RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/86
14 September 1998
(98-3448)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
NATIONAL EXPERIENCES ON ENQUIRY POINTS
Contribution from the United States
1. In the United States, four U.S. Government agencies have been given specific responsibilities
to ensure smooth implementation of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has the lead role in the development of trade
policy.  It represents the United States at meetings of the WTO TBT Committee and has overallresponsibility for monitoring foreign compliance wi th the Agreement and in coordinating with other
agencies and the private sector its domestic implementation.  The Department of Commerce is
responsible for the operation of the TBT enquiry point , and maintains a technical office to assist with
non-agricultural technical trade issues.  The Depart ment of Agriculture maintains a technical office to
assist with technical trade issues concerning agricultural products and maintains the enquiry pointunder the SPS Agreement.  The Department of State and embassies abroad assist with the collection
and dissemination of information as well as diplomatic policy.
2. The Department of Commerce assigned to the Na tional Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) Office of Standards Services several responsibilities in the areas of standards information and
technical assistance.
I. STANDARDS INFORMATION PROGRAMME - NATIONAL CENTER FOR
STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION INFORMATION
3. The Standards Information Programme of NIST’s Office Standards Services is responsible for
providing standards-related information to U.S. and foreign organizations as well as standards-related
assistance to U.S. industry.  The main programme areas are the National Center for Standards and
Certification Information (NCSCI) (which serves the U.S. WTO TBT Enquiry Point as required under
Article 10) and technical assistance for non-agricultural standards-related issues.
4. Established in 1965 as the Standards Information Service, the National Center for Standards
and Certification Information (NCSCI) is designed to meet the needs of government, industry and the
public for information on non-agricultural standards, regulations, conformity assessment programmes,
and related activities.  There are six full time staff members working in the Center.
5. Center staff have access to standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment
procedures published by U.S. standards developing  organizations, U.S. Federal and State government,
and foreign national and international organizations.  Sources for these documents include:
− U.S. technical societies, professional organizations and trade associations;
− State regulatory offices;
− U.S. Government agencies and;
− foreign national, regional, and international standardizing bodies.G/TBT/W/86
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6. The Center reference collection of standards and standards-related documents includes:
− published standards and related documents;
− reference books, including directories, technical and scientific dictionaries, encyclopædias,
and handbooks;
− articles, pamphlets, reports and handbooks on standardization;
− standards-related periodicals and newsletters;  and
− CD-ROM, hard copy and microform files of mili tary and Federal specifications, U.S. industry
and national standards, and select international and foreign national standards.
7. The Center provides information on existing U.S. standards, technical regulations and
conformity assessment procedures.  The Center also has information on foreign, U.S. and Federal
government conformity assessment programmes.  Several directories have been published on these
certification programmes along with directories on standards activities of U.S. organizations and
regional and international organizations.
8. Center staff respond to standards-related requests via letter, telephone, fax, e-mail, and
visitors from U.S. and foreign government bodies, business and industry, schools and universities, the
general public, and embassies.  NCSCI does not provide copies of copyrighted industry standards: the
requester is referred to an appropriate source (e.g., the issuing standards group or other organizations)
for a copy of the document or additional informa tion.  NCSCI staff use the reference collection  and
other indexes to identify relevant standards as well as contacts at other Federal agencies and/or
standards organizations.  This service is free.
9. NCSCI staff work closely with the U.S. SPS enquiry point at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture to respond to inquiries.  Staff member s also work with the various U.S. regulatory
agencies to provide information on technical regulations.  Information on state regulatory activities is
maintained to address local government issues.
10. In response to foreign trade-related inquiries, NCSCI contacts the appropriate foreign WTO
TBT Enquiry Point or ISO Information Network (ISONET) member to obtain specific productrequirements and rules, including conformity a ssessment, for exporting U.S. goods to foreign
countries.  NCSCI will continue to take advantage of information obtainable from other repositories
on an as-needed basis in order to provide timely and accurate responses to standards-related inquiries.
A. E
NQUIRY POINT
11. The main functions of the U.S. WTO TBT Enquiry Point are:  respond to inquiries;  report
proposed U.S. Federal and local government regulations to the WTO Secretariat;  receive and
maintain copies of all notifications of proposed foreign regulations and disseminate this information
to interested parties;  respond to inquiries rega rding the TBT Agreement and notifications;  maintain
the WTO hotline;  and publish an annual report on TBT Agreement activities.
12. The Enquiry Point staff maintains a computerized data base of all notifications issued by the
WTO Secretariat, enquiries received by NCSCI, and proposed U.S. regulations reported to the
Secretariat.
B. NOTIFICATIONS
13. NCSCI staff, as the designated U.S. central go vernment authority responsible for notification
procedures under Article 10, identifies and reports to the WTO Secretariat notifications of proposedU.S. regulations in conformance with the relevant Articles under the TBT Agreement (e.g. Articles 2
and 5).  In 1997, the U.S. reported 26 proposed U.S. technical regulations.  Staff review the FederalG/TBT/W/86
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Register, published daily by the U.S. Government, to identify those proposed U.S. Government
technical rules that are trade significant (see Attachment 1).  After consulting the issuing Federal
agency for concurrence, the proposed regulation is transmitted in notification form via e-mail directly
to the WTO Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.  The Secretariat, in turn, disseminates the information
to WTO Members.  Parties in other countries who wish to comment on proposed U.S. regulations areadvised to contact the U.S. Enquiry Point, who wi ll handle submission of comments to the issuing
U.S. agency.
14. In 1997, NCSCI worked with a private compan y to review and identify proposed state
regulations.  The contractor reviewed the publications of all 50 states in an effort to fulfill TBT
Agreement requirements for local government notification.  No trade significant trade related
regulations were identified.  The Center continues to work with State officials to identify proposed
state regulations.
15. Notifications of proposed foreign regulations are obtained via the WTO website and
circulated to concerned Federal agencies, trade associations and other interested organizations.  In
1997, 770 notifications were received.   Foreign notifications are published in a variety of
newsletters, journals and periodicals.  Notifications are also distributed to the American National
Standards Institute and selected individuals, government officials, and private organizations.  NCSCIcontinually seeks new methods, such as the Internet, to disseminate this information to a wider
audience and encourages U.S. organizations to feature this information in their publications.
16. Copies of the full text of proposed foreign regulations notified through the WTO Secretariat
are made available free of charge.  Copies of proposed U.S. regulations are also available at no charge
from the Center.  The text is faxed, mailed or sent electronically.  Enquiries can usually be handledregardless of their language if the G/TBT/Notification number appears prominently in the request.
Requests in English do, however, expedite the response.  NCSCI staff responded to over
262 enquiries in 1997 related to text of notified regulations.  Many of the requests were for more than
one regulation.  Requests are answered in the order they are received.
C. C
OMMENT HANDLING
17. NCSCI collects comments from U.S. groups on proposed foreign regulations and transmits
them to the appropriate foreign government agency through the relevant enquiry point.  In an effort to
enable interested U.S. parties to review and comment effectively on a proposed foreign regulation,
NCSCI requests and receives extensions of comment periods when the available time was insufficient
to obtain, translate (if necessary), and study the proposed regulation, then prepare comments.  NCSCI
also collects comments from foreign countries on proposed U.S. regulations and forwards them to the
appropriate agency with acknowledgement to th e submitter and any necessary follow-up.  U.S.
industry and foreign parties can, and do, comment directly to the regulatory agency.
D. EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD
18. Requests for extensions of the comment period, both  U.S. and foreign, are handled by Center
staff by contacting the appropriate U.S. regulatory  agency or foreign enquiry point.  In 1997, NCSCI
received eleven requests for extensions of the comment period related to U.S. regulations.  NCSCIrequested the extension of eight foreign regulations.
E. T
RANSLATIONS
19. NCSCI uses an outside contractor (private company) to coordinate English translations of
proposed foreign regulations upon request.  The cost of translation is paid by the requester.  If moreG/TBT/W/86
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than one request is received for the same translation, the cost may be divided equally among
requesters.
F. HOTLINE
20. The Enquiry Point at NIST maintains a WTO hotline to provide up-to-date information on
notifications of proposed foreign regulations.  The hotline - a recorded message which is updated oncea week - may be reached by calling (301) 975- 4041 at any time.  The message includes product,
country, closing date for comments, and G/TBT/Notification number for each notification, and a
phone number for obtaining additional information.
G. P
UBLICATIONS
21. In addition to specialized directories and general information publications, an annual report
summarizing NIST’s TBT Agreement activities is prepared and disseminated to interested parties in
the U.S. and to all WTO TBT enquiry points.  A brochure describing Center activities is alsoavailable.
H. T
ECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
22. Other programmes within the Office of Standard Services perform the following functions
related to TBT Agreement issues:  provide assistance to U.S. exporters on specific technically-based,
standards-related issues;  assist the International Trade Administration (Department of Commerce)and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in developing technical positions for bilateral and
multilateral discussions;  monitor the level of U.S.  participation in international standardization
activities to assure that the U.S. is adequately represented in crucial areas;  and participate in the U.S.
Trade Representative's Trade Policy Staff Committee's Subcommittee on Standards and on the
Department of Commerce's Industry Functional Advisory Committee.  Staff assist individuals indetermining whether or not a proposed foreign regulation is consistent with current U.S. regulations
and standards and other international regulations and standards.  They also handle complaints from
U.S. industry representatives concerning current foreign standards and certification practices that are
considered to be technical barriers to trade.
23. NCSCI staff participate in or sponsor workshops or seminars on standards information and
the operation of WTO TBT enquiry points.  Representatives from around the world visit the Center as
part of NIST’s Standards in Trade training programme and receive an overview of NCSCI
programmes and activities.
II. CONCLUSION
24. The network of WTO TBT enquiry points provides the United States and all WTO Members
with an effective means for obtaining standards in formation. The transparency provisions, specifically
the notification requirements, provide exporters with important product requirements and theopportunity to comment on proposed trade significant regulations.  As NCSCI continues to expand its
standards information activities, staff members will work closely with other enquiry points to meet the
needs of all WTO members.G/TBT/W/86
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
National Center for Standards and Certification Information
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Bldg. 820, Room 164Gaithersburg, MD 20899
Telephone:  +1.301/975.4040
Fax:  +1.301/ 926.1559
WTO Hotline:  +1.301/975.4041
E-mail:  ncsci@nist.gov
Internet: http://ts.nist.gov/ncsciG/TBT/W/86
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ATTACHMENT 1
United States Procedures for Identifying Proposed
Central Government Regulations
The National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI) of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology's Office of Standards Services, performs the "Enquiry Point"
functions for the United States under the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
One of NCSCI's responsibilities is to report to the WTO Secretariat proposed U.S. Government
technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures which might significantly affect trade as
required under Articles 2 and 5 of the TBT Agreement.  The United States is committed to notifying
all proposed rules that may significantly affect imports from WTO Members.
Proposed U.S. Government technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures are
published in the  Federal Register , a daily Federal Government publication which contains Rules,
Proposed Rules and Notices of Government Regulatory Actions. (Note: The terms "Rules" and
"Regulatory Actions" include the TBT Agreement defined terms "technical regulations" and"conformity assessment").  NCSCI staff review the Register  to identify those proposed regulations
which might impede trade.  The procedures and criteria used are outlined below.
• NCSCI staff review the Table of Contents of the Register which lists, by U.S. regulatory agency,
the type of action and brief description of the subject area. Under the heading, Proposed Rules,
certain words within the description (e.g., "standards", "regulation", "certification") signal that aparticular action potentially should be notified.  The page numbers of the notices are noted.
• Each notice published in the Registe r includes a summary paragraph which describes the action
and product(s) covered.  For each notice identified under Proposed Rules, as described above, thesummary is reviewed to determine whether it concerns a voluntary standard, adoption of an
international standard, a change in an existing regulation, establishment of a new regulation, or achange in administrative policy or procedure.  Those notices that indicate a change or
establishment of a new regulation are examined further to establish whether or not to notify.
• A proposed rule should be notified if it is trade significant.  NCSCI staff use several sources to
supplement their own information concerning the notification process, including:  (a) the types of
notifications previously issued by WTO Members;  (b) the background information contained inthe published version of each proposed regulation;  and (c) consultations with the issuing Federal
agency.  These sources provide the necessary information to determine trade significance.  This
information includes:  significant import market, importance to foreign manufacturers in
preventing import delays, and possibility that the product will be imported in the future.
• In rare cases, neither the notice nor the issuing agency can provide enough information to assess
the proposed rule's possible trade impact.  NCSCI staff then contact the International TradeAdministration (Department of Commerce (DoC)).  Various DoC offices maintain
product/country statistics that can help determine whether or not:  (a) the products in question
affect WTO members;  and (b) the trade significance of the product in terms of: dollar volume of
imports, market size or potential market growth.  (Note: These criteria to determine whether a
proposed regulation should be notified, was a recommendation adopted by the Committee on
Technical Barriers to Trade as contained in G/ TBT/1/Rev.5, p. 15.)  If the product concerned is
imported from a WTO Member and/or has a large trade volume, the proposed regulation is
notified.G/TBT/W/86
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• It is, of course, difficult to assess the significance of the impact of a specific proposed regulation.
Where there is a doubt as to the level of trade impact, the United States notifies the proposedregulations.
• Notifications of proposed regulations are sent electronically directly to the WTO Secretariat in
Geneva as soon as possible after trade significance can be determined.  Copies of the full text of
all proposed U.S. regulations are available free of charge from the NCSCI office.
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