G/TBT/N/USA/1684  
7 January 2021  
(21-0242) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member:  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA   
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:  Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department 
of Transportation (DOT) [1714]  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle commen ts 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
Please submit comments to: USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point, Email: usatbtep@nist.gov  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other :  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Motor 
vehicle parts and accessories; Road vehicles in general (ICS 43.020), Crash protection 
and restraint systems (ICS 43.040.80)  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Parts and 
Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Rea r Impact Guards and Rear Impact 
Protection (8 page(s), in English)  
6. Description of content:  Notice of proposed rulemaking - FMCSA proposes to amend the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to include rear impact guards on the 
list of items that must be examined as part of the required annual inspection for each 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV). In addition, FMCSA proposes to amend the labeling 
requirements for rear impact guards, and to exclude road construction controlled (RCC) 
horizontal dis charge trailers from the rear impact guard requirements, consistent with 
changes made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to the 
corresponding Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). This notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPR M) responds to rulemaking petitions, as well as a recommendation from 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable:  Consumer information, labelling; Protection of human he alth or safety; 
Harmonization  G/TBT/N/USA/1684  
 
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  8. Relevant documents:   
• 85 Federal Register (FR) 85571, 29 December 2020; Title 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) Parts 393 and 399:  
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR -2020-12-29/html/2020 -27502.htm  
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR -2020-12-29/pdf/2020 -27502.pdf  
• This notice of proposed rulemaking is identified by Docket Number FMCSA -2019-
0211. The Docket Folder is available on Regulations.gov  at 
https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FMCSA -2019-0211 and provides access 
to primary documents as well as comments received. Documents are also 
accessible from Regulations.gov  by searching the Docket Number. WTO Members 
and their stakeholders are asked to submit comments to the USA TBT Enquiry 
Point. Comments received by the USA TBT Enquiry Point from WTO Members and 
their stakeholders will be shared with the regulator and will also be submitted to 
the Docket  on Regulations.gov  if received within the comment period.  
• G/TBT/N/U SA/1016 and Add.1 : Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(ANPRM) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT), "Rear Impact Protection, Lamps, Reflective 
Devices, and Associated Equipment, Single Unit  Trucks", identified by Docket 
Number NHTSA –2015–0070 is available on Regulations.gov  at 
https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NHTSA -2015-0070 and provides access 
to primary and supporting documents, as well as comments received. Documents 
are also accessible from Regulations.gov  by searching the Docket Number.  
• G/TBT/N/USA/1055 , NHTSA No tice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), "Rear 
Impact Guards, Rear Impact Protection", identified by Docket Number NHTSA -
2015-0118. The Docket Folder is available on Regulations.gov  at 
https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NHTSA -2015-0118 and provides access 
to primary and supporting documents, as well as comments received. Documents 
are also accessible from Regulations.gov  by searching the Docket Number.  
• FMVSS No. 223, Rear impact g uards  
• FMVSS No. 224, Rear impact protection  
9. Proposed date of adoption:  To be determined  
Proposed date of entry into force:  To be determined  
10. Final date for comments:  1 March 2021  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available , of other body:   
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/TBT/USA/21_0268_00_e.pdf