Artikel VII

1. With the aim of preventing the introduction and/or spread of regulated pests into their territories, contracting parties shall have sovereign authority to regulate, in accordance with applicable international agreements, the entry of plants and plant products and other regulated articles and, to this end, may:
a. prescribe and adopt phytosanitary measures concerning the importation of plants, plant products and other regulated articles, including, for example, inspection, prohibition on importation, and treatment;
b. refuse entry or detain, or require treatment, destruction or removal from the territory of the contracting party, of plants, plant products and other regulated articles or consignments thereof that do not comply with the phytosanitary measures prescribed or adopted under subparagraph (a);
c. prohibit or restrict the movement of regulated pests into their territories;
d. prohibit or restrict the movement of biological control agents and other organisms of phytosanitary concern claimed to be beneficial into their territories.
2. In order to minimize interference with international trade, each contracting party, in exercising its authority under paragraph 1 of this Article, undertakes to act in conformity with the following:
a. Contracting parties shall not, under their phytosanitary legislation, take any of the measures specified in paragraph 1 of this Article unless such measures are made necessary by phytosanitary considerations and are technically justified.
b. Contracting parties shall, immediately upon their adoption, publish and transmit phytosanitary requirements, restrictions and prohibitions to any contracting party or parties that they believe may be directly affected by such measures.
c. Contracting parties shall, on request, make available to any contracting party the rationale for phytosanitary requirements, restrictions and prohibitions.
d. If a contracting party requires consignments of particular plants or plant products to be imported only through specified points of entry, such points shall be so selected as not to unnecessarily impede international trade. The contracting party shall publish a list of such points of entry and communicate it to the Secretary, any regional plant protection organization of which the contracting party is a member, all contracting parties which the contracting party believes to be directly affected, and other contracting parties upon request. Such restrictions on points of entry shall not be made unless the plants, plant products or other regulated articles concerned are required to be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates or to be submitted to inspection or treatment.
e. Any inspection or other phytosanitary procedure required by the plant protection organization of a contracting party for a consignment of plants, plant products or other regulated articles offered for importation, shall take place as promptly as possible with due regard to their perishability.
f. Importing contracting parties shall, as soon as possible, inform the exporting contracting party concerned or, where appropriate, the re-exporting contracting party concerned, of significant instances of non-compliance with phytosanitary certification. The exporting contracting party or, where appropriate, the re-exporting contracting party concerned, should investigate and, on request, report the result of its investigation to the importing contracting party concerned.
g. Contracting parties shall institute only phytosanitary measures that are technically justified, consistent with the pest risk involved and represent the least restrictive measures available, and result in the minimum impediment to the international movement of people, commodities and conveyances.
h. Contracting parties shall, as conditions change, and as new facts become available, ensure that phytosanitary measures are promptly modified or removed if found to be unnecessary.
i. Contracting parties shall, to the best of their ability, establish and update lists of regulated pests, using scientific names, and make such lists available to the Secretary, to regional plant protection organizations of which they are members and, on request, to other contracting parties.
j. Contracting parties shall, to the best of their ability, conduct surveillance for pests and develop and maintain adequate information on pest status in order to support categorization of pests, and for the development of appropriate phytosanitary measures. This information shall be made available to contracting parties, on request.
3. A contracting party may apply measures specified in this Article to pests which may not be capable of establishment in its territories but, if they gained entry, cause economic damage. Measures taken against these pests must be technically justified.
4. Contracting parties may apply measures specified in this Article to consignments in transit through their territories only where such measures are technically justified and necessary to prevent the introduction and/or spread of pests.
5. Nothing in this Article shall prevent importing contracting parties from making special provision, subject to adequate safeguards, for the importation, for the purpose of scientific research, education, or other specific use, of plants and plant products and other regulated articles, and of plant pests.
6. Nothing in this Article shall prevent any contracting party from taking appropriate emergency action on the detection of a pest posing a potential threat to its territories or the report of such a detection. Any such action shall be evaluated as soon as possible to ensure that its continuance is justified. The action taken shall be immediately reported to contracting parties concerned, the Secretary, and any regional plant protection organization of which the contracting party is a member.