RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/TBT/W/53
18September 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3793)
Original: English/French Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY WORKING PAPER ONTHE FIRST TRIENNIAL REVIEW OF
THE OPERATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OFTHE AGREEMENT ON
TECHNICAL BARRIERS TOTRADE
Communication from theEuropean Communities
Thefollowing communication concerning theTriennial Review oftheAgreement onTechnical
Barriers toTrade, dated 29July 1997, hasbeen received from theCommission ofthe
European Communities withtherequest thatitbecirculated totheMembers oftheCommittee.
_______________
1. Further totherequest oftheCommittee onTechnical Barriers toTrade of20June1997, the
European Community setsoutbelow, forinsertion intotheconclusions oftheCommittee, thetexts
ofproposals itmade initsnoteof10February 1997, withaviewtothefirstthree-year review ofthe
Agreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade (G/TBT/W/36). Thegrounds forthese proposals areset
outintheabovementioned note.
2. Among theproposals made bytheEuropean Community, onlythose which should leadtothe
adoption ofdecisions arerepeated inthepresent document. TheEuropean Community reserves the
righttoreview thecontent ofthese proposals aswork proceeds. Themeasures proposed fallintotwo
categories:
(a) Operational measures, which aretobeapplied immediately, withtheaimofimproving
theimplementation andoperation oftheTBTAgreement inthefollowing fields:
(i) notification, inaccordance withArticle 15.2, ofmeasures taken byMembers
toensure theimplementation andadministration oftheAgreement;
(ii) acceptance oftheCode ofGood Practice forthepreparation, adoption and
application ofstandards, annexed totheAgreement;
(iii) theprocedurefornotifyingdrafttechnicalregulationsandconformityassessment
procedures;
(iv) application oftheISO/IEC guides designed tofacilitate conformity assessment;
(v) technical assistance;
(vi) useofinternational standards andguides.G/TBT/W/53
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(b) Thework programme oftheCommittee onTechnical Barriers toTrade, based onthe
examination ofthevarious approaches totechnical regulations andtheirconsequences
formarket access.
TheEuropean Community proposes thattheCommittee should initially takeamore detailed
lookatthefollowing three aspects:
(i) conformity assessment procedures andtheirconditions ofapplication, together
withtheconditions fortherecognition oftheresults ofthose procedures and
international andregional systems ofconformity assessment;
(ii) measures relating tothedevelopment oftheroleofinternational standards in
theapplication oftheTBTAgreement;
(iii) relations between national, regional andinternational standardising bodies.
I. MEASURES TOIMPROVE THEIMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OFTHETBT
AGREEMENT
A. Notification ofmeasures taken toensure theimplementation andadministration oftheTBT
Agreement (Article 15.2)
3. TheCommittee willmake thenecessary arrangements tobeinaposition toestablish, during
thethree-year review, thatallMembers havenotified themeasures taken toensure theimplementation
andadministration oftheAgreement, inaccordance withArticle 15.2thereof, andhavesubmitted the
written statements provided forinthedecisions agreed bytheCommittee onthesubject
(G/TBT/1/Rev.4, Section B).
4. Tothisend,atthemeeting on3October 1997, theCommittee willinvite Members whohave
notfulfilled theirobligations under Article 15.2tonotify theabovementioned measures ingood time
before themeeting oftheTBTCommittee on12and13November 1997.
5. TheChair willorganise individual meetings withtheMembers concerned, inorder togive
them anyassistance theyrequire.
6. During thethree-year review theCommittee willevaluate thecontent ofthewritten statements
submitted byMembers inthelightoftheprovisions ofthedecision thatithasadopted, andwillsend
Members recommendations needed inorder tosupplement those statements.
B. Acceptance oftheCode ofGood Practice forthepreparation, adoption andapplication of
standards (TBT Agreement, Annex 3)
7. TheCommittee willmake thenecessary arrangements tobeinaposition toestablish, during
thethree-year review, asignificant increase inthenumber ofacceptances oftheCode ofGood Practice
bystandardising bodies.
8. Tothisend,atthemeeting of3October 1997, theCommittee willinvite Members toindicate
thesteps thattheyhavetaken tofulfil theobligations incumbent upon them pursuant toArticle 4.1,
firstandsecond sentences, oftheTBTAgreement, relating totheacceptance oftheCode ofGood
Practice bythestandardising bodies, and,where appropriate, thereasons whythebodies within their
territories havenotaccepted theCode.G/TBT/W/53
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C. Notification procedures
9. Thedecisions andrecommendations adopted bytheCommittee since 1January 1995 andset
outinDocument G/TBT/1/Rev. 4,Section Baretobesupplemented oramended asfollows:
(a) Local government bodies directly below central government level
Decision:
Members whose localgovernment bodies directly below central government levelareauthorized
toadopt technical regulations orconformity assessment procedures shallinform theCommittee
thereof. TheSecretariat willinclude alistofsuchMembers inthedocuments prepared forthe
annual reviews oftheimplementation andoperation oftheTBTAgreement.
(b) Body responsible fornotification procedures
Decision:
Thename andaddress ofthebody orauthority designated tohandle comments concerning
thenotification ofadraft technical regulation orconformity assessment procedure mustbe
indicated inthenotification formiftheyarenotthesame asthose ofthebodyresponsible for
thedraft.
(c) Reference tointernational standards andinternational guides orrecommendations
Decision:
Reference torelevant international standards orinternational guides orrecommendations and,
where appropriate, thereasons whythenotified draft isnotinaccordance withthose
international standards, guides orrecommendations mustbeindicated inthenotification form.
Asection isadded forthispurpose inthenotification form.
N.B.: Asimilar provision should apply mutatis mutandis todraftstandards published inaccordance
withparagraph LoftheCode ofGood Practice annexed totheTBTAgreement.
(d) Communication oftextsandtranslation ofnotified drafts
Decision:
Members shallattach thetextofthedrafttotheformnotifying theWTO ofadrafttechnical
regulation orconformity assessment procedure.
Developed country Members shallalsoattach tothenotification formatranslation or,ifthe
draftinquestion isvoluminous, asummary ofittranslated intooneoftheworking languages
oftheWTO.
TheSecretariat willsendacopyoftheabovementioned documents toanyMember onrequest.G/TBT/W/53
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(e) Time allowed forcomments
Decision:
Thetimelimitforcomments shallbesixtydaysfromthedateofcommunication ofthenotification
ofthedraft technical regulation orconformity assessment procedure effected bytheWTO
Secretariat inaccordance withArticle 10.6oftheTBTAgreement. AMember may,ifnecessary,
however, indicate initsnotification thatitwillproceed toimplement theproposed measure
after45daysifnocomments orrequests forextension ofthetimelimithavebeenreceived
fromother Members within thattime. AnyMember which isabletoprovide atimelimitbeyond
sixtydaysisencouraged todoso.
(f) Handling ofcomments
Decision:
AnyMember which receives comments onanotification shallreply tothose comments within
areasonable period oftimeand,inanyevent, before thefinaladoption ofthenotified draft.
(g) RoleoftheCommittee
Decision:
TheCommittee shallensure thesmooth operation ofthenotification procedures. Ifnecessary,
theSecretariat shall supplement thenotification forms communicated byMembers, withthe
agreement ofthelatter.
D. ISO/IEC guides onconformity assessment
10. TheEuropean Community reserves therighttomake proposals concerning theapplication of
theISO/IEC guides onconformity assessment inthelightoftheconclusions oftheTechnical Working
Group instructed bytheCommittee toexamine those guides andthewayinwhich theycanhelpto
improve theapplication ofArticles 5and6oftheTBTAgreement.
11. TheEuropean Community reserves therighttomake proposals concerning theapplication of
theISO/IEC guides onconformity assessemtn activities byWTO Members (Note No3146, June1997).
E. Technical assistance
Declaration oftheMembers:
Intheinterest oftransparency, donor Members consider ituseful tocommunicate tothe
Committee information concerning theirtechnical assistance programmes, including regional
programmes, andtoupdate thisinformation eachyear. Itwillbeincluded inthedocuments
prepared forannual reviews oftheimplementation andoperation oftheTBTAgreement.
N.B.: TheCommittee ’sdecision concerning technical assistance included indocument G/TBT/1/Rev.4,
Section Eremains unchanged.G/TBT/W/53
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II. WORK PROGRAMME OFTHE TBTCOMMITTEE
Decision:
TheCommittee willexamine thevarious approaches totechnical regulations andtheir
consequences formarket access, inorder toharmonise those approaches andthereby facilitate
trade ingoods bypreventing theappearance oftechnical barriers.
Tothisend,theCommittee invites Members tocommunicate toitinwriting abriefdescription
oftheirapproach totechnical regulations andstandardisation.
TheCommittee ’swork programme willinitially cover thefollowing aspects:
(a) Conformity assessment procedures
TheCommittee recalls that, pursuant toArticle 5.1.2 oftheTBTAgreement, "conformity
assessment procedures shall notbemore strict orbeapplied more strictly thanisnecessary
togivetheimporting Members adequate confidence thatproducts conform withtheapplicable
technical regulations orstandards, taking account oftherisksnon-conformity would create".
Inorder tofacilitate application oftheprovisions oftheTBTAgreement, andinparticular
Article 5thereof, theCommittee willexamine thevarious types ofconformity assessment
procedures andtheirconditions ofapplication. TheCommittee notes that,oftheseprocedures,
themanufacturer ’sdeclaration ofconformity isinprinciple theleasttrade-restrictive. The
Committee therefore encourages theuseofthisprocedure byMembers, provided thatittakes
sufficient account ofthepublic order requirements ofprotection ofhuman health andsafety,
theenvironment andconsumers andthatitmakes provision toensure:
- thatmanufacturers areabletoprovide theproof required bytheregulations,
particularly thetechnical documentation, andtakethenecessary measures to
ensurethatthemanufacturingprocessguaranteestheconformityoftheproducts
tothistechnical documentation;
- proper supervision ofthemarket bythepublic authorities;
- theexistence ofasystem ofproduct liability.
TheCommittee decides toaddtotheexamination oftheconformity assessment procedures the
examination of:
- theconditions governing recognition oftheresults ofthose procedures, as
covered byArticle 6oftheTBTAgreement;
- theinternational andregional conformity assessment systems, ascovered by
Article 9oftheTBTAgreement.
TheCommittee willentrust theexamination oftheabovementioned questions totheTechnical
Working Group setuptostudy theISO/IEC guides andrecommendations inconnection with
Articles 5and6oftheTBTAgreement.G/TBT/W/53
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(b) Application ofinternational standards andinternational guides orrecommendations
Aware oftherolethattheapplication ofinternational standards andinternational guides or
recommendations canplayinpreventing technical barriers totrade, theCommittee invites
Members toensure thattheseinternational documents areusedasfullyaspossible byallbodies
concerned, including thestandardising bodies, inaccordance withtheprovisions oftheTBT
Agreement.
TheCommittee willdevelop cooperation withinternational standardising bodies toensure that
international standardisation worktakesaccount oftheneeds ofinternational tradewhensetting
priorities, setting deadlines fortheadoption ofinternational standards andadapting standards
totechnical progress, while ensuring ahighlevelofrequirements.
TheCommittee willshortly invite international standardising andconformity-assessment bodies
toestablish andgiveMembers access totheregularly updated listofinternational standards
theyhaveadopted which areregarded asacknowledged rulesoftechnology1andwhich intheir
viewmayhaveaneffect ontrade, including thestatus ofthetransposal oracceptance ofthe
international standards bythemembers ofthose bodies;
TheCommittee willalsoinvite thecompetent international standardising andconformity
assessment bodies toprovide thenecessary information ontheprogress ofinternational
harmonisation andinitiatives planned intheareainquestion, whencommunicating notifications
inaccordance withArticle 10.6oftheTBTAgreement.
Where necessary, theCommittee willsendtheinternational standardising bodies allrelevant
recommendations concerning thepreparation ofinternational standards inconnection with
theapplication oftheTBTAgreement.
TheCommittee willundertake thenecessary worktoidentify theinternational standards and
international guides andrecommendations relevant totheTBTAgreement and,tothatend,
define thecriteria tobesatisfied bythose documents forthepurpose ofapplying thisAgreement,
taking account ofthediversity ofinternational bodies andlegal instruments concerned and
ofthenecessity toobtain acoherent setofinternational standards.
Onthebasisofexperience gained, theCommittee willconsider whether itispossible tointroduce
aprocedure formonitoring theinternational harmonisation process andtheuseofinternational
standards which haveamajor impact ontrade.
TheCommittee willsetupaWorking Party toexamine these matters relating totheroleof
international standards andinternational guides andrecommendations intheapplication of
theTBTAgreement.
(c) Coordinationoftheactivitiesofnational,regionalandinternationalstandardisingbodies:
TheCommittee notes thatiftheprocess ofinternational harmonisation ofstandards istobe
effective andiftheroleofinternational standards andinternational guides orrecommendations
intheapplication oftheTBTAgreement istobedeveloped, itisnecessary toclarify the
structures andworking methods ofthestandardising bodies atthevarious levels, andin
1ISO/IEC Guide 2:1991, 1.5G/TBT/W/53
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particular non-government bodies, andtoensure effective coordination oftheiractivities, in
accordance withtheprovisions ofparagraph HoftheCode ofGood Practice.
Therefore, theCommittee callsontheinternational standardising bodies todevise procedures
fortheircooperation withthenational andregional standardising bodies ofwhich theyare
composed,toensurethatthehierarchyofstandardsisrespectedandtoharmonisetheprocedures
forcooperation between bodies established indifferent geographical areas. Suchprocedures
should inparticular cover:
- amutual information procedure onstandardisation work;
- theconditions governing thetransfer ofstandardisation workatinternational
level;
- measures aimed atensuring thatinternational, regional andnational standards
areconsistent.
Atthesame time,theCommittee invites national andregional standardising bodies todevelop
mutual information procedures withtheircounterparts inother geographical areas.
TheCommittee invites theWorking Party setuptoexamine theroleofinternational standards
intheapplication oftheTBTAgreement tostudy :
- themeans intended toimprove thetransparency ofstandardising activities;
- theprocedures forcooperation between regional, national andinternational
standardising bodies, taking asaworking basistheVienna Agreement between
ISOandCENontheonehand, andtheDresden Agreement between IECand
CENELEC ontheother, andtherules governing relations between regional
andnational bodies intheMembers ’territorial jurisdictions.