COMMITTEE ONTECHNICAL BARRIERS TOTRADE
Draft Minutes oftheMeeting heldon14February 1997
Attached hereto please findthedraftminutes ofthemeeting heldon14February 1997.
Delegations areinvited tosubmit comments, ifany,totheSecretariat (Mrs. Vivien Liu,
tel.7395455,andMrs. Barbara D'Andrea, tel.7395478)by7April 1997.
97-0990RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/TBT/W/37
11March 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-0990)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON14FEBRUARY 1997
Chairperson: Ambassador C.L.Guarda (Chile)
1. TheCommittee onTechnical Barriers toTrade helditseighth meeting on
14February 1997.
2. Thefollowing agenda, contained inWTO/AIR/516 wasadopted:
Page
A. Observer Status forInternational Intergovernmental Organizations inthe
Committee 2
B. Statements onImplementation andAdministration oftheAgreement 2
C. Second Annual Review oftheImplementation andOperation ofthe
TBTAgreement under Article 15.3 4
D. Second Annual Review oftheCode ofGood Practice forthePreparation,
Adoption andApplication ofStandards inAnnex 3oftheAgreement under the
Ministerial Decision onReview oftheISO/IEC Information Centre Publication 5
E. Technical Working Group oftheCommittee onISO/IEC Guides Relating to
Articles 5and6oftheAgreement -Report ontheFirstMeetings 5
F. Preparation fortheFirstTriennial Review oftheOperation andImplementation
oftheTBTAgreement under Article 15.4 6
G. Technical Assistance 11
H. Other Business 12
I. Election ofOfficers 12G/TBT/W/37
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A. OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS INTHE COMMITTEE
3. TheCommittee agreed togrant observer status totheWorld Bank andtothefollowing
organizations which hadpreviously beengranted observer status intheTBTCommittee onan
adhocbasis:
- Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO)
- International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- International Organization forStandardization (ISO)
- International Trade Centre (ITC)
- International Office ofEpizootics (OIE)
- Organization forEconomic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD)
- United Nations Conference onTrade andDevelopment (UNCTAD)
- United Nations Economic Commission forEurope (UN/ECE)
- WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission
- World Health Organization (WHO)
4. TheChairperson oftheCommittee would consult informally ontheobserver status ofthe
African, Caribbean andPacific Group ofStates (ACP), theEuropean FreeTrade Association
(EFTA) andtheOffice international delavigne etduvin(OIV). Therequests ofthese
organizations would betreated onacase-by-case basis andconsidered against theGeneral Council
Guidelines (Annex 3ofdocument WT/L/161), "taking intoaccount suchfactors asthenature of
work oftheorganization concerned, thenature ofitsmembership, thenumber ofWTO Members
intheorganization, reciprocity withrespect toaccess toproceedings, documents andother aspects
ofobservership ...".
B. STATEMENTS ONIMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OFTHE
AGREEMENT
5. TheChairperson drew attention tothefactthat46Members hadsubmitted their
Statements under Article 15.2ontheImplementation andAdministration theAgreement
(G/TBT/2/ andAdd.1-30). Sheurged onceagain those Members, whohadnotyetdoneso,to
submit theirstatements.
6. Therepresentative ofPoland informed theCommittee ofthestatement submitted byhis
authorities which would becirculated toMembers shortly.
7. Therepresentative ofNorway expressed concern about aCanadian ShipInspectorate
Directorate. Itobliged cables tobeproduced according toCanadian national standards inorder to
bequalified fordelivery totheHibernia Shuttle Tankers Project offtheCanadian coast. Asa
result oftheDirectorate, aNorwegian company might beexcluded from competition. The
company, amajor cable producer, hadbeendelivering cables totheHibernia platform in
accordance withrelevant International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards andadditional
Canadian requirements toundergo "cold blend" and"cold impact-2 tests". However, new
requirements hadbeenintroduced, similar tothose laiddown intheAmerican IEEE -standard 45
ofSeptember 1993. Hequestioned theneedforsuchsudden introduction ofadditional
requirements since theCanadian climatic andwater conditions hadremained thesame.G/TBT/W/37
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8. Hedrew attention toArticle 2.4oftheTBTAgreement which stated that"Where
technical regulations arerequired andrelevant international standards exist...,Members shalluse
them, ortherelevant parts ofthem, asabasis fortheirtechnical regulations" andtoArticle 2.2
which stipulated that"technical regulations shallnotbemore trade-restrictive thannecessary to
fulfil alegitimate objective... Such legitimate objectives are,interalia:national security
requirements, ...protection ofhuman health orsafety, ...ortheenvironment." Thisledtothe
following questions: (i)whatarethelegitimate objectives within thecontext ofArticle 2.2forthe
additional requirements thatcannot beachieved bytheuseofinternational standards? and
(ii)whatarethefundamental factors and/or problems within thecontext ofArticle 2.4which
made itnecessary forCanada todepart from international standards ortherelevant parts ofthem?
Hesaidthatthequestions hadbeenbrought upbilaterally inOttawa, butregretted thatNorway
hadsimply beenasked inreturn onwhythecompany wasunable toproduce cables inconformity
withthenewCanadian requirements. Herequested theCanadian delegation toprovide answers to
theabove questions atthenextCommittee meeting.
9. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthathisdelegation would provide these answers atthe
nextCommittee meeting, andthatawritten response would besubmitted totheNorwegian
authorities before themeeting.
10. Hedrew attention toFrench regulations onasbestos under Decree 96-11.33 of
24December 1996 which banned among other things, theimport, manufacturing andproduction
ofasbestos. Theissue hadbeensubject tobilateral consultations. However, France hadnot
fulfilled itsobligations under Article 2.5oftheTBTAgreement, which required that"AMember
preparing, adopting orapplying atechnical regulation which mayhaveasignificant effect ontrade
ofother Members shall, upon therequest ofanother Member, explain thejustification forthat
technical regulation interms oftheprovisions ofArticles 2.2and2.4." Herecalled thaton
27January 1997, communications hadbeensenttoFrance andtheEuropean Communities
informing theintention ofhisdelegation toraisetheissue attoday'smeeting. Herequested an
explanation within 30daysoftheFrench measures.
11. Therepresentative ofSouth Africa associated hisdelegation withthestatement made by
Canada. Hesaidthathiscountry wasthesecond largest supplier ofasbestos, afterCanada, and
itsexports hadsimilarly beeneffected bytheFrench regulation.
12. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheFrench measure hadbeen
notified totheSecretariat thedaybefore themeeting. Hisdelegation would provide answers to
thequestions raised afterconsultations withexperts.
13. Heinformed theCommittee ofanongoing bilateral dialogues withCanada onthe
definition ofchocolate andexpressed concern about Israel'stesting andcertification requirements
withregard totheriskofcadmium andleadcontent oftableware.
14. Therepresentative ofIsrael saidthathewould transmit thestatement made tohiscapital.
Herequested theEuropean Communities tosubmit therelevant questions inwritten form tohis
delegation.
15. Therepresentative oftheRepublic ofKorea expressed concern about Peru'scertification
system ofsecond-hand cars. Herequested information onhowmany certificates hadbeenissued.
16. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made. TheChairperson urged thedelegations
involved toprovide replies inwriting andtransmit them totheCommittee.G/TBT/W/37
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C. SECOND ANNUAL REVIEW OFTHE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF
THE TBTAGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 15.3
17. TheChairperson drew attention totheSecretariat 'sbackground document G/TBT/4 forthe
Second Annual Review oftheImplementation andOperation oftheAgreement.
18. Therepresentative ofIndia noted thatunder Article 15.3, "The Committee shallreview
annually theimplementation andoperation oftheAgreement taking intoaccount theobjectives
thereof." Hesaidthatoneoftheobjectives oftheAgreement, asstated inthePreamble, wasthe
desire ofMembers toensure that"technical regulations andstandards, ...,andprocedures for
assessment ofconformity donotcreate unnecessary obstacles tointernational trade;" while
recognizing that"nocountry should beprevented from taking measures necessary toensure the
quality ofitsexports, orfortheprotection ofhuman, animal orplant lifeorhealth, ...subject to
therequirement thattheyarenotapplied inamanner which would constitute ameans ofarbitrary
orunjustifiable discrimination between countries where thesame conditions prevail oradisguised
restriction oninternational trade, ..."Hethought thatdocument G/TBT/4 andthepastdiscussions
intheCommittee inthecontext ofannual review hadnotfullyaddressed these objectives. While
thenotification ofdrafttechnical regulations andstandards hadfulfilled theobjective of
transparency, theeffect ofthese regulations andstandards oninternational trade hadnotbeen
adequately studied. Since theWTO/TBT Agreement hadentered intoforce fortwoyears, he
suggested thattheCommittee invite theSecretariat toundertake astudy, ifnecessary withthe
assistance ofUNCTAD, onthetrade restrictive effects oftechnical regulations andstandards and
theefforts required toavoid sucheffects.
19. Therepresentatives ofEgypt andSingapore, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries,
supported theIndia'srequest foraSecretariat Study. Therepresentative ofEgypt noted a
UNCTAD study concerning theenvironment andthought itwould beuseful tohaveafactual or
analytical paper onhowenvironmental standards affected trade indeveloping countries.
20. Therepresentative ofCanada noted thatallMembers shared concerns about thenegative
trade effects ofstandard-related activities. Hesuggested thatthestudy should haveabroader
focus, encompassing technical regulations, standards andconformity assessment procedures,
including requirements forquality certifications.
21. Therepresentative ofJapan drew attention totable4(Observation oftheRecommended
Comment Period byMembers) ofdocument G/TBT/4 andexpressed concern about theincreased
number ofnotifications providing lessthan45daysforcomment. Itmight benecessary to
analyse theunderlying reason andrequested theSecretariat tocirculate notifications assoonas
possible afterreceiving them from Members.
22. Therepresentative ofEgypt shared theconcern expressed byJapan andsaidthatitwas
difficult forother Members tohaveenough timetomake comments, especially when therelevant
documents needed translation.
23. TheChairperson saidthattheSecretariat would takeallpossible measures toensure
speedy circulation ofnotifications.
24. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed torequest theSecretariat to
undertake astudy onthetrade restrictive effects oftechnical regulations, standards andconformity
assessment procedures. Thestudy would betreated aspartoftheexercise fortheTriennial
Review oftheAgreement.G/TBT/W/37
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D. SECOND ANNUAL REVIEW OFTHE CODE OFGOOD PRACTICE FOR THE
PREPARATION, ADOPTION AND APPLICATION OFSTANDARDS INANNEX 3
OFTHE AGREEMENT UNDER THE MINISTERIAL DECISION ONREVIEW OF
THE ISO/IEC INFORMATION CENTRE PUBLICATION
25. TheChairperson drew attention tothe1997 WTO TBTStandards Code Directory
prepared bytheISO/IEC Information Centre. Itcontained theinformation received according to
paragraphs CandJoftheCode ofGood Practice andtodocument G/TBT/CS/2/Rev.1 containing
alistbyMember ofallstandardizing bodies thathadaccepted theCode ofGood Practice since
1January 1995. Attheendof1996, 63standardizing bodies from 46Members hadaccepted the
Code andnotified theirwork programmes instandardization. During theyear1996, anadditional
35standardizing bodies from 21Members hadaccepted theCode ofGood Practice
(G/TBT/CS/1/Add.1/Rev.1). Sheexpressed concern thatthenumber ofacceptances wasnot
satisfactory anddrew attention toArticle 4.1oftheAgreement which required that"Members
shallensure thattheircentral government standardizing bodies accept andcomply withtheCode
ofGood Practice ...andshalltakesuchreasonable measures asmaybeavailable tothem to
ensure thatlocalgovernment andnon-governmental standardizing bodies within theirterritories, as
wellasregional standardizing bodies ofwhich theyoroneormore bodies within theirterritories
aremembers, accept andcomply withthisCode ofGood Practice."
26. Therepresentative ofIndia shared theconcern expressed bytheChairperson. Henoted
thathardly anylocalgovernment standardizing bodies hadaccepted theCode.
27. Therepresentative ofThailand, referring todocument G/TBT/CS/2/Rev.1, drew attention
tothefactthattheThaiIndustrial Standards Institute wasagovernment agency.
28. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made. TheSecretariat would make corrections
todocument G/TBT/CS/2/Rev.1.
E. TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP OFTHE COMMITTEE ONISO/IEC GUIDES
RELATING TOARTICLES 5AND 6OFTHE AGREEMENT -REPORT ONTHE
FIRST MEETING
29. TheTechnical Working Group hadbeenestablished bytheTBTCommittee tostudy
certain ISO/IEC Guides andhowtheymight contribute tofurthering theobjectives ofArticles 5
and6oftheAgreement. Theobjective wastoassist theCommittee inconsidering whether it
would benecessary toadopt recommendations regarding theuseofthese guides. The
representative from theSecretariat reported onthefirstmeeting oftheTechnical Working Group
heldon13February 1997 which attheChairperson 'srequest, hadbeenchaired bytheSecretariat.
Atthemeeting, themandate oftheworking group hadbeenrecalled andapaper prepared bythe
Secretariat containing series ofquestions relating totheISO/IEC Guides, conformity assessment
procedures andmutual recognition agreements hadbeencirculated tohelpstructure thediscussions
oftheWorking Group.
30. Hethought thattheissue concerned acomplex andhighly technical areaofthe
TBTAgreement, andthere appeared tobesignificant differences among delegations '
understanding oftheissues involved. Forfurther consideration, theworking group hadrequested
theSecretariat toprepare abasic background paper describing theissues involved andcompile in
apaper thepractical experience ofindividual governments andinternational organizations inusing
ISO/IEC guides aswellasother guides andrecommendations issued byinternational standardizingG/TBT/W/37
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bodies. Members hadbeeninvited toprovide therelevant information totheSecretariat for
inclusion inthepaper.
31. Therepresentative oftheUnited States thought thatthere should beabroader participation
inthemeetings ofthetechnical working group, given thatthese served aneducational purpose.
32. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed thattheChairman electof
theCommittee would holdinformal consultations ontheelection ofofficers oftheTechnical
Working Group andthedateandformat oftheGroup 'snextmeeting.
F. PREPARATION FOR THE FIRST TRIENNIAL REVIEW OFTHE OPERATION AND
IMPLEMENTATION OFTHE TBTAGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 15.4
33. Under Article 15.4oftheAgreement, theCommittee isrequired tocarry outitsfirst
Triennial Review oftheOperation andImplementation oftheAgreement nolaterthantheendof
1997 "with aviewtorecommending anadjustment oftherights andobligations oftheAgreement
where necessary toensure mutual economic advantage andbalance ofrights andobligations,
without prejudice totheprovisions ofArticle 12.Having regard, interalia,totheexperience
gained intheimplementation oftheAgreement, theCommittee shall, where appropriate, submit
proposals foramendments tothetextofthisAgreement totheCouncil forTrade inGoods."
34. TheChairperson drew attention tothefollowing points forconsideration byMembers:
(i)howtoproceed inorder thattheCommittee canbebestprepared fortheReview; (ii)dates of
meetings inorder nottooverburden Members andtoenable theCommittee 'sReport beprepared
intimeforsubmission totheCouncil forTrade inGoods attheendoftheyear; (iii)listof
elaborated issues tobeincluded intheReview inorder thattheCommittee 'sdiscussions canbe
more focused andfruitful during thenextninemonths; (iv)documents tobeprepared bythe
Secretariat fortheReview; and(v)delegations 'submissions ofpapers andnon-papers inorder to
enrich discussions.
35. Shesaidthatthemeetings forthepreparation oftheTriennial Review should bewell
prepared withsub-items oftheReview listed intheagenda. Relevant documents andpapers
should becirculated wellinadvance sothatMembers hadenough timetostudy theissues and
havefruitful discussions atthemeetings. Concerning theissues, shedrew attention to
paragraph 21oftheCommittee 'sReport totheSingapore Ministerial Conference (G/L/122)
containing thefollowing tentative listofissues suggested byindividual Members tobeincluded:
theCode ofGood Practice forthePreparation, Adoption andApplication ofStandards;
international standards; notification procedures; mutual recognition agreements andequivalence;
measures notmore trade restrictive thannecessary; andconformity assessment procedures. She
suggested thatMembers elaborate theissues theywould liketoexamine under eachitem, and
invited Members tosubmit written statements tofacilitate consideration bytheCommittee.
36. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities noted thatthepotential ofthe
TBTAgreement, preventing andeliminating non-tariff barriers toworld trade, hadnotbeenfully
exploited. TheTriennial Review should, therefore, focus onensuring better functioning and
implementing oftheAgreement itself rather thanconsidering changes toitsprovisions.
37. Hedrew attention todocument G/TBT/W/36 (Note from theEuropean Communities on
theFirstTriennial Review) containing specific proposals from hisdelegation. Hehighlighted the
following proposals: (i)theCommittee should setitself theobjective ofobtaining from all
Members, atthelatest bytheendoftheTriennial Review, thestatements onimplementation andG/TBT/W/37
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administration oftheAgreement under Article 15.2; aninitial evaluation ofthequality ofthe
measures taken toensure implementation andadministration oftheAgreement could thenbe
carried out;(ii)special attention should bepaidtoensure theacceptance bystandardizing bodies
oftheCode ofGood Practice onthePreparation, Adoption andApplication ofStandards; he
drew attention toparagraph NoftheCode stipulating thatastandardizing body which had
accepted theCode would reply tocomments relating todraftstandards onlyfrom standardizing
bodies thathadaccepted theCode; and(iii)thecommon obligations fortechnical assistance
should bereinforced.
38. Concerning thescope oftheTBTAgreement, hedrew attention tothefollowing elements
thathisdelegation considered desirable forfurther work: (i)proportionality andtheideaofleast
trade restrictive measures possible: restate thedefinition ofunnecessary barriers tointernational
trade inorder toensure consistency intheapplication oftheAgreement; (ii)different types of
conformity assessment procedures worldwide (such asmanufacturers 'declaration ofconformity):
carry outanexamination withaviewtopromoting theleasttrade restrictive approach; and
(iii)eco-labelling relating tothescope oftheAgreement: continue work ontheissue.
39. Inrespect tonotification procedures, hethought itessential thatallMembers notified their
drafttechnical regulations, conformity assessment procedures andstandards under conditions as
laiddown intheAgreement. Hedrew attention tothenotification obligations oflocal
governments attheleveldirectly below thatofthecentral government. Hesuggested that
information beprovided inMembers 'Statements under Article 15.2iftheirlocalgovernment
bodies were authorized toadopt regulatory provisions, andalistshould beprepared containing
suchinformation. Concerning opportunities forother Members tocomment onnotified draft
regulations, hesaiditwasnecessary toimprove theoperation oftherelevant provisions ofthe
Agreement anddecisions oftheCommittee. Inorder togaintimeforthesubmission of
comments, hesuggested thefollowing measures beadopted: (i)thetextofthenotified draft
technical regulations orconformity assessment procedures should beprovided withthe
notifications totheWTO Secretariat; interested Members could thenobtain these documents from
theSecretariat; (ii)the60daycomment period recommended bytheCommittee should runfrom
thedateonwhich thenotification waspublished bytheWTO; and(iii)thecompetent authority
responsible fordealing withcomments made byother Members should beindicated either inthe
Member 'sstatement under Article 15.2orinthenotification form. Aslaiddown under
Article 10.11, information should beprovided, iftheresponsibility fornotification procedures was
divided among more thanoneauthority.
40. Hethought thatthefirstTriennial Review would provide anopportunity tourgeMembers
touseinternational standards asmuch aspossible. Inthisrespect, theidentification of
international standards under theAgreement should bebased onthebroadest possible definition.
Hereferred totheprovision that"Where technical regulations arerequired andrelevant
international standards existortheircompletion isimminent, Members shallusethem, orthe
relevant parts ofthem, asabasis fortheirtechnical regulations ....". Toensure implementation
andforthepurpose oftransparency, itwould benecessary fortheCommittee todraw up
procedures tomeasure theextent towhich Members andstandardizing bodies adopt orapply
international standards, guides orrecommendations. Intheevent thatinternational standards were
notapplied, thegrounds should bespecified inthenotification form. Thismight helptoclarify
thesituation, andtoidentify whyinternational standards were notused. Recommendations could
bemade tointernational standardizing bodies tobetter identify theirwork priorities, taking into
account theneeds ofinternational trade.
41. HefeltthattheTriennial Review should beconducted bywayofaworking party.G/TBT/W/37
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42. Therepresentative ofCanada welcomed theEuropean Communities 'contribution tothe
Triennial Review anditsfocus onimplementation issues. Hisdelegation would review the
proposals indetail andprovide comments prior tothenextTBTmeeting. Heencouraged other
delegations tomake similar contributions andsubmit suggestions and/or comments tofacilitate a
successful andresults-oriented Triennial Review. Heproposed thattheSecretariat prepare an
informal working document listing theissues identified todate. Concerning thepreparation for
theTriennial Review, theCommittee might needaparallel informal process, back-to-back with
regular Committee meetings withanopen-ended participation, toadvance discussions. Hethought
thatduetotheimportance andbroad focus oftheTriennial Review, thisinformal process should
beseparated from theTechnical Working Group ontheISO/IEC Guides andbechaired bythe
Chairman oftheCommittee.
43. Hethought thattheTriennial Review would provide anopportunity forMembers toreflect
upon theimplementation oftheAgreement andensure thattheAgreement addressed concerns of
thebusiness community. Thelarge number oftrade disputes involving theTBTAgreement had
indicated thedegree towhich technical barriers were concrete issues forcompanies and
economies. Hesaidthathisdelegation 'spresent views withrespect totheTriennial Review were
preliminary andindicated thataCanadian non-paper would bepresented before thenext
Committee meeting.
44. Interms ofsubstance, heidentified thefollowing fourissues forconsideration inthe
Triennial Review: (i)Thechanging nature ofstandards: Thenature ofstandards asunderstood
bythebusiness community hadbeenchanging. Without prejudice totheviews ofMembers on
thedefinition ofstandards intheTBTAgreement, standards, bothnational andinternational, had
become much broader thanthetraditional product-related performance, characteristic orprocess
andproduction method-based standards. Over thepast10years, there hadbeenashifttoset
standards fororganizations producing products (orservices) rather thanfortheproducts
themselves. Atthenational level, environmental, occupational health andsafety, andprivacy
standards hademerged. Internationally, ISOhaddeveloped theISO9000 quality management
standards andthenewISO14000 environmental management standards which hadbeenadopted
bybothdeveloped anddeveloping countries. TheTriennial Review should provide opportunities
toconsider howtoincorporate these generic standards under thedisciplines ofthe
TBTAgreement anditsCode ofGood Practice toreduce thepotential forprotectionist abuse.
Henoted thatonemajor characteristic ofglobalization wasthetendency forbusinesses to
sub-contract work bothdomestically andinternationally. Given "just-in-time" production
techniques, andduetothefactthatthefinalassemblers/manufacturers were responsible forthe
quality andimage ofproducts, companies hadincreasingly based theirsupplier policies onthese
newgeneric standards. Their trade impact could notbeunderestimated andtheconsequent need
fortrade disciplines wasevident.
45. (ii)Theportability ofcertifications: Hedrew attention totheconcerns raised byCanadian
exporters about thetime-consuming andexpensive requirements formultiple certifications, i.e.,
certifications carried outinCanada might notbeacceptable inexport markets. Theobjective of
harmonized international standards tofacilitate trade could beundermined bymultiple testing and
certification requirements. Hethought thatelimination ofneedless duplication ofcertification
procedures would provide realimprovement tothebusiness communities. TheTriennial Review
should lookintotheprovisions ofArticle 6oftheAgreement (Recognition ofConformity
Assessment byCentral Government Bodies) toconsider whether these provisions needed tobe
strengthened toaddress suchproblems andensure theportability ofcertifications -"onestop, one
time" certifications. Thisshould apply toboththecertifications forinternational standards andthe
certifications fornational technical regulations andstandards. Herecognized thedifficulties and
costs inherent innegotiating bilateral mutual recognition agreements andinvited other delegationsG/TBT/W/37
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tothrow ideas anddiscuss these issues, taking intoaccount theobjectives oftheISOQuality
Assessment Recognition System (QSAR) onISO9000 andISO14000, andtheInternational
Accreditation Forum (IAF) withrespect toaccreditation ofcertification bodies.
46. (iii)Equivalence: Hethought thattheissue ofrecognizing different national technical
regulations andstandards asequivalent wasmore complex thanthecaseofharmonized
international standards. Hedrew attention tothefactthattheCode ofGood Practice forthe
Preparation, Adoption andApplication ofStandards (Annex 3oftheAgreement) didnotcontain a
provision similar toArticle 2.7oftheAgreement which stated that"Members shallgivepositive
consideration toaccepting asequivalent technical regulations ofother Members, evenifthese
regulations differ from theirown, provided theyaresatisfied thatthese regulations adequately
fulfil theobjectives oftheirownregulations." Hethought thatthismight beduetothefactthat
during theUruguay Round negotiations oftheTBTAgreement, equivalence forvoluntary
standards hadbeenoflessconcern thanformandatory technical regulations. With thechanging
nature ofstandards, especially thedevelopment anduseofISO9000 andISO14000 generic
management standards andparallel national voluntary standards, thetrade impact ofstandards
might become greater thanthatoftechnical regulations. Asaresult, equivalence ofstandards
might become asimportant anissue asinthecaseoftechnical regulations. Toreflect market
reality, priority should begiven toreflect ontheneedtoinclude intheCode ofGood Practice a
provision parallel tothatofArticle 2.7oftheAgreement.
47. Inthatconnection, heindicated hisdelegation 'sintention tocirculate apaper prepared by
independent experts outlining apossible approach toequivalence issues inthecontext of
eco-labelling programmes. Henoted thattheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment 'sreport to
theSingapore Ministerial Conference stressed "theimportance ofWTO Members following the
provisions oftheTBTAgreement anditsCode ofGood Practice, including those ontransparency"
without prejudice totheviews ofWTO Members concerning thecoverage andapplication ofthe
TBTAgreement tothenon-product-related PPM aspects ofeco-labelling programmes. Heinvited
Members tonotify theireco-labelling programmes.
48. (iv)ISO14000 series ofenvironmental management standards: Hethought thatthe
approach ofISO14000 could provide abasis forfacilitating environmental equivalence.
ISO14000 hadtwofundamental requirements, acommitment tocomply withnational
environmental legislation andregulations, andacommitment tocontinuous improvement. Inother
words, there wasnoextrajurisdictional application ofdomestic environmental legislations and
regulations, andPrinciple 7oftheRioDeclaration, "common butdifferentiated responsibility",
wasfullyrespected. Forthisreason, ISO14000 treated non-product related process and
production methods inatrade-neutral manner, leaving national governments tosettheirown
values andthresholds. Hethought thatthis"built-in" equivalence might offer awaytoaddress
theincreased useofenvironmental standards inamanner thattooktrade concerns intoaccount.
49. Therepresentative ofIndia noted thatthere were important issues intheCanadian
proposal. Hewelcomed theEuropean Communities 'paper andsaidthathisdelegation would
comment onitatthenextmeeting. Hesupported theEC'sgeneral approach fortheTriennial
Review tofocus onbetter implementation oftheexisting Agreement before considering
amendments. Heproposed toschedule thefirstmeeting forthepreparation oftheTriennial
Review inthemiddle ofJune. Inrespect oftheSecretariat study onthetrade restrictive effects of
standards andrelated matters, herequested thataspecial section beincluded linking thestudy to
theprovisions ofArticle 12(Special andDifferential Treatment) oraseparate paper beprepared
examining theimplementation oftheAgreement ingeneral andinthiscontext, ofArticle 12.G/TBT/W/37
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50. Therepresentative oftheUnited States welcomed theproposals putforward bythe
European Communities andCanada. They would generate fruitful discussions insubsequent
meetings. Shesupported theEC'sgeneral approach withregard totheTriennial Review.
51. Therepresentative ofEgypt saidthattheproposals from theEuropean Communities and
Canada contained valid points, andhisdelegation would make comments atfuture meetings. He
shared theviewthattheCommittee should firstconsider theimplementation oftheexisting
Agreement before looking intochanges. Amendments should bedealtwithinacautious manner.
Hedrew attention tothefollowing twopoints thathisdelegation considered important: (i)the
disciplines governing eco-labelling schemes should bebased onconcepts ofequivalence and
mutual recognition sothateachcountry could setitsownstandards; and(ii)transparency ofsuch
schemes should beenhanced through notifications which would provide opportunities for
comments.
52. Therepresentative ofJapan shared theCanadian representative 'sviewthatconformity
assessments ofquality andenvironmental management standards, suchasISO9000 and14000,
might havesubstantial trade effects. Itwasimportant todiscuss howtheTBTAgreement and
mutual recognition agreements could contribute toachieving thegoalofone-stop certifications of
these standards. Hesuggested thatsuchmutual recognition agreements bebestcarried outinthe
private sectors, e.g.through theIAF, ESCandQSAR. Itwasimportant toensure transparency
andfairness inthedevelopment ofthese international standards.
53. According totheAgreement, "Members shalluse"international standards asabasis for
theirmandatory technical regulations andvoluntary standards. Japan supported theuseof
international standards andwasatpresent promoting harmonization ofJapanese national standards
(JIS)withrelevant ISOandIECstandards. However, during theprocess, hisauthorities had
identified some international standards which were notuptodateand,asaresult, notapplicable.
Hequeried ifthework programme todevelop orrevise international standards hadtaken full
account oftrade andproduction needs, orifthelongperiod oftime(insome cases more than
10years) todevelop international standards hadmade itdifficult toincorporate actual market
needs andlatest technological developments. Itmight beuseful toinform international
organizations ofthese problems sothatthesituation could beimproved. Inrespect totheformat
ofpreparing theTriennial Review, hepreferred aninformal discussion process.
54. Therepresentative ofMexico welcomed theproposals made bytheEuropean
Communities, Canada andJapan. Sheshared theCanada 'sviewthatconformity assessment
procedures, suchasmulti-certification, mutual recognition agreements andequivalence, are
important issues tobeincluded intheTriennial Review. TheSecretariat Studies should cover
suchissues. Concerning thescheduling andformat ofmeetings fortheTriennial Review, she
agreed theviewtoholdtheCommittee meeting inJuneandhaveopen-ended informal meetings.
55. Therepresentative ofArgentina thought thattheproposals made bytheEuropean
Communities andCanada contained important elements forfuture discussions. Heexpressed
interest intheCanadian proposal toinclude intheCode ofGood Practice provisions relating to
equivalence.
56. Therepresentative ofSingapore, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, expressed
interest intheEuropean Communities 'andtheCanada 'sproposals andsaidthatASEAN countries
would come backwithcomments atalaterstage. Hesupported theEuropean Communities 'view
tofocus theTriennial Review ontheimplementation aspects oftheexisting Agreement.
Concerning Canada 'sstatement, herecalled thediscussions thathadtaken place intheCommittee
onTrade andEnvironment ontheissue ofnon-product related production andprocessingG/TBT/W/37
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methods. Hethought that,given thesensitivity ofthesubject andthedifferences inview, the
issue should betreated cautiously. Theconcept ofnon-product related PPMs wasnot
encompassed bytheTBTAgreement. Hesupported theproposal thattheCommittee should look
intohowtheTBTAgreement might affect market access andexport opportunities forsmall and
medium sizeenterprises which inmost ASEAN countries form asignificant partoftheindustrial
structure. Heshared theviewexpressed bytherepresentative ofEgypt relating tomutual
recognition andequivalence andsaidthattheSecretariat study should include these issues.
57. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland welcomed theproposals made bytheEuropean
Communities andCanada andsaidthatherdelegation would come backwithcomments atalater
time. Shesupported theEuropean Communities 'viewoffocusing theTriennial Review on
improving theimplementation oftheAgreement. Herdelegation would come backwithspecific
proposals afterconsulting withindustries. Theissues ofinternational standards, equivalence of
technical regulations andstandards, mutual recognition andconformity assessment procedures
were ofimportance tointernational trade. Shethought thatsome kindofinformal discussion
would beneeded onhowtocarry outtheTriennial Review.
58. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed thattheFirstTriennial
Review would becarried outatitslastmeeting in1997, on12-13 November. Thepreparation
fortheTriennial Review would beconducted inopen-ended informal meetings inaddition to
regular Committee meetings.
G. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
59. TheChairperson recalled thatin1996, theSecretariat hadprovided technical assistance to
theMediterranean Members oftheIslamic Development Bank, andtocountries inAPEC, ALADI
andSouth Africa. These technical assistance activities were heldintheform ofTBTseminars in
coordination withMembers, other international bodies andregional intergovernmental bodies
(G/TBT/W/26 andG/TBT/4).
60. TheSecretariat technical assistance programme in1997 included fourTBTseminars tobe
heldjointly withtheISO,ITCandFTAA inthesub-regions ofSouth Asia, Central America,
Eastern Europe, Northern Africa andtheMiddle East. These seminars would beattended by
representatives from government agencies, standardizing bodies andprivate industries.
Recognizing thatfunding fortheparticipation ofthese seminars might bedifficult forsome
developing country Members, theSecretariat wasseeking appropriate resources topayfor
participants, especially those from theleastdeveloped countries attending theseminars. She
invited Members whowished toparticipate in,orcontribute to,those seminars tocontact the
Secretariat.
61. Therepresentative ofCanada thought thattheincreased impact oftechnical regulations
andstandards oninternational trade suggested thatadditional technical assistance might be
required. Hesupported theISO/ITC/WTO TBTseminars aswellastheITC/UNCTAD/WTO
Uruguay Round follow-up series ofseminars covering more general TBT-and SPS-related issues
andenvironmental requirements. Referring totheupcoming highlevelmeeting jointly organized
bytheWTO/ITC/UNCTAD ontrade-support forleastdeveloped countries, heinvited Members to
reflect ontheemphasis tobeplaced ontheareas oftechnical regulations andstandards. Hesaid
thatmarket impact ofthenewgeneric standards suggested thatdeveloping countries mayrequire
additional technical assistance inthearea. Although anumber oforganizations hadalready been
providing technical assistance inthiscontext, some further reflection and/or coordination onLDCG/TBT/W/37
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capacity-building inthisareamight behelpful. During thecourse oftheTriennial Review, the
Committee might further identify areas fortechnical assistance.
62. Therepresentative ofIndia welcomed theTBTSeminar inthesub-region ofSouth Asia.
Itwould behelpful forsmall andmedium sizeenterprises iftheycould participate.
63. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
H. OTHER BUSINESS
64. Therepresentative ofThailand expressed concern about programmes intheEuropean
Communities requiring thepackage ofimported products tobetaken away forrecycling afteruse.
National governments oftheMember States would assign companies tomanage thescheme, and
importers would becharged fortheexpenses incurred. Hisdelegation might raisetheissue inthe
Committee afteramore detailed study, including ofitsconformity withtheTBTAgreement.
65. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatement made.
I. ELECTION OFOFFICERS
66. TheCommittee elected Mr.T.Tong (Hong Kong) Chairman for1997.
67. TheChairman saidthathewould holdinformal consultations ontheelection ofofficers
fortheTechnical Working Group onISO/IEC Guides andonthedates ofthefollowing
Committee meetings.