G/TBT/GEN/310  
 
3 February 2021  
(21-0903) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
   
 
THEMATIC SESSION ON TRANSPARENCY  
4 FEBRUARY 2021 , STARTING AT 10:00  
Programme  
At the  conclusion of the  Eighth Triennial Review, Members agreed to continue to hold thematic 
sessions in conjunction with the Committee 's regular meetings  during 2019 -2021, with a view to 
further deepening the Committee's exchange of experiences on specific topics .1 On this bas is, the 
Committee agreed to hold a thematic session on transparency in February 2021.2 The aide -memoire 
contains an overview of the Committee's follow up discussions regarding transparency.3 
The programme below is structured around some of the transparen cy-related recommendations of 
the Eighth Triennial Review. It builds on the  thematic session on transparency held in June 20194 
and compiles specific proposals put forth by Members . The webpage5 dedicated to this event contains 
this programme and will be updated to include presentations and the moderator's report.  
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The thematic session will be moderated by  Mr. Laurence Sandral, Chair  of the TBT Committee  
1  TRANSPARENCY OVERVIEW   
 Update from the Secretariat on the status of Committee recommendations related to 
transparency .  
 Online tools  
i. Update from the Secretariat on recent developments with online  tools it has created 
to facilitate the implementation of transparency provisions in the TBT Agreement.6 
ii. European Union:  ePing in general, Ana Rodriguez Perez, Deputy Head of Unit, DG 
Grow.7 
2  SUBMISSION OF NOTIFICATIONS: PRODUCT CO VERAGE  
At the conclusion of the Eighth Triennial Review, Members agreed to hold an initial discussion on 
how to improve – and what challenges exist for – the identification of products including with respect 
to the use of ICS and/or HS codes and/or product  names where precise codes do not apply.8 The 
two general  presentations  below  are intended to contribute to this discussion.  
 
1 G/TBT/41 , para. 8.2.a.i .  
2 G/TBT/41 , para. 8.2.a.iv . and JOB/TBT/364/Rev. 2.  
3 JOB/TBT/273/Rev.7 , paras 3.1 -3.35.  
4 G/TBT/GEN/ 265. 
5 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbtthematict04022021_e.htm  
6 TBT NSS, TBT IMS , ePing , WTO ISO Standards Information Gateway . 
7 JOB/TBT/393 . 
8 G/TBT/41 , para. 6.19.d.i i. G/TBT/GEN/310  
 
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 An overview on HS Codes , Roy Santana, Counsellor, Market Access Division, WTO . 
 An overview of ICS Codes , Luigi Princip i, ISO Central  Secretariat . 
3  COMMENTING  ON NOTIFICATIONS  
Using ePing to disseminate comments  and replies on notifications  
At the conclusion of the Eight h Triennial Review, the Committee agreed to encourage Members to 
disseminate comments and replies related to n otifications on a voluntary basis and to consider using 
ePing for this purpose.9 
 
 Presentation of Secretariat document JOB/TBT/ 396, followed by discussion  
Experiences with the commenting process and preparation of a  good practice guide   
At the conclusion of the Eighth Triennial Review, Members agreed to develop a good practice guide 
on how to prepare a comment on a notification .10  
 
 European Union:  Preparing comments, Gabriela Szmidt, TBT Enquiry Point, DG Grow.11 
 United States:  How the Inquiry Point facilitates the sharing of co mments from US 
industry and government on WTO Member notifications and WTO Member comments on 
US notifications, MaryAnn Hogan, US WTO TBT Inquiry Point, National Institute of 
Standards and Technology.12 
 China:  How to prepare comments to TBT Notifications - The Practice of China, Yang Song, 
Director, WTO/TBT National Notification and Enquiry Center of People's Republic of 
China.13 
 The Moderator will launch a discussion with the following questions : 
i. What key elements should be included in the good practice gu ide?  
ii. Are there specific challenges  faced in preparing comments on notifications that should 
be considered?  
iii. Would your delegation be willing to share experiences or case studies related to 
commenting on notifications?  
4  MEMBERS ' EXPERIENCES WITH DOMESTIC COORDINATION  
At the conclusion of the Eighth Triennial Review, Members agreed to discuss good practices for 
domestic coordination and engagement with regulators, including sharing information about how 
Members effectively commun icate with regulatory agencies to ensure that all relevant notifications 
are made.14 During the thematic session on transparency held in June 2019, Members also pointed 
out the importance of effective stakeholder engagement in the notification process.15 
 
 Chinese Taipei : Enhancing Private Sector Engagement in TBT Notifications  - Experiences 
from the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu , Roy Chun 
Lee, Senior Deputy Executive Director , WTO & RTA Center, Chung -Hua Institution 
Economic  Research .16 
 
9 G/TBT/41 , para. 6.19.f.  
10 G/TBT/41 , para. 7.12.c.  
11 JOB/TBT/393 . 
12 JOB/TBT/398 . 
13 JOB/TBT/399 . 
14 G/TBT/41 , para. 6.19.b.  
15 G/TBT/GEN/265 .  
16 JOB/TBT/392 . G/TBT/GEN/310  
 
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 United Kingdom: Raising awareness of WTO TBT obligations through the UK 's Regulation 
Impact Assessment and cross -government coordination initiatives , Tom Digby -Rogers, 
Head, WTO TBT Committee , Department for International Trade, United Kingdom 
Government .17 
 Ecuador:  Ecuador's Experience with TBT notifications:  the functioning of the national 
Enquiry  Point, Jeannette Marino, Director, St rategic Quality Management .18 
 United States: Transparency and stakeholder participation in addressing evolving 
technologies and other regulatory issues , Julie Abraham, Executive Director, Office of 
International Transportation and Trade, United States Department of Transportation .19 
__________  
 
17 JOB/TBT/394 . 
18 JOB/TBT/ 397. 
19 JOB/TBT/398 .