WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/178
18 July 2002
(02-3982)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A SURVEY TO ASSIST DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS
 TO IDENTIFY AND PRIORITISE THEIR SPECIFIC
NEEDS IN THE TBT-FIELD
Note by the Secretariat
1. At the Second Triennial Review of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, the
TBT Committee agreed to develop a demand driven technical cooperation programme related to the
Agreement. The Committee recognized the importance of ensuring that solutions were targeted at thespecific priorities and needs identified by deve loping country Members that would allow them to
effectively implement as well as benefit from th e Agreement.  This calls for an assessment with
effective coordination between authorities, agencies and interested parties at the national level to
identify and prioritise relevant infrastructure requirements and needs, taking into account the specific
situation of each Member.  The Committee agreed that the technical cooperation programme would
need to evolve on the basis of a number of elements, and as a first step, to design a survey
questionnaire to assist developing countries in needs identification.  This questionnaire has beenprepared for this purpose.
2. The questionnaire provides a list of points in relation to the implementation of and benefiting
from the Agreement.  It aims at assisting developing country Members to reflect on the current status
regarding these elements, to assess whether specific problems, difficulties and/or interests exist, andto identify and prioritise the technical assistance /cooperation activities and/or capacity building needs
required
1.  The points listed have been developed based on the provisions of the Agreement, the
Decisions and Recommendations of the Committee (G/TBT/1/Rev.7), as well as the results of the
First and Second Triennial Reviews of the Agreement (G/TBT/5 and 9).  Certain points concern
obligations and requirements under the Agreement, whereas some reflect the observations of or viewsexpressed in the Committee
2.
                                                     
1 At the Second Triennial Review, the Committee noted that "technical assistance and cooperation could be delivered in different
forms, including through internships, technical missions and consultancies, training of in-house experts, and "twinning arrange ments"
between institutions.  Workshops and seminars were acknowledged as of ongoing importance to raise awareness of the benefits and
obligations of the Agreement and to assist coordination among relevant agencies at the national level for the implementation of  the
Agreement.  The Committee also noted the value of direct dialogue and contact between developing countries on national solution s to
certain implementation problems, and that regional and international organizations could play a role in this regard."
2 Other papers concerning technical assistance and cooperation activities are contained in documents G/TBT/M/20 ( Report by the
Chairman on the Workshop on technical assistance held on 19-20 July 2000 ), G/TBT/M/23-25 ( Updating by observers ), G/TBT/W/156
(Technical assistance and technical cooperation programme – proposal from Brazil ), G/TBT/W/160 ( Japan's experience on technical
assistance in the area of TBT ), G/TBT/W/163 ( Technical assistance and capacity building in the field of TBT – submission by the EC ),
G/TBT/W/164 ( Technical assistance and technical cooperation programme – submission from Indonesia ), G/TBT/W/166 ( Philippines
experience in the implementation of the TBT Agreement ) and JOB (01)128 and Add.1-2 ( Compilation of submissions by Members on
technical assistance needs and activities ).This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members
and to their rights and obligations under the WTOG/TBT/W/178
Page 2
3. This non-exhaustive list does not pretend to capture all the existing situations in different
developing countries.  Members may wish to provide additional information, or choose not to reply to
the points they deem irrelevant.  The responses to be provided are intended to assist the Committee to
further develop its technical cooperation programme.  These responses shall bear no legal implication
on the status of implementation by Members, nor imply that Members have to undertake further
commitments, nor do they prejudice Members' positions with respect to the Agreement or rights and
obligations thereunder.
4. Developing country Members are invited to reply to the questionnaire, and forward the
responses to the Secretariat no later than 31 July 2002.G/TBT/W/178
Page 3Points for Consideration to Assist the Identification and
Prioritisation of Specifi c Needs in the TBT FieldCurrent Situation Specific Problems, Difficulties
and/or InterestsTechnical Assistance and/or
Cooperation Acti vities Required
I. IN RELATION TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE TBT AGREEMENT
A. General Implementation and Administration Issues
1. Submission of the statements on the implementation and
administration of the Agreement under Article 15.2
- To submit the statement following the guidelines
contained in document G/TBT/1/Rev.7 to provide theinformation covered and specified
3
2. Measures and arrangements which could assist the
implementation and administration of the Agreement byrelevant authorities and non-governmental bodies
4, e.g.:
(a) To put in place Arrangements (e.g. legislative,
regulatory and administrative action) to achieve an
effective implementation and administration of the
provisions of the Agreement5
(b) To cooperate and coordinate at the domestic level, and
inter alia  for the achievement of increased awareness of
the TBT requirements at the national level6
(c) To involve all interested parties, including government
agencies, authorities, voluntary standards bodies, the
private sector and other interested parties to supportimplementation by national authorities
7
3. Participation in TBT Committee activities
(a) To participate in Committee meetings and other
activities, e.g. triennial reviews of the Agreement8
(b) The possibility of using regional representation for
participation
4. Others
                                                     
3 Article 15.2, G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (page 10)
4 G/TBT/5 (paragraph 6)
5 G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (page 10)
6 G/TBT/9 (paragraph 7)
7 G/TBT/9 (paragraph 7)
8 Articles 13.1 and 15.4G/TBT/W/178
Page 4Points for Consideration to Assist the Identification and
Prioritisation of Specifi c Needs in the TBT FieldCurrent Situation Specific Problems, Difficulties
and/or InterestsTechnical Assistance and/or
Cooperation Acti vities Required
B. Transparency, Consultation and Notification Issues
1. Enquiry point
(a) To establish an enquiry point(s) as a contact point for
information9
(b) To handle requests and cooperate with relevant
authorities so as to answer enquiries within an adequateperiod of time
10
(c) Possible means to facilitate the functioning of enquiry
points (e.g. access to telecommunication network and
equipment to enhance electronic transmission of
information11 or regional cooperation12)
2. Notifications 13
(a) The designation of a single central government authority
responsible for the implementation of notificationprocedures under the Agreement
14
(b) To put in place measures and arrangements to ensure
that national and sub-national authorities preparing new
technical regulations or procedures for assessment ofconformity, provide early information in order to enableto fulfil the notifications obligations
15
(c) The preparation of notifications (e.g. to determine if a
measure needs to be notified and to fill in notifications
in the right formats)16
(d) To provide opportunities for and consideration of
comments from other Members on notifications ofdrafts technical regulations and conformity assessmentprocedures (e.g. to provide 60-90 day comment period,to reply to requests for documents or information in a
timely manner, to handle and consider comments before
adoption of drafts)
17
                                                     
9 Articles 10.1 - 10.5, G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (pages 19-21), G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 14-15)
10 G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (page 21), G/TBT/9 (paragraph 15)
11 G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (page 18), G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 15-16)
12 G/TBT/9 (paragraph 15)
13 Articles 2.9, 2.10, 3.2, 3.3, 5.6, 5.7, 7.2 and 7.3, G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (pages 11-18)
14 Articles 10.10 and 10.11
15 G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (page 10, paragraph 2 (e))
16 G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (pages 11-14)
17 G/TBT/1/Rev.7 (pages 17)G/TBT/W/178
Page 5Points for Consideration to Assist the Identification and
Prioritisation of Specifi c Needs in the TBT FieldCurrent Situation Specific Problems, Difficulties
and/or InterestsTechnical Assistance and/or
Cooperation Acti vities Required
3. Publications
(a) To publish a notice in a publication at an early
appropriate stage, to enable interested parties in other
Members to become acquainted with draft technicalregulations, standards and conformity assessmentprocedures
18  
(b) To promptly publish adopted technical regulations,
standards and conformity assessment procedures19
4. Others
C. Preparation,  Adoption and Application of Technical
Regulations
1. To put in place as well as to maintain a mechanism and/or
legal infrastructure (e.g. legislative, regulatory andadministrative action) to ensure that Article 2 of theAgreement are applied
- such as to ensure that regulatory authorities in your
territory are aware of and comply with the disciplines
as stated in provisions of Article 2 related to (e.g. non-
discrimination, avoidance of unnecessary obstacles totrade, ongoing review of technical regulations and theuse of appropriate international standards as a basis fortechnical regulations)
20
2. The awareness of Good regulatory practice
- such as to avoid the promulgation of national technical
regulations where they are not necessary, limit them totheir specific requirements, minimizing the use ofmandatory technical regulations and utilizing voluntaryinternational standards, where appropriate, and inaccordance the relevant provisions of the Agreement
21
3. To coordinate between governmental regulatory
authorities, trade officials and national standardizing
bodies to ensure effective implementation of the provisionsof Article 2
22
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
18 Articles 2.9, 5.6, 10.1.5 and paragraph L of  Annex 3 of  the Agreement
19 Articles 2.11, 5.8, 10.1.5 and paragraph O of Annex 3 of the Agreement
20 Articles 2.1-2.5, 2.7-2.8, 11.1 and 15.2, G/TBT/1/Rev.7, G/TBT/5 (paragraphs 23-24) and G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 37-38)
21 G/TBT/5 (paragraph 23), G/TBT/9 (paragraph 38)
22 G/TBT/5 (paragraph 24 (b))G/TBT/W/178
Page 6Points for Consideration to Assist the Identification and
Prioritisation of Specifi c Needs in the TBT FieldCurrent Situation Specific Problems, Difficulties
and/or InterestsTechnical Assistance and/or
Cooperation Acti vities Required
4. To establish appropriate regulatory bodies or bodies for the
assessment of conformity with technical regulations23
(taking into account domestic state of development)
5. Others
D. Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards
1. Standardizing bodies
(a) The establishment of national standardizing body(s)24
(b) The awareness and acceptance of  the Code of Good
Practice (Annex 3 of the Agreement) by standardizingbody(s)
25
2. To put in place as well as to maintain a mechanism and/or
legal infrastructure to ensure that Annex 3 of the
Agreement are applied
- Such as to ensure that standardizing body(s) in your
territory are aware of and comply with the disciplinesas stated in provisions of Annex 3 related to (e.g. non-discrimination, avoidance of unnecessary obstacles to
trade, the use of appropriate international standards as
a basis for the standards they develop, the preparationof work programmes, the provision of information andopportunities for comments on drafts)
26
3. Participation in international standardization27
(a) To participate in international standardizing activities in
areas of particular domestic interest (e.g. to participate
in technical committees or working groups or to serve as
chairs or secretariats)28
(b) Possible means to facilitate participation (e.g. to
participate in e-format, to raise awareness of andcoordinate with relevant domestic bodies, regionalcooperation and coordination, or to put in place a
national or regional standards strategy)
 29
4. Others
                                                     
23 Article 11.3.1
24 Article 11.2
25 Article 4
26 Articles 2.1-2.5, 2.7-2.8, 11.1 and 15.2, G/TBT/1/Rev.7, G/TBT/5 (paragraphs 23-24) and G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 37-38)
27 Articles 2.6, 5.5, 11.2, 12.5 and 12.6, Annex 3 of the Agreement, G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 17-25 and Annex 4)
28 G/TBT/9 (paragraph 24)
29 G/TBT/9 (paragraph 25)G/TBT/W/178
Page 7Points for Consideration to Assist the Identification and
Prioritisation of Specifi c Needs in the TBT FieldCurrent Situation Specific Problems, Difficulties
and/or InterestsTechnical Assistance and/or
Cooperation Acti vities Required
E. Preparation, Adoption and Application of Conformity
Assessment Procedures
1. Infrastructure for conformity assessment
(a) To establish appropriate bodies for the assessment of
conformity with technical regulations and standards(e.g. testing laboratories, inspection, certification andaccreditation bodies), taking in to account domestic state
of development and sectoral needs
30
(b) To strengthen the technical competence of these bodies
so as to enable the acceptance of their conformity
assessment results and to participate in international orregional systems for conformity assessment
31
2. To put in place a mechanism and/or legal infrastructure
- To ensure that conformity assessment procedures are
prepared, adopted and applied by relevant governmentand non-governmental bodies in such a way that they
comply with the disciplines of the Agreement (e.g.
non-discrimination, avoidance of unnecessary tradebarriers, the use of relevant international standards,guides and recommendations as well as transparency)
32
3. Recognition of Conformity Assessment
(a) To adopt appropriate approaches to facilitate acceptance
of the results of conformity assessment (e.g. unilateral
recognition of results of conformity assessmentprocedures conducted by bodies in other Members, thenegotiation, conclusion and implementation of mutualrecognition agreement, the use of accreditation,government designation and suppliers' declaration)
33
(b) To permit the participation of bodies located in the
territories of other Members in your conformityassessment procedures
34
                                                     
30 Articles 11.3.1 and 11.4
31 G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 35-36), Articles 11.6-11.7
32 Articles 5, 7 and 8, G/TBT/1/Rev.7, G/TBT/5 (paragraphs 25-29), G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 26-36 and Annex 5)
33 Articles 6.1-6.3, G/TBT/9 (paragraph 27 and Annex 5)
34 Article 6.4G/TBT/W/178
Page 8Points for Consideration to Assist the Identification and
Prioritisation of Specifi c Needs in the TBT FieldCurrent Situation Specific Problems, Difficulties
and/or InterestsTechnical Assistance and/or
Cooperation Acti vities Required
4. Participation in international and regional systems35
(a) To establish the institutions/legal framework to enable
domestic conformity assessment bodies (governmental
or non-governmental) to fulfil the obligations ofmembership or participation in such systems
(b) To meet the requirements in confidence building or
proficiency testing programmes in such systems
(c) To address common concerns at the regional level
36
5. Others
II. IN RELATION TO BENEFITING FROM THE TBT
AGREEMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING
A Benefiting from the Agreements
1 Raising awareness37
- Such as by the private sector, about the  rights and
benefits of the Agreement, including those relating tothe adoption of international standards and the use ofenquiry points'
2. Dissemination of Information38
(a) On draft and adopted domestic, foreign, regional and
international standards, technical regulations orconformity assessment procedures to assist producersto adapt products and production methods to newrequirements
39 and to enhance market access
possibilities
(b) On notifications to interested parties to obtain their
comments
(c) Possible means to enhance dissemination of
information (e.g. to establish chambers of commerce orother industry associations to act as conduit forinformation or using electronic transmission of
information)
                                                     
35 Articles 9, 11.6 and 12.5, G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 35-36)
36 G/TBT/9 (paragraph 35)
37 Preamble of the Agreement, G/TBT/9 (paragraphs 7, 25 and 40)
38 G/TBT/9 (paragraph 16)
39 Article 2.12G/TBT/W/178
Page 9Points for Consideration to Assist the Identification and
Prioritisation of Specifi c Needs in the TBT FieldCurrent Situation Specific Problems, Difficulties
and/or InterestsTechnical Assistance and/or
Cooperation Acti vities Required
3. Cooperation and coordination with the private sector
- Such as to on the MRAs, equivalence and
harmonization arrangements with trading partners, or
to assist on the step to be taken if they wish to haveaccess to conformity assessment systems operated bybodies in other Members territories
40
4. Others
B. Market Access and Capacity Building
1. Market access issues
(a) Specific experience in exports being denied access for
reasons relating to standards, technical regulations andconformity assessment requirements of markets (e.g.marking, labelling, sampling, certificates or testingrequirements)
(b) Specific experience in products having difficulties in
meeting foreign  requirements (e.g. due to the lack ofdomestic technical resources and infrastructure such asmetrology, calibration or accredited laboratories)
2. Development of a National Strategy
- Such as a national strategy to promote awareness of
quality and metrology among stakeholders (e.g. policy
makers, conformity assessment practitioners and
industry), as well as market surveillance and productliability requirements
3. Others
                                                     
40 Article 11.5G/TBT/W/178
Page 10
PRIORITISATION OF NEEDS
A. What are your top prioritised TBT-related technical assistance, technical cooperation or
capacity building needs? (Please also provide explanation or justification for such needs.)
1.________________________________________________________________________________
2.________________________________________________________________________________3.________________________________________________________________________________4.________________________________________________________________________________
5.________________________________________________________________________________
B. Where do these needs fit in terms of your overall trade related technical assistance and
capacity building needs (i.e. are any of these needs co nsidered to be a priority at the national level,
by relevant domestic authorities, agencies and interested parties)?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C Have you received assistance in these prioritis ed  areas in the past?  If yes, when and by
whom?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
D. Are you currently receiving any assistance in these prioritised areas?  If yes, by whom?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
E. Have you approached any donors to assist you in meeting these needs?  If yes, when and to
whom?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
F. Can you identify, in your opinion, the donors which would be well suited to assist you with
these specific needs?  or if you consider tec hnical cooperation or regional arrangement possible
solution?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
G. Any other issues to be addressed.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________