pesticide maximum residue levels mrls in june 2009 the representative of brazil noted that japan imposed stricter pesticide residue limits than codex because it required industry-wide testing for one mrl violation and a 100 per cent test-and-hold policy in case a second violation involving the same pesticide and commodity took place within one year. brazil had difficulty in exporting green coffee beans to japan as japans mrl was 30 times lower than that of codex. in a bilateral meeting japan had stated that the revision of these mrls would take place within two years. brazil had requested an interim transitional mechanism as trade in coffee was worth over us 300 million per year. brazil exported coffee to over 100 countries and requested japan to modify their procedures in line with international standards or provide a transitional period while the japanese authorities decided on the revision of the requirement without any negative impact on brazilian coffee exports. the representative of china supported brazils concern and requested that japans temporary standards be based on scientific justification and a risk analysis. these measures had been applied for a period of three years adversely affecting chinese food exports to japan. furthermore japans uniform standard of 0.01 ppm for several pesticides was arbitrary and without scientific justification. china requested that japan brings its requirements into line with the relevant international standards. chinas exporters indicated that imported products were subjected to a greater number of random inspections. furthermore inspections were carried out only on certain imported products even though the same pesticides were also used domestically in japan. china urged japan to apply its measures uniformly without any discrimination. the representative of japan clarified that the mrls were based on scientific assessment and codex and other international standards were taken into account when enforcing the measures. japan had notified the wto before establishing these mrls and had received comments. the sps agreement was taken into consideration and the measures were applied equally to imported and domestic products. the frequency of inspections was increased based on findings of violations. japan confirmed that the codex mrls would be the basis of the current revision which would occur by december at the earliest. japan expressed its commitment to continuing bilateral discussions with brazil. in october 2009 china recalled that after the implementation of japans positive list system for chemical residues china and many other members had expressed concerns regarding the issue of uniform standards. japan had indicated that the standard would be revised on the basis of scientific evaluations and mrls would be established for more chemical residues. in recent years almost all notices that china received from japan regarding products that exceeded pesticide limits were caused by the uniform standards. these had severely affected chinas trade with japan. also after the implementation of japans positive list system a series of regulatory measures such as intensified inspection quarantine and supervision had been undertaken. china urged japan to develo science-based residue limits for the items of concern as soon as possible to alleviate unnecessary restrictions to international trade. ecuador supported chinas concern regarding mrls applied by japan. ecuadors cacao exports had faced difficulties of market access and although various meetings had taken place no solution had been found. ecuador requested japan to modify its mrls in accordance with international standards. japan stated that the uniform standard was based on the evaluations by the fao who joint expert committee on food additives jecfa and or on the tolerance exposure amounts that the us food and drug administration fda adopted for food additives. in october 2010 ecuador raised concerns over japans