WORLD TRADE G/TBT/2/Add.24
11October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4208)
Original: English Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OFTHE AGREEMENT
ONTECHNICAL BARRIERS TOTRADE
Thefollowing statement under Article 15.2oftheAgreement hasbeen received from the
delegation ofNewZealand.
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1. NewZealand wasaParty totheTokyo Round Agreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade
(TBT) from 1980. TheTBTAgreement, asrevised intheUruguay Round, hasrequired limited
implementation adjustments. Measures taken toensure implementation include: thecirculation of
thetextoftheAgreement intheWhite Paper published bytheNewZealand Government onthe
GATT Negotiations; andtheinforming ofallgovernment departments andother bodies
associated withstandards (including byspecial seminars convened forthepurpose andthe
publication ofaspecial information journal) ofNewZealand 'saccession totheAgreement andof
theneedtocomply withitsprovisions.
2. Forthesetting ofstandards andaccreditation oflaboratories, theNewZealand
Government recognizes twoprincipal non-governmental organizations. Astheprimary standards
writing body, Standards NewZealand hasbroad national authority intheindustrial standards
setting areaandhasresponsibility forproduct andquality system certifications. Established in
1932, itisanindependent Crown entity, andamember body ofISO,IECandthePacific Area
Standards Congress (PASC). Telarc NewZealand isresponsible fortheaccreditation of
laboratories undertaking tests, measurements, calibration andrelated services. Itpromotes
international technical andquality management standards inNewZealand 'sindustrial, scientific,
commercial, regulatory, health careandadministrative sectors.
3. BothStandards NewZealand andTelarc operate under government legislation. The
former isgoverned bytheStandards Council under theStandards Act1988, withitsactivities
defined byaseries ofservice contracts withCrown agencies. Telarc operates under theTesting
Laboratory Registration Act1972 andisobliged annually toprovide a"Statement ofIntent" tothe
Minister ofCommerce. Bothbodies arerequired toensure thattheirpractices conform withthe
Articles oftheTBTAgreement.
4. Notices oftechnical regulations, standards andconformity assessment procedures are
published intwogazettes. Theannual NewZealand Standards Catalogue listsregulations
/standards currently inuse,andtheStandards NewZealand Journal provides amonthly update of
newones. Such information isalsopublished innational newspapers, in-house trade journals, and
other publications.
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5. Inconformity withtheTBTAgreement, aperiod of60daysisgenerally provided forthe
submission ofother members 'comments ontheadoption oftechnical regulations, standards and
conformity assessment procedures. Thistiming mayvarydepending onurgency considerations.
6. TheNewZealand Enquiry Point/Notification Authority issituated within Standards
NewZealand. Thisisthecentral point fortheexecution ofallnotifications under theAgreement,
andinitial point ofcontact forenquiries from other members. Theaddress forenquiries is:
Director
WTO Enquiry Point
Standards NewZealand
Private Bag2439
Wellington 6020
NewZealand
Tel: 00644498/5992
Fax: 00644498/5994