COMMITTEE ONTECHNICAL BARRIERS TOTRADE
Draft Minutes oftheMeeting held on3October 1997
Attached hereto please findthedraft minutes ofthemeeting heldon3October 1997. Delegations
areinvited tosubmit comments, ifany, totheSecretariat (Mrs. Vivien Liu, tel.7395455,and
Mrs. Barbara D'Andrea, tel.7395478)by12December 1997.
97-5213RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/TBT/W/58
26November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5213)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
DRAFT MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON3OCTOBER 1997
Chairman: Mr.T.H.M.Tong (Hong Kong, China)
1. TheCommittee onTechnical Barriers toTrade held itstenth meeting on3October 1997.
2. Thefollowing agenda, ascontained inWTO/AIR/679 wasadopted:
Page
I. Request forObserver Status intheCommittee bytheAfrican, Caribbean 2
andPacific Group ofStates (ACP); theEuropean Free Trade Association
(EFTA); theOffice International delaVigne etduVin(OIV); andthe
Latin American Integration Association (ALADI)
II. Technical Working Group oftheCommittee onISO/IEC Guides relating to 2
Articles 5and6oftheAgreement -Report ontheThird Meeting
III. Preparation fortheFirst Triennial Review oftheOperation and 3
Implementation oftheTBT Agreement under Article 15.4
IV. Statements onImplementation andAdministration oftheAgreement 5
V. Other Business 6G/TBT/W/58
Page 2
I. REQUEST FOR OBSERVER STATUS INTHE COMMITTEE BY THE AFRICAN,
CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC GROUP OFSTATES (ACP); THE EUROPEAN FREE TRADE
ASSOCIATION (EFTA); THE OFFICE INTERNATIONAL DELAVIGNE ETDUVIN
(OIV); AND THE LATIN AMERICAN INTEGRATION ASSOCIATION (ALADI)
3. TheChairman drew attention todocument G/TBT/W/46 containing therequest forobserver
status intheCommittee bytheLatin American Integration Association (ALADI). Herecalled thatat
itslastmeeting of20June, theCommittee agreed togrant observer status totheAfrican, Caribbean
andPacific Group ofStates (ACP) andtheEuropean Free Trade Association (EFTA) onanadhoc
basis, pending further decision. Atthatmeeting, itwasrecognized thatfurther consultations would
beneeded fortherequests forobserver status bytheACP, EFTA, theOffice international delavigne
etduvin(OIV) andtheALADI.
4. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities recalled that, atthelastmeeting shehad
supported therequests forobserver status byACP, EFTA, ALADI andtheOIV.
5. Therepresentative ofMexico hadnoobjections tothethree intergovernmental regional bodies,
butwould liketohave more information regarding theOIV.
6. Therepresentative ofVenezuela sought clarification oftherules forobserver status.
7. Therepresentative oftheUnited States stated thatduetoongoing discussions inother WTO
bodies, shepreferred towait before adopting aformal decision onobservership. Atthelastmeeting,
shehadagreed togrant observer status toACP andEFTA onanadhoc, meeting-by-meeting basis,
andwould accord thesame treatment toALADI, butwould need more information before granting
observer status totheOIV even onanadhocbasis.
8. TheCommittee agreed tocontinue togrant observer status totheACP andEFTA, andtogrant
adhocobserver status toALADI. Further consultations would beneeded fortherequest ofobserver
status made bytheOIV.
II. TECHNICALWORKINGGROUPOFTHECOMMITTEEONISO/IECGUIDESRELATING
TOARTICLES 5AND 6OFTHE AGREEMENT -REPORT ONTHE THIRD MEETING
9. TheTechnical Working Group oftheCommittee onISO/IEC Guides Relating toArticles 5
and6oftheAgreement held itsthird meeting on2October. Atitssecond meeting, held on18June,
theWorking Group hadagreed thatareport would besubmitted totheCommittee after itsOctober
meeting, sothatitcould betaken intoaccount bytheCommittee inthecontext oftheTriennial Review
inNovember.
10. TheChairman oftheTechnical Working Group recalled thatthemandate oftheGroup was
toexaminethevariousISO/IECGuidesrelatingtoconformityassessment,andtoevaluatetheirusefulness
inthefurtherance oftheimplementation ofArticles 5and6.Members hadunderlined theusefulness
oftheguides infacilitating trade bycontributing toaproper level ofquality ofconformity reports and
certificates. They alsohadexchanged information through both written andoralcontributions. The
contributions from Members hadshown thattheguides were widely used onavoluntary basis. However,
some Members haddifficulties with thepractical implementation ofcertain guides.
11. Hestated thatatthemeeting of2October, theTechnical Working Group hadheard presentations
from therepresentatives ofIAF; IEC; ILAC andISO/CASCO. Thebriefing hadproved useful in
demonstrating notonly theimportance thattheguides present forthese organizations, butalsohow
theguides contributed totheoperation ofinternational certification andother mutual recognition systems,G/TBT/W/58
Page 3
thereby facilitating thefreecirculation ofproducts throughout theworld. Heinformed theCommittee
thattheoutcome ofthediscussions oftheGroup hadunderlined positive general support fortheguides.
However, ithadnotbeen possible toreach aconsensus onadraft recommendation endorsing awider
recourse totheguides, under theaegis oftheAgreement, similar tothatadopted bytheTokyo Round
TBT Committee, asanumber ofMembers hadreservations ordoubts onitsusefulness oropportuneness.
12. Heconcluded thattheTechnical Working Group feltithadfulfilled itstaskand, atpresent,
itcouldnotprogressthedebateonarecommendationsincetheissuesdiscussedfellundertheCommittee's
responsibility. IftheCommittee wished tofurther thedebate, ithadatitsdisposal alarge amount of
material, presented byMembers, which could contribute toconcluding thediscussions.
13. TheCommittee took note oftheReport oftheChairman oftheTechnical Working Group.
III. PREPARATION FOR THE FIRST TRIENNIAL REVIEW OFTHE OPERATION AND
IMPLEMENTATION OFTHE TBT AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 15.4
14. TheChairman drew attention tothefactthatunder Article 15.4oftheAgreement, theCommittee
would carry outitsFirst Triennial Review oftheOperation andImplementation oftheAgreement not
later than theendof1997. TheTriennial Review would beconducted attheCommittee meeting of
13November. Hesaidthat11delegations hadsubmitted 12papers forthepurpose oftheTriennial
Review (documents G/TBT/W/36, 39,40,41,44,45,47,48,50,51,53and54). Inorder tofacilitate
discussions,theSecretariathadpreparedanupdatedinformalcataloguecompilingproposalsandcomments
made byMembers (Job 4704/Rev.1). Heinvited Members tomake general statements ontheissue
oftheTriennial Review.
15. Therepresentative ofPhilippines drew attention tohisdelegation 'ssubmission contained in
document G/TBT/W/54 andstressed thattheTriennial Review should notleadtoanadjustment ofrights
andobligationsandprovidedagoodopportunitytoassesstheimplementationoftheAgreement,including
Articles 11and12.Heproposed thattheCommittee focus onthefollowing fiveaspects asstated in
G/TBT/W/54:(i)obligationsunderArticle15.2;(ii)notificationproceduresandtransparency;(iii)Code
ofGood Practice; (iv)useofinternational standards byMembers; and(v)conformity assessment
procedures.
16. Therepresentative ofAustralia drew attention toherdelegation 'ssubmission contained in
document G/TBT/W/55 andsaidthattheTriennial Review should establish aframework forencouraging
maximum adherence totheprovisions oftheAgreement by:(i)reducing thepromulgation offuture
national technical regulations, when unnecessary, orlimiting them totheir specific requirements in
alignment with prevailing international standards asfaraspossible; (ii)maximizing adherence tothe
Code ofGood Practice byallstandardizing bodies; (iii)optimizing thelevel ofharmonization of
conformity assessment systems andfacilitating thenegotiations ofmultilateral rather thanpurely bilateral
mutual recognition agreements (MRAs); and, (iv)bymaking progress towards implementing the
portability concept of"one standard, onetest,onetime, andonecertificate". Astointernational standards,
sherecalled thatsome Members hadexpressed concerns about problems inaligning national standards
tointernational standards. Herdelegation considered thisconcern would bestbefollowed upinthe
relevant international standardizing bodies, ofwhich many WTO Members were alsomembers.
17. Therepresentative ofEgypt drew attention tohisdelegation 'ssubmission contained indocument
G/TBT/W/56 andsaidthattheTriennial Review could improve theoperation andimplementation of
theTBT Agreement without amending orchanging itsprovisions, andshould aimatensuring the
avoidance ofanyimbalance between rights andobligations under theAgreement. One ofthemost
important objectives forEgypt wastopropose how toenhance, activate, anddevelop theprovisionsG/TBT/W/58
Page 4
ofArticles 11and12. Hisdelegation hadmade proposals relating tonotification procedures and
transparency, theCode ofGood Practice, international standards, and ISO/IEC guides and
recommendations onconformity assessment procedures.
18. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheCommittee should make the
necessary arrangements toestablish, during theTriennial Review, thatallMembers have notified the
measures taken toensure theimplementation andadministration oftheAgreement andhave submitted
thewritten statements under Article 15.2 according totherelevant decisions contained indocument
G/TBT/1/Rev.4. TheCommittee would invite Members thathadnotcomplied with their obligations
tonotify these measures before theCommittee meeting of12-13 November, andtheChairman should
organize individual andinformal consultations with theMembers concerned toprovide thenecessary
assistance tofulfil thatobligation. Sheproposed that,during theTriennial Review, theCommittee should
evaluate thecontent ofthewritten statements inthelight oftherelevant decisions.
19. Shealsoproposed thattheCommittee should make thenecessary arrangements tobeinaposition
toestablish, during theTriennial Review, asignificant increase inthenumber ofacceptances ofthe
Code ofGood Practice bystandardizing bodies andinvite Members toindicate thesteps theyhadtaken
tofulfil theobligations under Article 4.1,and, where appropriate, thereasons why thebodies within
their territories hadnotyetaccepted theCode.
20. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatthebasic objective oftheTriennial Review
wastoassess whether theAgreement washelping governments evaluate whether standards, technical
regulations andconformity assessment procedures were being used toprotect domestic producers
arbitrarilyfromcompetitionorotherwiseunfairlyrestricttrade.Tothatextent,thetransparencyprovisions
oftheAgreement were aimed atpreventing theestablishment oftechnical trade barriers. Sherecalled
theobligation forMembers tosubmit statements under Article 15.2andstated thattheCommittee should
trytoascertain thereasons forlowcompliance, theproblems faced insubmitting those statements as
well asonspecific needs fortechnical assistance. Itwould beuseful forMembers toexchange
information ontheadministrative procedures established toensure thattheir domestic regulators and
agencies comply with theAgreement. Sheconsidered thisexercise instructive notonly forMembers
who hadnotsubmitted their statement, butalsoforthose who hadcomplied andmight bestriving for
more effective andefficient means ofcompliance. Shesupported thepractical andillustrative guide
provided inNew Zealand 'ssubmission (G/TBT/W/44), andrecalled thatherdelegation hadproposed
forvoluntaryexchangeofinformationontheprocedurestakenbyMemberstoensuredomesticcompliance
(G/TBT/W/40). Shesaidthatthere wastheneed forgovernments toinform authorities andprivate
bodies oftheir responsibilities under theAgreement, andtheneed forinstitutional mechanisms to
accomplish thisonacontinuous basis.
21. Herdelegation believed thatthedefinition ofproportionality andleast trade restrictive measures
would notadequately oraccurately capture theobligation under Article 2.2. With respect totheCode
ofGood Practice, shestated thatproblems could arise ifbodies emanating standards hadnotadhered
totheCode, orwere otherwise incompliance with theTBT Agreement.
22. Therepresentative ofJapan saidthatJapan washighly interested intheissues ofinternational
standards andtechnical regulations, andmore specifically, theeffectiveness andtransparency of
international standardizing bodies 'activities andtheproactive participation ofnational standardizing
bodies ininternational standardization activities. Shesupported harmonization oftechnical regulations
with international andnational standards. With respect tothesuggestion thatMembers should attach
totheir notification form thetextoftheir draft technical regulations orconformity assessment procedures
translated intooneoftheofficial WTO languages, shefeared thatsuch anewobligation would create
aburden onMembers within thenotification procedure andwould increase thenumber ofnotifications
providing acomment period oflessthan 60days. This would beburdensome, especially forthose
Members whose national language wasnotoneoftheWTO working languages.G/TBT/W/58
Page 5
23. Therepresentative ofCanada shared theview thatitwasnecessary fortheCommittee toask
itself thereasons forlowcompliance with thebasic obligations ofArticle 15.2. With respect tothe
CodeofGoodPractice,heinformedMembersthattheStandardsCouncilofCanadawascurrentlyrevising
itsaccreditation documents toensure thatitsaccredited standardizing bodies were automatically in
compliance with theAgreement andtheCode ofGood Practice. Hesaidthat, once thisprocess was
completed,andthestandardizingbodieswerefoundtobeincompliance,theStandardsCouncilofCanada
would notify theacceptance oftheCode ofGood Practice.
24. Therepresentative ofIndia noted theinterest expressed bydelegations ontheobligations under
Article 15.2. Heproposed thatthetreatment given tothatissue should begiven equally tothe
implementation ofArticle 12.
25. Therepresentative ofMexico favoured anapproach toidentify thecompliance problems on
obligations under Article 15.2andtheCode ofGood Practice, andtoassess andevaluate solutions which
would rectify thatsituation. Shedidnotconsider appropriate tochange undertakings atthisstage,
including notification comment period andformats because itwould becounterproductive toincrease
theobligationsincumbentuponMemberssincetheywerealreadyunabletodischargeexistingobligations.
26. TherepresentativeofPakistandidnotsupporttheEuropeanCommunities'proposalthatMembers
who hadnotfulfilled their obligations under Article 15.2 would submit their statement prior tothe
Committee meeting on13November 1997. HesaidthattheAgreement didnotcontain anyreference
toacut-off date. With respect totheEuropean Communities 'suggestion thattheCommittee should
invite Members toindicate thesteps thatthey hadtaken tofulfil their obligations under Article 4.1
andalsothereasons why thebodies within their territories hadnotaccepted theCode, hepointed out
thatArticle 4didnotrequire Members toprovide anysuch information. Hestressed theimportance
tounderstand thedifficulties faced bymany Members inimplementing their obligations under Articles 4
and15.2.
27. Therepresentative ofKorea shared Japan 'sview thattheEuropean Communities 'proposal to
attach thetranslated texts toTBT notifications would betooburdensome forthose Members whose
official languages were notWTO official languages. Astotheproposal tonotify eco-labelling
programmes, hestressed thatnonproduct-related processes andproduction methods were excluded from
thecoverage oftheTBT Agreement.
28. TheCommittee took note ofthestatements made.
IV. STATEMENTSONIMPLEMENTATIONANDADMINISTRATIONOFTHEAGREEMENT
29. Therepresentative ofCanada recalled that, attheCommittee meeting of20June, hehadraised
theissue ofnon-notification bytheEuropean Communities ofitstechnical regulation on
genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). TheEuropean Communities hadreplied thatthisregulation
had already been notified on12November 1992 (TBT/Notif.92.355) and on21April 1997
(G/TBT/Notif.97.151). Healsonoted thattheEuropean Communities hadsubsequently notified on
6August 1997, following hisdelegation 'swritten request, thelabelling-related amendment toDirective
90/220/EEC ontheDeliberate Release ofGMOs intotheEnvironment (G/TBT/Notif.97.382). Hehoped
thatinthefuture such regulations would benotified prior totheir proposed date ofentry intoforce.
30. Furthermore, hethanked thedelegation ofJapan forhaving notified on7August 1997 through
theISO/IEC Information Centre theacceptance oftheCode ofGood Practice bytheEco-mark
eco-labelling programme (G/TBT/CS/N/73). Heinterpreted thisnotification, aswellasthose ofother
Members, asnoprejudice clause toparagraph 185oftheReport oftheCommittee onTrade andG/TBT/W/58
Page 6
EnvironmenttotheSingaporeMinisterialConference.Finally,henotedthataWTOMemberhadnotified
on24June 1997 itsparticipation inregional eco-labelling programmes, andsubsequently withdrawn
thisnotification. Heconsidered thisanovel approach totransparency without prejudice. Helooked
forward tofurther notifications ofeco-labelling programmes under theterms ofparagraph 185ofthe
CTE Report.
31. TherepresentativeoftheEuropeanCommunitiesthankedtheThaidelegationforhavingsupplied
thetranslation ofitsMinisterial Rule (B.E. 2540) onthedisclosure ofingredients used inmanufacturing
cigarettes andcigars, promulgated pursuant totheTobacco Products 'Control ActB.E. 2535. This
regulation hadbeen published on3August 1997 andwould come intoforce 180days after itspublication.
However, ithadnotyetbeen notified totheWTO. Sheasked thedelegation ofThailand when and
under which agreement thisRule would benotified. Moreover, sheexpressed similar concerns onanother
regulation onlabelling ofcigarette packets.
32. Therepresentative ofThailand saidhewould contact hisauthorities onthisissue.
33. The representative ofUnited States expressed interest inThailand 'sreply ontheissue of
cigarettes andcigars. Sheemphasized theimportance under theTBT Agreement ofproviding WTO
Members with theopportunity tomake comments onproposed regulations andpointed outthatmany
notifications concerned regulations thathadalready entered intoforce.
34. Shedrew attention totwoU.S. publications available directly from theUnited States 'Enquiry
Point aswellasthrough itshome page ontheInternet. Thefirst, entitled "Profiles ofNational Standards
Related Activities", identified themetrology, standardization, testing andquality activities ofmore than
70countries. Aspecific entry wasprovided foreach country onitsagencies andinstitutions responsible
formetrology andcalibration, standards 'development, testing, product certification, quality and
environmental systems registration andkeyinformation sources, mainly theTBT Enquiry Points. The
second, entitled "The ABC oftheU.S. Conformity Assessment System", wasdesigned topromote a
wider understanding ofthepurpose andnature ofvarious aspects ofconformity assessment, aswell
astherelationship among therelated activities intheUnites States. Shehoped thatinterested delegations
would getcopies ofthese publications.
35. TheCommittee took note ofthestatements made.
V. OTHER BUSINESS
36. Therepresentative ofCanada requested therepresentative ofUNCTAD toprovide anupdate
ontheUNCTAD Expert Meeting onISO14000 andtherepresentative from theITCtogiveanupdate
orbriefing ontherecent UNIDO Survey ontheTrade Impact ofISO9000 and14000. Hesuggested
thattheUNIDO/ITC Report, once finalized, would beauseful document tobecirculated asanon-paper
orasacontribution forMembers oftheTBT Committee.
37. Therepresentative ofUNCTAD saidthattheUNCTAD Commission onTrade andGoods,
ServicesandCommoditiesdecidedtoconveneanexpertmeetingtoexaminetheoperationandthepossible
trade andinvestment impact ofenvironmental management standards, particularly theISO14000 series,
ondeveloping countries andtoidentify possible opportunities andneeds inthiscontext. TheExpert
Meeting wasintended toenhance theunderstanding oftheissues under discussion andtoelucidate the
policy choices thatgovernments andbusiness sectors, particularly indeveloping countries, are,orwill
befacing, inthecontext ofenvironmental management standards inrelation toimplementation issues
having animpact oninternational trade.G/TBT/W/58
Page 7
38. The representative ofISO said thattheannual ISO General Assembly, marking the50th
Anniversary oftheestablishment oftheISO, hadbeen held on23-24 September 1997 inGeneva. At
thatmeeting, many ISOmembers, especially thedeveloping countries, hademphasized theimportance
offruitful cooperation between ISO andWTO, asboth organizations hadthecommon objective of
facilitating trade. Itwasfeltthatthecooperation between international trade negotiators andnational
standards bodies could beimproved inmany countries. Heinformed theCommittee thattheISOhad
cooperated with various governments, national organizations, aswell asinternational organizations in
organizing regional training seminars ontheissues ofTrade andInternational Standardization, andon
Quality andEnvironmental Management.
39. TheChairman informed Members thathehadreceived acommunication from theChairman
oftheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment (CTE), drawing hisattention toarequest received atthe
CTE meeting held on22-24 September, inthecontext oftheCTE discussions ontheexports of
domestically-prohibited goods (DPGs). Atthatmeeting, several delegations hadraised theissue of
technical assistance toincrease developing countries 'capacity todealwithdomestically-prohibited goods
exported tothem.
40. TheCommittee took note ofthestatements made.
41. TheCommittee agreed tohold itsnext meeting on12-13 November atwhich theCommittee
would carry outitsFirst Triennial Review.