RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/82
14 September 1998
(98-3446)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
INFORMATION EXCHANGE IN RELATION TO THE ACCEPTANCE,
IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE CODE OF GOOD
PRACTICE FOR THE PREPARATION, ADOPTION AND
APPLICATION OF STANDARDS
BY STANDARDIZING BODIES
Contribution from Thailand
1. This document is being submitted to the Committ ee on Technical Barriers to Trade in light of
paragraph 12 of the First Triennial Review of the Operation and Implementation of the Agreement onTechnical Barriers to Trade (G/TBT/5) with a view to sharing the experiences of Thailand with other
Members regarding the implementation of the provisions of the Code of Good Practice (Annex 3) of
the Agreement.
2. In Thailand, standards development activity is carried out by the Thai Industrial Standards
Institute (TISI), a central government organization, under the Ministry of Industry, which is a nationalstandards body and represents Thailand in the international forums of standardization such as the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO ), the International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC ).  TISI has made every effort to fully
participate, within limits of its resources, in the work of those international organizations.  Up to
present, Thailand has become a P-member in  51 Technical Committees/Sub-Committees (TCs/SCs)
and an O-member in 158 TCs/SCs of ISO includin g the ISO Information Network (ISONET);  and a
P-member in 10 TCs/SCs and an O-member in 52 TCs/SCs of IEC.
3. In considering the potentiality of TISI to comply with the Code of Good Practice for the
Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards which is an obligation under Article 4 of the
TBT Agreement, TISI came to realize that the disciplines of the Code, e.g. harmonization of
international standards, transparency, avoidance of unnecessary obstacles to trade and
non-discrimination would be beneficial to Thailand as well as to other developing countries in thesense that they can contribute an efficient and effective standards preparation process as well as
facilitate the conduct of international trade.  On 31 October 1995, TISI directly notified its acceptance
of the Code to the ISO/IEC Information Centre in Geneva.  This is a commitment by Thailand to act
in a manner consistent with Article 4 of the TBT Agreement, particularly in the preparation, adoption
and application of standards.
I. STEPS TAKEN TO FULFIL THE OBLIGATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 4
A. A
LIGNMENT OF WORKING PROCEDURES WITH THE ISO/IEC SYSTEM
4. Thailand is of the opinion that alignment of TISI's working procedures with the ISO/IEC
system helps ease the implementation of the provisions of the Code.  Certain ISO Manuals and
ISO/IEC Guides, for example:G/TBT/W/82
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• ISO Development Manual on Development on Establishment and Management of a National
Standards Body;
• ISO/IEC Guide 21:1981 - Adoption of International Standards in National Standards;
• ISO/IEC Guide 26:1981 - Justification of Proposals for the Establishment of Standards;
etc. have been used as guidelines in standards development process bearing in mind the principles of
consensus, non-discrimination and transparency.
5. Two types of standards, the Thai Industrial Standards or TISs, are carried out by TISI,
i.e. voluntary and mandatory standards.  For the pu rpose of this Code, voluntary standards are applied,
whereas mandatory standards are subject to technical regulations.  Proposals for establishing TISsmay be initiated from either interested parties or government authorities concerned, with such
common justifications as promoting and ensuring good quality of products, preventing deceptive
practices or protecting human health.  All standards are prepared by technical committees, each of
which consists of a balanced representation of manufacturers, consumers and experts/academics with
TISI Staff as a secretariat.  Elaboration of standards is a consensus process, and circulation of draft
standards for public comment is a practice.  Due to the obligation under the Code, the comment period
for draft standards has been extended from 30 days to 60 days.  Finalized standards are scrutinized byspecific technical committees and are subject to the approval of the Industrial Product Standards
Council before adoption.  Approved standards are published in the Government Gazette and
periodically undergo revision, i.e. every five years.
B. A
DOPTION OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
6. Since 1974, an attempt has been made by TISI to adopt, as far as practicable, international
standards as Thai Industrial Standards.  The first step to this approach was quite time-consuming and
there was a need for consultation between the government and industrial sectors to provide a better
understanding of the importance and usefulness of this approach as consensus has to be reached.
Then it was incorporated into the national standardization policy.
7. It is worth pointing out that the period of standards preparation process can be shortened as a
result of adoption of international standards.  Up to present, more than 960 international standards
including those for electronic and electrical products, paints and varnishes, food products, testing
methods, etc. have been adopted by TISI.
C. PUBLICATION OF WORK PROGRAMME
8. Two volumes of TISI standards work programme have been published by TISI to provide
information on a list of draft Thai Industrial Standards under preparation at different stages.  In
addition to hard copies, the most recent work programme is now presented through TISI homepage
which is located at http://www.tisi.go.th/work_prg/work_prg.html.
II. SPECIFIC DIFFICULTIES AND PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE
IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE
9. Regarding harmonization of international standards,  Thailand is of the opinion that in certain
cases, the process for development of international standards is dominated by developed countries,while input from developing countries, such as proposals for establishing particular standards of
interest, or comments for draft standards, or voting process are not properly taken into account.  As a
result, it always happens that published international standards are ineffective or inappropriate to be
adopted by developing countries.G/TBT/W/82
Page 3
10. Paragraph J of the Code provides that the work programme shall be published at least once
every six months.  This is considered to be quite a burden, especially to developing countries.
Moreover, according to paragraph L which provides that:
" … No later than at the start of the comment period , the standardizing body shall publish a
notice announcing the period for commenting in the publication referred to in paragraph J …"
11. Thailand views that the work programme (or "the publication referred to in paragraph J")  may
not be an appropriate means for such a notice, as in the case of Thailand, the period for publication of
the work programme does not usually correspond to the comment period for those particular draft
standards.
III. PROPOSALS OR SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING IMPLEMENTATION AND
OPERATION OF THE CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE
• For those standardizing bodies that are still not ab le to accept and comply with the Code, it may
be worth considering and following the experience  of Thailand regarding the alignment of their
working procedures with the ISO/IEC system.
• WTO Members, especially developed ones, should be encouraged to afford sympathetic
consideration to developing country Members in the preparation of international standards, so thatthe standards would also be effective and appropriate for developing countries.
• As the Code is aimed to provide transparency within the territory of WTO Members, the comment
period for a draft standard may not be as long as 60 days, as it retards the normal standards
preparation process.  The Committee may consider the period of 30 days as an alternative.
• Regarding publication of the work programme, limitation should not be made to hard copies.
Members should also have an option of making available their standards work programme via the
Internet.
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