. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/MEX/91 
14 January 2004 
 (04-0098) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  Spanish 
  
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   MEXICO
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:   Ministry of the Economy 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers and E-mail and Web site addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   G e n e r a l  
Directorate of Standards/Ministry of the Economy Enquiry Point. 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [   ], 2.10.1 [  X ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):  Trailers and semi-trailers 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Emergency Mexican 
Official Standard NOM-EM-010-SCFI-2003.  Trailers and semi-trailers.  Safety 
specifications (8 pages, in Spanish). 
6. Description of content:   This Emergency Mexican Official Standard establishes the 
minimum safety specifications, marking, test methods and conformity assessment 
procedures applicable to new or used trailers and semi-trailers  manufactured in the territory 
of the United Mexican States or abroad and ma rketed and/or circulating in the country.  
 This Standard applies to trailers and semi-trailers with a Gross Vehicle Weight 
Rating of over 14,000 kg. (31,000 lbs).  It do es not apply to trailers and semi-trailers 
recognized as being specifically assigned to the transport of non-divisible objects of considerable weight and/or volume, as d escribed in Mexican Official Standard 
NOM-040-SCT-2-1995 for the Transport of Non-Divisible Objects of Great Weight and/or 
Volume, the Weight and Dimensions of Comb inations of Vehicles and Industrial Cranes 
and Their Conveyance on Roads and Bridges Unde r Federal Jurisdiction, published in the 
Official Journal on 31 March 1998.  Neither does this Standard apply to trailers and semi-
trailers registered by the United Mexican States prior to its entry into force.  
This Standard does not apply to trailers and semi-trailers entering the country under 
the temporary import regime provided for in Ar ticle 106, paragraph I, of the Customs Law. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
 
 This Standard was issued as a matter of urgency in order to provide a legal 
framework to effectively regulate the import, marketing and circulation of trailers and semi-trailers without creating technical barriers to inte rnational trade, and in view of the need to 
establish minimum safety specifications, an e ffective mechanism and a uniform language to 
prevent any loss of control that may affect the safety of road users.  
 G/TBT/N/MEX/91 
Page 2  
 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
(cont'd) The measure was prompted by a trade liberalization process initiated on 
1 January 2004, allowing the free importation of tr ailers and semi-trailers  by any natural or 
legal person, which will generate an increase in the volume of road traffic of vehicles of this 
type that do not meet the minimum safety specifications, such as weight, dimensions, break 
and lighting systems, and so forth.   
 The Mexican Government, acting via the Ministry of the Economy, therefore 
deemed it necessary to issue this Standard as a ma tter of emergency in view of an imminent 
threat to the objectives laid down in Artic le 40 of the Federal Law on Metrology and 
Standardization, within the mean ing of Article 48 of this Law. 
8. Relevant documents:  Diario Oficial de la Federación  (Official Journal) of 
23 December 2003. 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:   }The day after publication in the Official 
Journal (24 December 2003). 
10. Final date for comments:   Not applicable  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and E-mail and Web site address es, if available, of other body:   
 Website:  www.economia.gob.mx/?P=85
 (Standards catalogue). 
E-mail:  ci dgn@economia.gob.mx 
General Directorate of Standards: 
Tel.:  (52-55) 5729-9300, Ext. 4156 
Fax:  (52-55) 5520-9715