RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/130
22 March 2000
(00-1181)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE AND STANDARDS
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Communication from the World Bank
The following Communication has been received from the observer of the World Bank1 with
the request that it be circulated to WTO Members.
_______________
I. INTRODUCTION
1. The acceleration of trade resulting from efforts to liberalize markets has produced real
benefits for global economic growth. This includes significant economic benefits to developingcountries. New analysis by the World Bank, for example, shows that openness to foreign trade raises
income of the poor in the same way that it raises  Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Globalization is in
the direct interest, therefore, of developing countries (Dollar and Kraay, 2000).  Moreover, developing
countries produce today one-third of global exports of goods, as there has been a significant change in
the pattern of international trade for developing countries in the post-war era.  The share of
manufactures in trade has increased rapidly in developing countries over the past two decades
(Hertel Martin, 1999). Approximately 75 per cent of total exports from developing countries is inmanufacturing.
2 The simple dichotomy that developing country interests lie predominantly with trade
in primary commodities is no longer the case.
2. Consequently, there are today important new challenges and opportunities for developing
countries in trade in goods and the system of trade rights and obligations under the World Trade
Organization.  This specifically includes areas beyond traditional trade measures such as quantitativerestrictions or tariffs.  Developing countries now have direct stakes in relatively new areas where
domestic regulatory regimes affect trade, including issues of standards and technical barriers outlined
in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement.
3. This statement reviews some of the more important challenges and opportunities for
expanded integration of developing countries into the world trading system, as reflected in provisionsof the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement.  These issues are of increased importance given the
discussions starting on the 2
nd Triennial Review of the TBT Agreement this year.  An outline of work
                                                     
1Questions may be referred to John S. Wilson, Principal Economist, Development Economics Research
Group, World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C 20433, Fax: (202) 522-1159,
email:  jswilson@worldbank.org.
2It should be noted that three quarters of the increase in the ratio of developing country trade to GDP
over the period from mid 1980s to mid 1990s is accounted for by ten countries.G/TBT/W/130
Page 2
underway by the World Bank related to trade facilitation, standards, and regulation is also provided at
the conclusion of the paper.3
II. THE INCREASED IMPORTANCE OF TRADE IN MANUFACTURES BY
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: WHY THE TBT AGREEMENT MATTERS
4. Standards and technical barriers to trade are increasingly important to developing countries
for several reasons.  The production and export of manufactured goods has expanded significantly by
developing countries. The composition of developing country exports from 1980 to 1995 is shown in
Figure 1.4  The share of manufactures more than doubled in this 25 years, reaching 73 per cent in
1995.  In contrast, share of minerals declines drastically from 54 to 16 per cent during this period.
The share of food products in total exports decreases only slightly from 14 to 11 per cent.  This data
shows that growth in manufactures export from developing countries has been rapidly expanding, as
noted above.  Developing countries do not predominantly rely on agricultural products or primarycommodities for export any longer.
5. Figure 2. in Appendix indicates the shares of manufactures in total merchandise exports by
regions.  Overall, the share of manufactures grows faster in developing countries than in developed
countries.  The growth rate is only 9 per cent in developed countries that had a relatively high share at
80 per cent in 1980.  The growth rate of growth fo r the CEESs and Russia was 23 per cent from 1980
to 1995.  Developing countries in Asia exhibited strong growth in the share of manufactures in
exports between 1980 and 1995.  The share slightly exceeds the average of developed countries in
1995 whereas it was only 58 per cent in 1980.  Among the rest of regions, Latin America’s growth is
noteworthy.  The share has grown from 36 to 62 per cent during this period.  Developing countries in
Latin America now have a major interest in global markets in manufacturers.  Growth in the share ofmanufactures in total trade in the Middle-East, in particular, was the most rapid of all regions
examined.  The share was only 10 per cent in 1980 but grows by 250 per cent by 1995.  Africa’s trend
is similar to that of the Middle-East.
6. Along with expansion of exports into manufactured goods by developing countries, tariff
rates of protection on goods have fallen, increasing the relative importance of non-tariff barriers,including particularly technical barriers to trade. Quantification of the trade effect and cost of these
impediments to exports is extremely difficult and only limited empirical evidence is available to
inform policy options.
5  The work that has been undertaken to estimate costs of technical barriers does
indicate, however, economic benefits to reducing technical barriers based on differing standards and
related conformity assessment requirements across national boundaries.6  In addition, it is clear that
there is a development and capacity building component (equipment, human capital resources, etc.) of
trade related liberalization relevant to standards and regulatory systems.  The following outlinesseveral of the more important of these issues which may inform future discussions on standard,
technical barriers, and trade.
                                                     
3Detailed information on the Bank’s overall research an d policy work on international trade is available
at: www.worldbank.org/trade.
4For a listing of the countries included in the developing country, see Appendix Table A1 in Hertel and
Martin (1999).  See Appendix Tabl e A3 for sectoral definitions.
5Work commissioned for the World Bank workshop: “Quantifying the Trade Effect of Standards and
Technical Barriers: Is it Possible?” to be held 27 April  2000 should provide valuable new insight into
measuring the costs of these non-tariff barriers to trade in goods and agricultural products, with particular
reference to developing country exports.
6For estimations of the benefits of removing internal market barriers in Europe using CGE modeling
approaches see, for example, Harrison et al. (1996).  See also Gandal and Shy (1999) for an approach from anindustrial organization perspective among others.G/TBT/W/130
Page 3
III. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS IN THE TBT AGREEMENT: ISSUES FOR
CONSIDERATION IN A DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT
A. I NTERNATIONAL STANDARDS : A CCESS , REFERENCE IN TECHNICAL REGULATIONS , AND
HARMONIZATION
7. As a function of the changing pattern of trade away from commodity into manufacturing
exports, developing countries increasingly confront challenges associated with meeting international
standards, as well as related mandatory conformity assessment requirements for market access
referenced in the Uruguay Round Agreements (Wil son 2000).  Regarding international standards,
both the capacity to engage in standards developmen t and infrastructure necessary to meet obligations
to base technical requirements on international standards is limited in developing countries.7  This is
particularly true in regard to the least developed countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia,
among others engaged in work of the Integrated Framework for Least Developed Countries.8
8. Moreover, as recent research by the World Bank indicates, the costs of modernization and
infrastructure upgrading to meet market access commitments in the WTO agreements (which would
necessarily include related programmes to facilitate access to information on international standards)
exceeds the total development budget in many of the less developed members of the WTO
(Finger and Schuler, 1999). As multilateral trade rules have expanded from border measures, intoareas of domestic regulation and procedures such as those in the TBT Agreement requirements on
international standard and how best to facilitate  access to international standards (from whatever
appropriate source, which may not only be limited to formal standards bodies such as the International
Organization for Standardization, for example but also sources of de facto international standards) are
two questions which require innovative responses.  These responses should be framed from both adevelopment as well as trade policy perspective.
9  Discussions in the 2nd Triennial Review of the
TBT Agreement in 2000 afford an excellent opportunity to explore expanded access to international
standards.  The World Bank is currently developing a prospective project on trade, technical barriers,
and standards in Sub-Saharan Africa which relates directly to support for WTO obligations via
expanded access to appropriate international standards.  This concept could serve as an informativemodel for disucssion.
9. Finally, there are important questions regarding requirements in the TBT Agreement which
embody the concept that trade is best facilitated through efforts at harmonization of international
standards which may then be referenced in nati onal technical regulations. Quite aside from questions
about the economic efficiency of global harmonization is the fact that if obligations are to be fulfilled
by member governments, participation (access) in international standardization activities, such as
those of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International ElectrotechnicalCommission (IEC), as well as other groups relevant to the specific need of developing countries
should be expanded.  This participation can be enhanced through innovative ways, such as leveraging
new modes of communications technologies, for example, and need not mean exclusively sending
staff to standards meetings.  The central objective is expanded access to information and the capacity
to absorb useful information.
                                                     
8For example, see various needs assessment papers issued through the Integrated Framework for Trade-
Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries process.  These include reference to the state of
standards and conformity assessment systems and infrastructure needs in these countries
(www.ldcs.org/index.htm)
9In particular, greater clarity regarding Article 11:2 of the TBT Agreement which references technical
assistance and establishment of national bodies and par ticipation in standards activities would facilitate progress
in implementation of obligations.G/TBT/W/130
Page 4
B. TESTING , CERTIFICATION , AND PRODUCT LABELING
10. The extent to which conformity assessment procedures present unnecessary obstacles to trade
affect any exporter serving international markets.  This is particularly true for firms new to export
markets given entry costs associated with information on requirements, let alone discrete barriers.
Disciplines in the WTO TBT Agreement which require that conformity assessment procedures are notmore strictly applied than necessary to provide the importing country confidence that products
conform to regulatory requirements are central to whether trade is facilitated or blocked through
testing, certification, and other conformity requirements.  The issue of how best to facilitate trade
through efforts to devise common criteria to base conformity assessment requirements for market
access will be a particularly important part of future discussions on technical barriers.
11. What is acceptable “risk that non-conformity would create,” as outlined in the
TBT Agreement?  What constitutes adequate infrastructure in testing and certification to supportassurances that products conform to international norms?  These questions relate directly to the
development aspects of trade obligations in the TBT Agreement.  For example, is it necessary to have
full technical parity across the globe in testing, certification, and laboratory accreditation among all
WTO members in order to support the broad objectives of the TBT Agreement in facilitating trade?
Regional cooperation and shared infrastructure to support conformity assessment may be one way toaccelerating progress in both development needs and trade.  These are the types of issues important as
dialogue continues on ways to reduce technical barriers in an economic development context.
12. Product labeling presents opportunities for both trade expansion in the context of transfer of
valuable information to consumers, as well as potential barriers to trade when applied in a
discriminatory manner.  Examination of under what circumstances labeling facilitates trade andprocedures to ensure they do not distort trade and act as discriminatory barriers will be one of the
most important debates for developing countries over the next several years.  The use of product
labeling is important within the context of the TBT Agreement especially considering the Agreement
addresses both final products and process and production methods that are often linked to the rationale
for labels.
C. M
UTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS (MRA S) AND OTHER TRADE TOOLS
13. Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) are specifically encouraged as a tool to facilitate
reductions in technical barriers through the TBT Agreement.  Discussions of MRAs have dominated
trade policy discourse since the early 1990s, in part as a function of the internal market harmonization
in the European Union (National Research C ouncil 1995, Wilson 1995). Several bilateral MRAs have
been completed, including four MRAs between th e European Commission and its trading partners.
The EU continues to negotiate with Switzerland, Israel, and Japan.  Regional talks on MRAs are alsounderway, including those among members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). There
is little quantitative evidence on economic or trade facilitation benefits of MRAs, although in areas of
deep regulatory intervention expansion of markets may be achieved through reduction in divergent
requirements over time  -- if MRAs are fully implemented.
14. There are several important questions, however, regarding the utility of the MRA model that
remain unanswered of particular relevance to developing countries. Negotiation of MRAs are a time
resource intensive exercise.
10  If developing countries are to participate as partners in MRAs scarce
government and private sector resources will need to be utilized to finalize these agreements.
Moreover, the lack of modern technical infrastructures required to support an MRA in developing
countries presents clear obstacles to implementation.  Finally, how MRAs relate to WTO obligationson Most Favored Nation (MFN) remains unclear.  Whether it is possible to integrate bilateral or
                                                     
10This fact was expressed in discussions during the WTO Symposium on Conformity Assessment
Procedures 8-9 June 1999, among other events over the past several years.G/TBT/W/130
Page 5
regional MRAs into the multilateral system in new efforts to liberalize markets through removal of
technical barriers represents a fundamental question for developed and developing countries.
15. In addition to MRAs, there are other tools to facilitate trade in goods subject to mandatory
regulation, including use of supplier’s declaration of conformity (SDOC).  The use of supplier’s
declaration has been employed in trade products with relatively limited risk to health, safety, or theenvironment.  Innovative use of SDOC, with for example pooled resources on a regional basis for
developing countries to use in support declarations  of conformity, could be explored as a basis for
supporting trade.
D. S
PECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT
16. The TBT Agreement specifies in Article 12 that developing countries may (1) request
assistance for the preparation and application of regulations and conformity assessment procedures,
(2) request exceptions that are time-limited from part of or all TBT obligations, and (3) may usestandards which are not based on international standards which are “not appropriate” for trade,
development, or financial needs.  Experience to date indicates that developing countries have not
attempted to exercise the clauses on exceptions from the Agreement. Provision of technical assistance
has been provided which relates to special needs of developing countries, but largely this assistance
has consisted of seminars and workshops on what TBT rights and obligations entail. Overall, thecommon goal of both developed and developing countries should be finding solutions to overcoming
problems with implementation of obligations and exercise of rights, not exemptions from
responsibilities.
E. C
APACITY BUILDING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE : BASIC OBLIGATIONS IN INQUIRY AND
NOTIFICATION
17. Innovative programmes in capacity building and technical assistance to developing countries
in support of TBT obligations is central to success of the Agreement and future commitments
undertaken to reduce regulatory barriers.  The process of trade liberalization involves reallocation of
resources and adjustment costs.  It also entails direct costs associated with implementation of
commitments, such ensuring new technical regulatio ns consider international standards, and basic
obligations in establishing enquiry points, as outlined below.
18. As more developing countries are integrated into the world markets, successful compliance
with basic obligations on standards in multilateral disciplines become more important.  As Table 1
shows, the number of developing countries represented with membership in the TBT Committee has
increased from 1995 to 1999. (only Qatar and United Arab Emirates joined the Cmmittee from among
high income countries during this period).  In principle, all members are required to establish and
identify at least one enquiry points for information regarding national technical regulations, standardsand conformity assessment procedures.  Nevertheless, a significant number of member countries,
especially developing country members, had not established an enquiry point by the end of 1995.  A
significant improvement is observed, however, by the end of 1999.  The number of developing
countries with enquiry points doubled from 28 in 1995 to 56 in 1999.  All developed (high-income)
country members, except Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates have established enquiry points asof the end of 1999.
19. Notification of the intent to promulgate new technical regulations and conformity assessment
rules to the WTO Secretariat is an obligation unde r the TBT Agreement.  As shown in Figure 3, the
total number of notifications newly made within a given year from developing countries has been
lower than those from developed countries.  However, the number for the developed country groupwent up until 1997 and declined through 1999.  The growing number of notifications from developing
countries likely reflects a number of factors, including the fact that (1) the absolute number of
developing countries subject to obligations has increased, and (2) as development has proceeded,G/TBT/W/130
Page 6
these countries have expanded domestic capacity in manufacturing and also increased imports which
both may lead to new regulation.  It is important to note that specific national technical regulations
need not be promulgated under either of these cases.  Economic efficiency and trade expansion should
rest on sound decisions of market forces and lessons of de-regulation in many sectors over the past
several decades.
IV. THE WORLD BANK’S TRADE-RELATED WORK ON STANDARD,
REGULATION, AND TECHNICAL BARRIERS
20. The World Bank’s work on trade is a central part of the organization’s mission in
development and poverty reduction.11 Trade has been an important engine for economic development.
Efforts to better integrate developing countries into the world economy and trading system which
rests on the WTO framework in ways which accelerate growth is critical.  As part of the work toward
this goal, the World Bank supports trade policy reform and implementation of Uruguay Roundcommitments by developing countries.  The work programme on trade specifically focuses on
commitments within the context of  development, for example projects to support public sector reform
or infrastructure and facility modernization which increases health, safety, or environmental goals.  In
addition, along with the Bank’s partners in the In tegrated Framework for Least Developed Countries’
Trade Development, efforts are underway to tie more closely capacity building and developmentobjectives with advantages of deeper integration into the world trading system.  The World Bank’s
trade-related initiatives are also supported by a programme of research.  The focus of the Bank’s trade
research, given changes in the nature of barriers to trade and success of the multilateral system in
addressing traditional measures, now includes issues in new trade areas, such as those related to
standards and regulation.
21. A more detailed understanding of the economic, institutional, and policy aspects of standards,
technical regulations, and trade is central to the Bank’s new work agenda.  These issues are of
particular importance to developing countries, as they seek to strengthen industrial performance,
increase agricultural production, and expand opportunities in world trade markets.  In order to expand
understanding of these issues, the World Bank launched new work on international standards,technical regulations, and trade policy in November 1999.  The overall goal of an initial three-year
series of initiatives centers on (1) increased understanding of the quantitative significance of standards
and regulations as barriers to trade, and (2) analysis of trade policy aspects of government technical
regulations, with particular emphasis on these issues for developing countries.
12
22. The tentative programme outline includes the following deliverables in policy research and
empirical data analysis over the period November 1999 - November 2002:
Development, implementation, and dissemination of results of a study to quantify the degree
to which mandatory government technical regula tions impact international trade flows.  This
part of the project constitutes a major element of the overall work programme. The first part
of the task involves survey work to create a new database at the World Bank on voluntary
standards and technical regulations (product testing, certification, and laboratory accreditation
requirements) The database will be used to produce a report which outlines estimates of thetrade distorting effect of selected standards for certain products circulating in world markets.
This will include case studies of agricultural products and manufactured goods.
23. The empirical work by the Bank on standards will provide a unique contribution to
determining the aggregate economic impact of differ ences in technical requirements across national
                                                     
11For a recent overview of the Bank’s trade work see; document WT/TF/COH/S/1.
12The standards work at the Bank is being supported in part through a Trust Fund to support
World Bank managed projects on Trade Policy Development established by the United Kingdom’s Departmentof International Development (DFID).G/TBT/W/130
Page 7
boundaries and costs associated with divergent government requirements.  Most importantly, the
empirical data gathered will provide an important new foundation for policy decision-making on trade
issues related to regulation and standards.  The research work will begin with sponsorship of a
workshop on “Quantifying Non-Tariff, Technical Barriers to Trade: Is This Possible?” (April 2000).
The goal of this session is to assist in developing the research framework and methodology forempirical analysis of the impact of standards on trad e.  Topics to be explored include; (1) what is
known about the trade-distorting ef fect of standards and technical regulations, (2) current state of
measurement tools and models to determine the economic cost of trade-distorting regulation, (3) best
practice in survey design to collect data on standards and regulation, and (4) data and analytical needs
of policymakers in non-tariff barriers.  It is anticipated that papers commissioned for the workshop
will be published in an edited volume.
24. The Bank will also be undertaking the design and dissemination of a survey to collect data on
costs of complying with government technical regulati ons, including costs of testing, certification, and
laboratory accreditation to specific regulatory requirements in selected products and markets.
Research results will be analysed and a final report  will be prepared summarizing results of the data
analysis.  A dissemination workshop is planned at the conclusion of this work on results of the data
collection and analysis of the effect of standards and technical regulations on trade.  It is anticipatedthat research results and other material will be disseminated through trade courses and other activities
sponsored by the World Bank Institute.
25. Policy research and analysis (working paper series) on voluntary standards, government
regulation, and their relationship to trade and export competitiveness.  This part of the project seeks to
provide new research results and policy recommendations relevant to developing countries on
regulation and standards.  This includes issues under discussion at the World Trade Organization and
other trade fora, including work of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), among other
regional dialogues.  A major focus of the work on trade policy options centers on the standards and
technical barriers agenda of the WTO, including 2nd Triennial Review of the Technical Barriers to
Trade Agreement.  Disciplines in the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards, withparticular emphasis on WTO disciplines and developing country interests, will also be analysed.
26. The work on trade policy and standards also seeks to provide targeted analysis of the impact
of voluntary standards on export competitiveness and development, such as the impact of ISO 9000
on trade performance of developing countries.  Finally, through dissemination of working papers and
best practice information, the project seeks to sup port capacity-building efforts on trade policy issues
relevant to standards and technical barriers among developing countries researchers and
policymakers.
27. Research papers and reports on the following topics are under consideration for development
by the Bank
(i) What are the most appropriate trade tools to reduce global technical barriers,
including relative costs and benefits of differing models such as Mutual Recognition
Agreements (MRAs)?  How can developing countries benefit from continued efforts toliberalize trade through reductions in technical barriers?
(ii) What are the key priorities for developing countries at the WTO in standard and
technical barriers to trade, including implementation and capacity building needs?  How can
the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement be strengthened through the 2
nd Triennial Review
of the TBT Agreement?  How successful has the SPS Agreement been and what are the most
important challenges in reducing trade distorting effects of technical barriers in agriculture?G/TBT/W/130
Page 8
(iii) How successful have voluntary standards, such as ISO 9000 (quality) been in
increasing quality and export competitiveness in small and medium-sized firms in developing
countries?
(iv) What are the most critical needs in developing countries in modernization of
regulatory and standards systems to support expanded trade opportunities and how best can
those needs be met?
(v) How successful have regional trade agreements in the Asia Pacific and elsewhere
been in facilitating trade through reductions in technical barriers to trade, in particular for
developing country participants?
28. A major element for dissemination of research results and information on the trade aspects of
standards and regulation will be use of the World Bank website.13  A new standards home page is
under development to centralize information on the project, disseminate results of policy working
papers, new research by experts outside the Bank, and other information.  A seminar series on
“Standards, Regulation, and Trade” has also be established at the Bank as a way to further broadenunderstanding of the linkages between standards, trade policy, and development.
29. A series of workshops and a conference in 2002 to enhance dissemination of the research and
policy recommendations from this part of the work  programme is also under consideration.  With
additional resources, the Bank would also develop educational tools (lecture notes, teaching aids and
handbook) and sponsorship of training seminars on international standards and best practice instandards and regulatory reform, including assistance to developing countries.  The goal of this part of
work would be to provide direct assistance from the Bank to developing countries on international
standards development systems, information on programmes available for modernization of standards
infrastructure, and other topics related to understanding the role of standards in development.  The
papers, training material, and other output from this work would be made available through researchpapers, and content also disseminated by through the World Bank Institute, and other organizations
such as the WTO, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), educational institutions in
developing countries.  Additional funding is being sought to implement this part of the work
programme.
30. It is anticipated that throughout the initial three year project, staff will also be available to
support Bank operations in areas of international standards, education on best practice in standards
and regulatory reform, including assistance on trade policy related to regulation and standards.  The
work on standards will include close collaboration with the World Bank Institute.
V. REFERENCES
Dollar, David and Aart Kraay, “Growth Is Good for the Poor,” World Bank, Washington D.C.,
forthcoming 2000.
Finger, Michael J. and Philip Schuler, “Implementation of Uruguay Round Commitments: The
Development Challenge,” Policy Research Working Paper, The World Bank, Washington D.C.,
October 1999.
Gandal, Neil and Oz Shy, “Standardization Policy and International Trade,” Working Paper, Tel Aviv
University, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1999.
                                                     
13This is now under construction: http://www1.worldbank.org/wbiep/trade/Standards.htmlG/TBT/W/130
Page 9
Harrison, Glenn W., Thomas F. Rutherford and David G. Tarr, “Increased Competition and
Completion of the Market in the European Union: Static and Steady State Effects” Journal of
Economic Integration  11(3): 332-365, 1996.
Hertel, Thomas W. and Wil Martin, “Developing Country Interests in Liberalizing Manufactures
Trade.” Background Paper for Seattle Ministerial Meeting, World Bank, Washington D.C., February
1999.
Wilson, John S. “The Post-Seattle Agenda in Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade: Issues for
Developing Countries, Work in Progress, World Bank, Washington, D.C. February 2000.G/TBT/W/130
Page 10
Appendix
Figure 1.  Commodity shares of merchandise exports from developing countries
00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.8
1980
1981
1982
19831984
1985
19861987
1988
19891990
1991
19921993
1994
1995 YearShare of mamufactures in export 
Food Minerals Manufactures
Source: Hertel and Martin (1999).
Figure 2.  Share of manufactures in exports by region
00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.91
1980
1981198219831984198519861987
1988
1989199019911992199319941995YearShare of mamufactures in export 
Africa Asia (Japan excluded) Middle East
Latin America CEESs and Russia Developed Countries
Source: GTAP Version 4 database, McDougall et al., 1999.G/TBT/W/130
Page 11
Figure 3.  Number of notifications to WTO under TBT Agreement of new regulations
       0100200300400500600700
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
YearNumber of NotificationsDeveloped
Countries
DevelopingCountries
Source: G/TBT/3-8,WTO, 1996-2000.
Table 1. Number of countries with WTO enquiry points established under rule of TBT
Agreement
Year Developing countries1Developed countries
Total number in
TBT CommitteeNumber of countries
with enquiry pointsTotal number in TBT
CommitteeNumber of countries
with enquiry points
1995 78 28 (36 %)234 27 (79 %)3
1999 98 56 (57 %)236 33 (92 %)3
Source G/TBT/ENQ,WTO, 1999.
1The definition of developing and developed countries follow that in World Development Report (1999).
Developing countries under this definition include countries in the middle and low income group whiledeveloped countries include countries in the high income group.  Therefore, there is some difference from the
Hertel and Martin’s (1999) definition.
2Inside parentheses are percentage of countries with  enquiry points in all developing countries under
TBT Agreement.
3Inside parentheses are percentage of countries wi th enquiry points in all developed countries under
TBT Agreement.
__________