RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/TBT/W/40
25April 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-1810)
Original: English Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
U.S. PAPER ONTHE FIRST TRIENNIAL REVIEW
1. TheUnited States appreciates thecontributions thathave been made byCanada, theEuropean
Community andJapan toadvance thetriennial review oftheAgreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade
(TBT Agreement). These statements have raised anumber ofissues andhave been auseful basis for
consultation with interested parties domestically. Given thebroad scope oftheTBT Agreement and
thetechnical nature ofstandards, technical regulations andconformity assessment procedures, itis
likely thatsuch consultations areongoing formany Members, including theUnited States. Wewould
alsoliketocommend theWTO Secretariat forproducing twovery enriching background documents
which artfully bring some rationalization tothisotherwise complex subject.
2. Webelieve itwould beuseful atthisjuncture toattempt toagree onsome common goals for
thereview, ones which would befeasible andpractical within theone-year time constraint, recognizing
thatsome discussions arelikely toremain thepurview ofongoing work intheCommittee. Expanding
upon thestatements submitted todate, andnotwithstanding thediscussion ofother topics, wewould
propose ourwork focus onthefollowing three broad categories aspriorities forreaching conclusions
asoutlined below, acknowledging thattechnical assistance isrelevant toallcategories:
I. APPROACHES TOREGULATORY POLICY
3. The EUhasmade auseful proposal thattheCommittee undertake astudy ofthevarious
approaches toregulatory policy andtheir consequences foraccess tothemarket. AllMembers are
obliged, under Article 15.2, toprovide initial Statements onImplementation. These Statements are
summary innature andtodatetheCommittee hasnotexplored thesubstantive underpinnings ofthe
kinds ofactions Members taketoensure theobligations under theAgreement arefulfilled onanongoing
basis. Inthisregard wewould propose:
• Drawing ontheinformation submitted under Article 15.2, Committee Members should
beinvited tomake presentations attheJune meeting onthestructures they have inplace
toaccomplish effective implementation oftheagreement domestically.
4. Inparticular,Memberscouldexchangeinformationonwhether,andwhatkind,ofadministrative
procedures have been established toensure:
- inter-Ministerial coordination inthedevelopment, adoption andapplication oftechnical
regulationsandconformityassessmentproceduresandoveralldomesticmonitoringofcompliance
with theAgreement;
- theconsideration ofappropriate international and voluntary consensus standards inthe
development oftechnical regulations;
- theconsideration oftheimpact ontrade ifatechnical regulation isadopted;G/TBT/W/40
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- aconsideration ofalternatives tomandatory regulation inthedevelopment oftechnical
regulations;
- effective implementation oftheobligations topublish proposed technical regulations forpublic
comment, give dueconsideration tothose comments before adopting afinal decision, publish
final notice oftheaction taken andallow areasonable period oftime before itsentry intoforce;
- thenon-discriminatory enforcement oftechnical regulations and conformity assessment
procedures; and,
- thesystematic review oftechnical regulations inorder toensure their continued relevance and
appropriate alternatives.
5. This exchange ofinformation would provide assistance toMembers who have yettosubmit
Statements under Article 15.2. Members could alsomake contributions based ontheir experience in
other fora. Itmight bepossible tosummarize thediscussion andidentify positive approaches to
implementation asaguide forMembers andnon-Members wishing tojointheWTO.
II. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
6. Anumber ofdelegations have raised interrelated issues concerning international standards.
(a) Scope andCoverage
7. Ithasbeen noted thattheAgreement contains astrong endorsement oftheuseofinternational
standards asameans ofpreventing unnecessary barriers totrade, itsAnnex defines “international body
orsystem ”and“standard ”andreferences other definitions inISO/IEC Guide 2:1991. Thebackground
paper provided bytheSecretariat suggests thatthedisciplines intheTBT Agreement onlocal, national,
regional standards bodies donotextend directly tothepreparation ofstandards byinternational bodies,
butthatresponsibility fortheir activities restwith theMembers. TheEUsuggests thatinaddition
tomembership thatisopen toallWTO Members, international standardizing bodies areobliged to
operate under consensus procedures. Thesituation isambiguous ifonereviews theISO/IEC Guide 2:
1991 definitions. Thedefinition inGuide 2for“international standard ”isbased ontheISOdefinition
of“standard ”which isdefined asadocument established byconsensus. (The TBT Agreement includes,
initsdefinition of“standard, ”non-consensus based documents.) Japan hasproposed specific obligations
forinternational bodies along thelines ofthose now guiding other standardizing bodies.
• The Committee should review thissituation with aview toclarifying (ordefining) the
relationship oftheAgreement totheprocedures ofinternational standardizing bodies.
8. ACommittee Recommendation could help Members implement their responsibilities intheir
participationintheactivitiesofinternationalstandardizingbodiesandalsotherebyencourageinternational
bodies toconduct their activities inaccordance with theobjectives oftheAgreement.
(b) Relevance andUseofInternational Standards
9. Inpart, thisquestion relates tothequestion ofscope andcoverage. Arguably, bodies which
operate with open andtransparent procedures which afford anopportunity forconsensus among all
interested parties willresult instandards which arerelevant onaglobal basis andprevent unnecessary
barriers totrade. Asnoted intheSecretariat paper, theTBT Agreement does notestablish alinkbetween
acountry ’svote onaninternational standard ontheonehand anditsdomestic implementation ontheG/TBT/W/40
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other. Given the“safehaven ”afforded bytheAgreement toMembers which basetechnical regulations
oninternational standards, serious questions arise when arelevant international standard isoutofdate
duetotechnological orother changes. And, questions arise astotheappropriate standard intheabsence
ofinternational standards. Japan hasidentified similar concerns.
• TheCommittee should clarify therelationship oftheAgreement tointernational standards
that are outdated, scientifically ortechnically flawed, ortheresult of“unfair ”
(non-transparent, non-consensus) procedures.
• TheCommitteeshouldconsiderthedevelopmentofaRecommendationwhichacknowledges
theuseofvoluntary consensus standards astrade facilitating measures,
andsometimes anappropriate alternative totechnical regulation.
10. ACommitteeRecommendationconcerningtheseissueswillfacilitatethepracticalimplementation
oftheobligations under theAgreement.
(c) Monitoring theUseofInternational Standards
11. There appears tobelittle information ontheextent towhich Members relyupon international
standards,guidesandrecommendationsfordomesticpurposes.TheEChasproposedthattheCommittee
establish aprocedure tomonitor thissituation, among other things, taking intoaccount theresults of
thetechnical working group which hasbeen established toreview certain guides onconformity
assessment. Ifsuch aprocedure isestablished, itwould beimportant forittobeanefficient oneand
onewhich does notduplicate ongoing efforts inother international bodies.
• Inorder toadvance Members ’understanding oftherelevance and application of
international standards, Members should beencouraged tosubmit concrete examples of
significant trade problems related to:
- the non-use ofanappropriate existing international standard, guideline or
recommendation;
- anout-dated, technically flawed, orinother ways inappropriate existing international
standard, guideline orrecommendation; or
- theabsence ofanappropriate international standard, guideline orrecommendation.
• Inthelight oftheinformation provided, theCommittee should consider thepreparation
ofreports bytheSecretariat thatcould beprovided torelevant international organizations
fortheir consideration.
12. The Committee could evaluate theinformation provided which could form thebasis ofa
Committee Decision orRecommendation forongoing monitoring.
III. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES
13. Canada hasnoted thecontinuing concerns with thelack ofportability ofcertification to
international standards andthecosts forbusiness associated with demonstrating product conformity
inmultiple markets. Both theEUandJapan have highlighted theuseofdeclaration ofconformity
asatrade facilitating means ofdemonstrating product conformity. Atechnical working group has
been established toexplore theutility andapplication ofgeneral international guidelines coveringG/TBT/W/40
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conformity assessment andavery useful background paper onthese guidelines hadbeen prepared by
theSecretariat.
• Inthelight oftheresults ofthetechnical working group, theCommittee should update
orwithdraw theTokyo Round Committee recommendation ontheuseofspecific ISO/IEC
Guides onconformity assessment.
• Asproposed bytheEUandJapan, thetechnical working group should giveconsideration
totheconditions governing theuseofadeclaration ofconformity inorder toprovide a
basis upon which theCommittee might make arecommendation.
• The Committee should review theextent towhich relevant international guides and
recommendationshaveservedasabasisforrecognitionofconformityassessmentprocedures
conducted bybodies inother countries orasaharmonized approach toconformity
assessment.
• TheCommittee should give consideration tothecallbyindustry for“onestandard, one
test, onetime”andconsider practical mechanisms forachieving thisgoal. TheCommittee
should review international schemes forconformity assessment asforeseen under Article
9oftheAgreement.