G/L/1458  
G/TBT/49  
 
1 December 2022 
(22-8936) Page: 1/8 
Council for Trade in Goods  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
CURRENT  FUNCTIONING OF THE  
COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE  
REPORT  TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE TBT COMMITTEE  
The following report is being submitted by the Chair person of the Committee on Technical Barriers 
to Trade (TBT  Committee ), Mr Anwar Hussain Shaik , at the request of the Chairperson of the Council 
for Trade in Goods  (CTG) . It was prepared with the assistance of the Secretariat.1 
 
_______________  
 
 
1  CURRENT STATUS OF COMMITTEE PRACTIC ES 
1.1.  This report describe s the practices that the TBT Committee has adopted over the past years to 
improve its work  (the data in the tables refer to the years 2019 -2021) . These practices build on  
discussions among Members  – they are bottom -up in nature , continuous, and incremental. All 
decisions and recommendations taken by the TBT Committee are documented in the G/TBT/1 -series  
(the latest revision is contained in G/TBT/1/Rev.15) . Normally, the practices are agreed upon in  the 
context of the Committee 's Triennial Reviews . 
1.1  Assistance to delegates  
1.2.  There is no systematic training programme for Geneva -based delegates.  Geneva -based 
delegates who assume responsibility for the Committee usually have bilateral meetings with 
Secretariat staff regarding , for example,  procedures  and documentation. On occasion, the  
Secretariat has organized briefing  sessions  for capital and Geneva -based officials to explain 
process es and the conduct of work.  These may be general or focus on a particular aspect of the 
Committee 's agenda.  For example, the Secretariat has brief ed delegations on the evolution and use 
of eAgenda and ePing on a regular basis , and the Secretariat has provided briefings on the triennial 
review process . Almost  all TBT technical assistance activities dedicate a module to the operation of 
the Committee , including digital tools .  
1.2  Organization of Committee  work  
1.2.1   Digital tools used for Committee work  
1.3.  Digital tools are central to the work of t he TBT C ommittee , given the significant volume of 
notifications and specific trade concerns that it manages ( more than 250 specific trade concerns and 
3,900 notifications per y ear). The eAgenda  system , pioneered by the TBT Committee, is used to 
submit specific trade concerns for inclusion in the agenda. Following a transition period  since the 
first meeting of 2021, 100% of STCs are  currently entered  by Members using eAgenda.  The Trade 
Concerns Database  was developed in cooperation with other Committees to provide greater 
transparency and a cross -cutting overview of trade concerns raised.  
 
1 See document JOB/CTG/18 . G/L/1458 • G/TBT/49  
 
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  1.4.  The ePing  platform was developed  and has evolved in response  to recommendation s from 
Members in the TBT triennial review process .2 Members use ePing  to consult TBT and S PS 
notifications, specific trade concerns and other documents , as well as the contact information of 
enquiry points. They can also receive email alerts on notifications of interest and reach out to 
notification authorities and enquiry point officials  of other Members through the platform . Officials 
with additional rights can  use ePing to  submit notifications to the WTO  and, on a voluntary basis, 
disseminate their comments /replies  on notifications through the platform . More than 99% of 
notifications are subm itted through ePing . A single sign -on system allows seamless access from 
ePing to eAgenda for those with the necessary credentials. The Secretariat continuously improves 
these tools in response to the needs of Members.   
1.5.  Regular briefings  on these tools are provided during  – and on the margins of  – Committee 
meetings.  For example, the Secretariat is organizing an ePing information session  on the m argins of 
the November 2022 TBT Committee meeting.  
1.6.  These tools complement the horizontal tools available to Members such as e Registration and 
Documents Online .  
1.2.2   Planning and organization of meetings  
1.7.  The Committee 's work is organized around three annual re gular meetings with back -to-back 
informal and/or thematic sessions. These "committee weeks " normally take place in March, June 
and November. Preparatory informal meetings are normally held one month in advance; they may 
also be held on an ad hoc basis to a dvance on specific work streams (e.g., guidelines on conformity 
assessment procedures).  
1.8.  Other types of events are typically organized in conjunction with the regular meetings, such as 
workshops, side events and/or information sessions (organized by Member s or the Secretariat). The 
TBT Committee holds a Special Meeting for Enquiry Points and Notification Authorities every two to 
three years. On occasion, the Secretariat may organize one -off events such as the Symposium  on 
Easing Regulatory Bottlenecks; these may be open to the public.  
1.9.  Dates for meetings are coordinated well in advance with relevant Committees, especially the 
SPS Committee , to prevent scheduling clashes as t here might be delegates covering both. Planning 
of meetings is communicated to delegates through a JOB document with more than one year 's 
advance notice .3 The Chair person  also reminds delegations of the subsequent meetings at the end 
of each meeting. The dates of formal meetings are available on the  TBT Gateway .  
1.2.3   Formal meetings  
1.2.3.1   Communication before meeti ngs 
1.10.   The Secretariat and the Chairperson keep delegations abreast with developments mainly 
through communications (ICN/TBT/xx), annotated draft agendas (JOB/TBT -series) and airgrams 
(WTO/AIR/TBT -series).   
1.2.3.2   Number of meetings  
1.11.   Since the beginning of 2019, 12 formal and 23 informal  meetings have taken place (including 
the November 2022 meeting). In addition, there have been 28 other  Committee -related events, 
workshops, and side events . Since 2021, due to the increasing number of specific trade concerns 
placed on  the agenda, the duration of formal meetings has been extended by half  a day. At a normal 
committee week , the first day is reserved for bilateral and informal meetings  as well as consultations 
as necessary  (Monday), the second day is taken up by thematic s essions (Tuesday ) and  remaining 
three days (Wednesday through Friday) are taken up by the  regular meeting.  
 
2 Given the similarities b etween the SPS and TBT Committee practices, the Secretariat has merged  a 
series of SPS and TBT online tools (SPS NSS, TBT NSS, SPS IMS, TBT IMS, and ePing alert) into a consolidated 
ePing SPS&TBT Platform, launched in July 2022.  
3 See JOB/TBT/467  circulated in June 2022 for the year 2023 . G/L/1458 • G/TBT/49  
 
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  Table 1: Number of formal and informal meetings  
Year Formal meeting s  
(number and duration)  Informal meetings  
(number and duration ) Other ( e.g., 
workshops, symposia, 
etc.)  
2019  6-7 March 2019  (2 days)  
20-21 June 2019  
(2 days)  
13-14 November 2019  
(2 days)  Informal:  
8 February 2019   
(0.5 days)  
29 April 2019  (0.5 days)  
18 June 2019  
(0.5 days)  
26 September 2019   
(0.5 days)  
Thematic Sessions:  
5 March 2019  (1 day)  
18 June 2019  (0.5 days)   
19 June 2019  (1 day)  
12 November 2019   
(1 day ) 
13 November 2019  
(0.5 days)  Workshops:  
17 June 2019  (Workshop 
on TBT agreement's 
transparency provisions 
and tools)  
Side Events:  
7 March 2019 (TBT -
UNCTAD side event)  
20 June 2019 (Side event 
on improving TBT 
technical assistance 
coordination)  
3 July 2019 (Book Launch  
of joint WTO/OECD 
publication)  
4 July 2019 (Side event: 
Moving beyond SPS and 
TBT) 
Information Sessions:  
13 November 2 019 
(ePing walk -in session)  
2020  26-27 February 2020  
(2 days)  
13-14 May 2020  (2 days)  
28-30 October 2020  
(3 days)  
 Informal:  
30 January 2020  
(0.5 days)  
25 February 2020 (1 day)  
12 June  2020 (0.5 days)  
24 September 2020 
(0.5 days)  
27 October 2020 ( 1 day) 
Thematic Sessions:  
25 February 2020  (1 day ) Workshops:  
26 February 2020  
(ePing walk -in session)  
April-May 2020  
(ePing refresher course s, 
focusing on Covid , held 5 
times to accommodate 
regions, languages)  
19 June 2020 (TBT@40  
session on transparency )  
2 September 2020 
(TBT@40 session on 
STCs) 
14 October  2020 
(TBT@40 session on 
international standards ) 
8 December 2020 
(Workshop on role o f 
gender in standards 
development)  
 
2021  24-26 February 2021  
(2.5 days)  
2-4 June 2021  (3 days)  
10-12 November 2021  
(3 days)  Informal:  
4 February  2021 (1 day)  
23 February  2021 (1 day)  
11 May  2021 (0.5 days)  
1 June  2021 (0.5 days)  Information Sessions:  
Friends of eTools:  
4 July 2021  
21 September 2021  
18 October 2021   G/L/1458 • G/TBT/49  
 
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  Year Formal meeting s  
(number and duration)  Informal meetings  
(number and duration ) Other ( e.g., 
workshops, symposia, 
etc.)  
1 July  2021 (0.5 days)  
21 September  2021  
(0.5 days)  
15 October  2021  
(0.5 days)  
8 November 2021  
(0.5 days)  
9 November  2021  
(0.5 days)  
Thematic Sessions:  
4 February 2021  (1 day)  Ninth Triennial Review 
information session :  
16 February 2021  
2022  9-11 March 
2022 (3 days)  
13-15 July 2022  (3 days)   
16-18 November 2022  
(3 days)  
 Informal:  
10 February  2022  
(0.5 days)  
1 March 2022 (0.5 days)  
6 April 2022 (0.5 days)  
27 April  2022 (0.5 days)  
29 June  2022 (0.5 days)  
13 October  2022  
(1 day) 
Thematic Sessions:  
8 March 2022 (1 day)  
12 July 2022  (1 day)  
15 November 2022   
(1 day)  Symposium:  
14 October 2022 (Easing 
Regulatory Bottlenecks)  
Information Sessions:  
14 November 2022 
(ePing information  
session)  
 
1.2.3.3   Preparation of Airgram and Annotated draft Agenda  
1.12.   Airgrams are prepared by the WTO Secretariat one month in advance  of the regular meeting . 
Members  may propose specific trade concerns no less than 20 calendar days  prior to the committee 
meeting.  An annotated draft agenda is prepared  by the Secretariat  that includes all specific trade 
concerns as well as other information for each agenda item. An advanced copy  of the annotated 
draft agenda is circulated  to give Memb ers an opportunity to check it , and the final annotated draft 
agenda is issued 15 calendar days before the meeting.4 Delegations use eAgenda for submission  
and tracking  of STCs on the agenda.5 
Table 2:  Preparation of Airgrams and Agendas  
Year Date of formal 
meeting  Date of circulation of 
Airgram  No. of days before 
the meeting  
2019  6-7 March 2019  
20-21 June 2019  
13-15 November  2019  6 February 2019  (final)  
20 May 2019  (final)  
14 October 2019  (final)  28 
31 
30 
 
4 The timelines are contained in G/TBT/4 3 and in the G/TBT/1/ -series. 
5 As part of the continuous improvement of the TBT Committee's practices, Members adopted a decision 
on "Procedures for inclusion of specific trade concerns in the annotated draft agenda of the Committee " in 
September 2019  (G/TBT/43 ). G/L/1458 • G/TBT/49  
 
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  Year Date of formal 
meeting  Date of circulation of 
Airgram  No. of days before 
the meeting  
2020  26-27 February 2020  
13-14 May 2020  
28-29 October 2020  27 January 2020  (final)  
15 April 2020  (final)  
28 September 2020  
(final)  30 
28 
30 
2021  24-26 February 2021  
2-4 June 2021  
10-12 November 2021  22 January 2021  (final)  
3 May 2021  (final)  
11 October 2021  (final)  
 33 
30 
30 
2022  9-11 March 2022   
13-15 July 2022  
16-18 November 2022  7 February 2022  (final)  
13 June 2022  (final)  
17 October 2022  (final)  30 
30 
30  
 
1.2.3.4   Distribution of documents  prior to meetings  
1.13.   All documents relevant to a meeting are added to the "Documents for Meetings " WTO 
webpage . Presentations  (received in advance)  are posted on dedicated pages on the TBT Gateway  
(see, for example, the  thematic session here).6 
1.2.3.5   Communication afte r meetings  
1.14.   The Chair person  normally  sends a follow -up communication after each formal and informal 
meeting to underline any key points , recall deadline s, and indicate dates for subsequent meetings  
(using the format ICN/TBT/ -series) . The news  item of the regular meetings  that are posted on the 
WTO website  provides a summary of key issues discussed , as well as a list of all STCs  raised  (all 
news items are listed here on the TBT Gateway) . 
1.2.3.6   Preparation of the minutes  
1.15.   The Committee prepares minutes after its meetings  which  are circulated in the G/TBT/M -
series . The draft minutes are sent to Members for checking before circulation. On average , the 
minutes take around 2 months to prepare.  
Table 3:  Preparat ion of the Minutes/Summary Reports  
Year Last date of the 
formal meeting  Date of 
circulation of the 
minutes  No. of 
pages  No. of days  
between 
meeting and 
circulation  
2019  6-7 March 2019  
20-21 June 2019  
13-15 November 2019  15 May 201 9 
23 September 2019  
30 January 2020  46 
54 
63 70 
95 
78 
2020  26-27 February 2020  
13-14 May 2020  
28-29 October 2020  24 April 2020  
26 June 2020  
5 January 2021  68 
123 
123 58 
44 
69 
 
6 For a recent example, see the  July 2022 Thematic Sessio n on Transparency 
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbtts120722_e.htm . 
 G/L/1458 • G/TBT/49  
 
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  Year Last date of the 
formal meeting  Date of 
circulation of the 
minutes  No. of 
pages  No. of days  
between 
meeting and 
circulation  
2021  24-26 February 2021  
2-4 June 2021  
10-12 November 2021  21 April 2021  
24 August 2021  
2 February 2022  125 
128 
116 56 
83 
84 
2022  9-11 March 2022   
13-15 July 2022  
16-18 November 2022  24 May 2022  
30 September 2022  
- 120 
128 
- 77 
79 
- 
 
1.2.4   Informal meetings  
1.16.   Informal meetings are convened using the format ICN/TBT/ -series .  
Table 4: Convening of informal meetings  
Year Date of informal 
meeting  Date of 
communication 
convening the 
informal meeting  No. of days  
between 
communication 
and meeting  
2019  8 February 2019  
29 April 2019  
18 June 2019 (am)  
26 September 2019  22 January 2019  
21 March 2019  
4 June 2019  
16 July 2019  17 
39 
14 
72 
2020  30 January 2020  10 January 2020  20 
2021  23 February 2021  
11 May 2021  
1 June 2021  
1 July 2021  
21 September  
15-18 October 2021  
 
8-9 November 2021  22 January 2021  
9 April 2021  
18 May 2021 
14 June 2021  
1 September 2021  
22 September  +  
7 October 2021  
19 October 2021  +  
1 November 2021  32 
32 
13 
17 
20 
23 
 
20 
2022  10 February 2022  
 
27 April 2022  
29 June 2022  
13 October 2022  9 December 2021  + 
3 January 202 2 
22 April 2022  
15 June 2022  
19 July 2022 +  
7 Oct 2022  63 
5 
14 
86  
 
 G/L/1458 • G/TBT/49  
 
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  1.3  Substantive work  
1.3.1   Thematic sessions  
1.17.   During the Triennial Review process , the preliminary dates are set for thematic sessions. For 
example, during the  Ninth  Triennial Review (2021), Members agreed on a series of thematic session s 
to take place from 2022 to 2024.7 For each thematic session, Members submit proposals for topics 
and speakers ; ahead of the session, updates to the programme can be followed on the TBT webpage . 
Thematic sessions are held in conjunction with regular meetings , normally directly prior to them .  
1.3.2   Notifications   
1.18.   The TBT Committee manages a significant volume of  TBT related  notification s (more than 
3,900 per year) . This accounts for 45% of all notifications submitted by WTO Members . In order to 
efficiently handle this workload , the Committee regularly reviews,  and updat es procedures related 
to transparency and notifications. This is usually  done during the triennial review process . For 
example, in June 2014, the Committee adopted a recommendation to enhance the coherent use of 
notification formats and provide guidance on when to use which format (new, addendum, corrigenda, 
revision, suppleme nt).8 More recently, in  the context of the Ninth Triennial Review  (2021) , Members 
agreed on 19 transparency -related recommendations , some of which relate to the revision of 
notification formats and guidelines. 9 This work is now ongoing.   
1.19.   With a view to advancing with recommendations  on transparency , a Transparency Working 
Group  was established in March 2022 . The Working Group is open to all Members and conducts its 
meetings in a hybrid mode to facilitate the participation of capital -based officials.  Two meetings  have 
been held  so far.  
1.20.   Over the years, the Committee has also mandated the Secretariat to develop online tools to 
facilitate the submission and tracking of notifications. For example,  in 2013 , Members requested the 
creation of an online platform f or the submission of notifications, which led to the launch  of the 
Notification Submission System (NSS) in 2013. The Seventh Triennial Review (2015) mandated the 
Secretariat to develop an alert system for notifications in response to which the Secretariat launched 
the ePing  alert system  in 2016 , in partnership with the ITC and UNDESA. The Eighth Triennial Review 
(2021)  mandated the Secretariat to conso lidate the various online tools ; this process led to the 
replacement of TBT NSS, TBT IMS and ePing with a new ePing SPS&TBT Platform  in 2022 .10  
1.21.   During regular meetings of the TBT Committee, an agenda item on transpa rency provides an 
opportunity to share information  and experiences . In addition, s ince 2021, a "Friends of Online Tools " 
group meets where Members can receive updates from the Secretariat and provide feedback. This 
group has met three times. In addition, t he Secretariat has conducted two comprehensive surveys 
on ePing to collect feedback from users, one in 2017 and another in 2022.11 
1.22.   The Committee has discussed good practices as well as  challenges faced in the 
implementation of transparency provisions and preparation of notifications through thematic 
sessions. These were held on:  
• 12 July 2022 WTO | Thematic Session on Transparency  
• 4 February 2020 WTO | TBT Committee Thematic Session on Transparency  
• 18-19 June 2019: WTO | Technical Barriers to Trade - Thematic session on Transparency  
1.23.   The TBT Committee 's Annual Review report contains information on the level of 
implementation of no tification obligations.  It lists, by Member, the number of ad hoc notifications 
 
7 G/TBT/46 , para. 9.5.  
8 G/TBT/35 . 
9 G/TBT/46 , para. 6.29 . 
10 G/TBT/GEN/336  / G/SPS/GEN/2058 . 
11 G/TBT/GEN/317  / G/SPS/GEN/1933  in 2021 and G/TBT/GEN/227/Rev.1  / G/SPS/GEN/1569  in 2017 . G/L/1458 • G/TBT/49  
 
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  submitted as well as those Members which have fulfilled their one -off notification obligation under 
Article 15.2 (on measures they are undertaking to implement the TBT Agreemen t).  
1.24.   In response to requests from Members, the Secretariat provides a significant  number of 
technical assistance activities on transparency and ePing . 30 activities were conducted in 2020 -
2021.12 In 2022, the Secretariat launched the TBT Transparency Champions programme  to further 
assist Members in implementing and benefitting from the TBT transparency framework.  
1.3.3   Reports by the Secretariat  
1.25.   In accordance with Article 15.3 of the TB T Agreement, the Committee under takes an annual 
review of the implementation and operation of the TBT Agreement.  The Secretariat prepares an 
annual report to facilitate this review, containing information and statistics related to notifications 
circulated, specific trade concerns raised, technical assistance activities conducted, key topics 
discussed as well as relevant disputes.13 Following the increased use of digital tools, the Secretariat 
has been able to include more statistics and graphs in  these reports. The latest Annual Review report 
is contained in  document  G/TBT/ 47. 
1.26.   In accordance with Article 15.4 of the TBT Agreement, the Committee conducts a "triennial 
review " of the operation and implementation of the Agreement every three years.  The Triennial 
Review  contains decisions and  recommendations agreed upon by the Committee, which are 
negotiated based on proposals from Members.  The latest Ninth Triennial Review (202 1) concluded 
with 37 recommendations , contained in document  G/TBT/46 . 
1.3.4   Participation by external stakeh olders  
1.27.   24 organizations  have observer status  in the TBT Committee . Some  provide regular updates 
to the Committee under the dedicated agenda item for Observers. Representatives of non -
governmental entities (e.g. sectoral associations, enterprises, certifica tion bodies, academia, etc .) 
are sometimes  invited to  participate in  the TBT Committee's  thematic sessions . 
1.3.5   Work with other Committees or WTO bodies  
1.28.   In June 2019, the TBT Committee organized a thematic session in coordination with the SPS 
Committee in ligh t of a specific  Eighth Triennial Review recommendation to  exchange information 
on practices to determine whether a measure falls under the SPS and/or TBT Agreement.14 
1.29.   The Secretariat sometimes provides  updates  and information  in other Committees. For 
examp le, representatives of the Secretariat TBT  Team have presented at SPS committee events on 
the topics of equivalence and transparency.  In addition, presentations on eAgenda  and the Trade 
Concerns Database  have been delivered to CTG , CMA  and TF committee.  
2  PAST EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE  
2.1.  The Committee's  practices  evolv e continuously .  
 
__________  
 
12 G/TBT/GEN/317  - G/SPS/GEN/1933 , Annex B.  
13 See latest Annual Review Repo rt in G/TBT/47 .  
14 G/TBT/41 , para. 6.19.d . 
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/thematicsession1819_06_29_e.htm .