13. What is the Advance Informed Agreement (AIA) Procedure?
The "Advance Informed Agreement" (AIA) procedure applies to the first intentional transboundary movement of LMOs for intentional introduction into the environment of the Party of import. It includes four components: notification by the Party of export or the exporter, acknowledgment of receipt of notification by the Party of import, decision procedure and review of decisions. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that importing countries have both the opportunity and the capacity to assess risks that may be associated with the LMO before agreeing to its import.
Specifically, the Party of export or the exporter must notify the Party of import by providing a detailed, written description of the LMO in advance of the first shipment. The Party of import is to acknowledge receipt of this information within 90 days. Then, within 270 days of the date of receipt of notification, the Party of import must communicate its decision: (i) approving the import, (ii) prohibiting the import, (iii) requesting additional relevant information, or (iv) extending the 270 days by a defined period of time. Except in a case in which consent is unconditional, in other cases the Party of import must indicate the reasons on which its decisions are based. (see
Article 7,
Article 8,
Article 9, and
Article 10)
A Party of import may, at any time, in light of new scientific information, review and change a decision. A Party of export or a notifier may also request the Party of import to review its decisions. (see
Article 12)
However, the Protocol`s AIA procedure does not apply to certain categories of LMOs:
- LMOs in transit (see Article 6);
- LMOs destined for contained use (Article 6);
- LMOs intended for direct use as food or feed or for processing (see Article 7.3).
It should be noted that, while the Protocol`s AIA procedure does not apply to certain categories of LMOs, Parties have the right to regulate the importation on the basis of domestic legislation.
In addition, the Party of import may also specify in advance to the Biosafety Clearing-House that it will exempt certain imports of LMOs from the AIA procedure (see
Article 13). Also, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol may in future decide to exempt additional LMOs from application of the AIA procedure (see
Article 7.4).
