectify and revise the text of the measure so that it provided more legal certainty and comfort for trading partners. in march 2010 the european union highlighted the importance of the notification circulated on 7 january 2010 that ukraine was withdrawing earlier notified measures on animals and animal products due to bse and other prion infections. the european union welcomed the withdrawal of the measure which would have implied the sudden imposition of an inspection requirement for all export establishments. the draft measure had covered a wide range of animals and animal products and would have caused unnecessary trade disruptions. along with other trading partners the european union had expressed concerns on these draft measures in the sps committee and had also held bilateral discussions with ukraine. the european union considered this a good example of the importance of the transparency obligations and the sps notification system. the european union was willing to continue working closely with ukraine on further developments of its import system which should continue operating in a transparent manner with a view to avoiding trade disruptions. canada and norway also appreciated the decision to withdraw the notified measure and thanked the ukraine for its responsiveness. canada had also raised concerns about this matter and submitted detailed written comments. this was a good example of an effective use of the wto notification process to avoid trade problems. ukraine explained that inspections were part of normal procedures. ukraine had taken into account the concerns expressed at the previous sps committee meeting and bilaterally. it was important to ensure that measures were based on science and on oie standards. ukraine would continue to cooperate with its trading partners.