WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/2/Add.82 
25 October 2004 
 
 (04-4509) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   Spanish 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT 
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
 
Communication from Nicaragua  
 
 
 The following communication under Article 15. 2 of the Agreement has been received from 
the delegation of Nicaragua . 
 
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 1. The Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade is responsible, on behalf of the 
Government of Nicaragua, for the implementation of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.  
Representations concerning Nicaragua's implem entation of the Agreement and requests for 
consultations should be addressed to: 
 Directorate of Technology, Standardization and Metrology 
 Km 6 Carretera a Masaya, Frente a Camino de Oriente   Telephone: +(505) 2 670161 ext. 1032, 1137  Fax.: +(505) 2 672019 
 E-mail: dtnm@mific.gob.ni 
 2. Law No. 290 on the Organization, Jurisdiction, and Procedures of the Executive Branch and 
its Regulations mandate the Directorate of Technol ogy, Standardization and Metrology (DTNM) to 
develop the National System of Technical Standa rdization and Quality, the National Accreditation 
System and the National Metrology System as well as to implement Law No. 219 on Technical 
Standardization and Quality and its Regulations, and Law No. 225 on Metrology and its Regulations. 
3. Under Law No. 219 on Technical Standardiza tion and Quality and its Regulations, the 
DTNM's functions include acting as the Execu tive Secretariat of the National Committee on 
Standardization and Quality, which is the body responsible for: 
(a) Approving, on an annual basis, the Nationa l Standardization and Quality Programme, 
and coordinating and evaluating compliance; 
(b) proposing measures that it considers appropr iate for the promotion of technical 
standardization and quality; 
(c) issuing guidelines for the organization of th e technical standardization committees; 
(d) studying and approving technical sta ndards developed by the technical 
standardization committees; G/TBT/2/Add.82 
Page 2  
 
 (e) assigning appropriate functions to public institutions, according to their areas of 
competence, to ensure compliance with th e technical and quality standards laid down 
in the corresponding regulations; 
(f) proposing such measures as are necessary to carry out the functions indicated above 
and those that the Committee itsel f may establish in the future. 
4. The National Committee on Standardization and Quality, pursuant to the Regulations to 
Law No. 219, is composed as follows: 
 1. The Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade 
 2. The Ministry of Health  3. The Ministry of Construction and Transport 
 4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment 
 5. The Ministry of Labour  6. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock  7. The Nicaraguan Energy Institute  8. The Nicaraguan Institute of Water and Sewage Systems 
 9. The Nicaraguan Institute of Tel ecommunications and Postal Services 
 10. The Nicaraguan Chamber of Industry  11. The Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce  12. The Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua  13. The Autonomous National University of Nicaragua  14. A representative of the consumer organizations 
 
5. Under Law No. 219 on Technical Standardiza tion and Quality, there are two types of 
standards:  Nicaraguan Mandatory Technical Standa rds (NTONs), which are equivalent to "Technical 
Regulations", and Nicaraguan Technical Standards (N TNs) which are equivalent to "Standards".  The 
NTONs are implemented by public institutions  according to their sphere of competence. 
6. The Technical Standardization Department ope rates under the DTNM, and is responsible for 
coordinating the process of devel oping and approving technical sta ndards, relying on the provisions 
governing such procedures.  In addition to the inte rnal regulations for the development and approval 
of standards, the Department also developed th e internal regulations for the organization and 
operation of the National Committee on Standard ization and Quality and the manual for the 
organization and operation of the national standardization committees. 
7. The procedure for developing technical regulati ons begins with the convening of the entities 
affected by the regulations and the formation of a technical committee, which is then responsible for 
reviewing and approving them.  Once the regulati ons have been approved,  a national consultation 
takes place:  the regulations are published in a ne wspaper with national circulation so that any 
Nicaraguan national may submit comments, and at the same time, notification is sent to the 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trad e for circulation to WTO Members. 
8. As regards conformity assessment procedures,  the above-mentioned Law and its Regulations 
provide for the creation of the National Accreditati on Office responsible for organizing the system of 
accreditation of certification bodies and for administ ering the national accreditation and certification 
system, which involves registration, inspection, a nd accreditation of testing, analysis and calibration 
laboratories and certification bodies. 
9. The TBT Enquiry Point operates under the supervision of the DTNM, and serves both as the 
country's contact point and as the body in charge of notification.  The Enquiry Point is responsible for responding to technical enquiries from other Member s concerning national regulations, standards and  G/TBT/2/Add.82 
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 conformity assessment procedures, and for submit ting the notifications required under the TBT 
Agreement.  The address of Nicaragua's Enquiry Point is as follows: 
  Centro de Información de Ob stáculos Técnicos al Comercio 
  Dirección de Tecnología, Normalización y Metrología   Km 6 Carretera Masaya 
  Managua, Nicaragua 
   Telephone: +(505) 2670161 ext. 1130   Fax:  +(505) 2672019   E-mail:  jorge.torres@mific.gob.ni 
 
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