G/L/1457  
G/TBT/48  
 
1 December 2022 
(22-8940) Page: 1/3 
Council for Trade in Goods  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
 
WTO RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC  
REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE TBT COMMITTEE  
The following report is being submitted by the Chairperson 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 Goods1, and was prepared with the assistance of the Secretariat.   
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  This report provides an overview  of the TBT Committee 's work on COVID -19-related matters 
and lessons learned .  
1.2.  The TBT Committee agreed  in November 2021 , in the context of the Ninth Triennial Review of 
the TBT Agreement, with a view to improving future pandemic preparedness :  
"to examine and compile  best practices for: understanding international standards; 
streamlining conformity assessment procedures (including temporary or emergency 
alternatives) to facilitate trade in select essential medical goods, including vaccines, during 
pandemics; and, enha ncing international regulatory cooperation."2 
2  WORK OF COMMITTEE  AND EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCES  
2.1.  The Secretariat assisted the TBT Committee to adapt and continue its work during the initial 
COVID -19 lockdown in 2020. This was made possible through eAgenda, an online tool that allows 
Members to submit specific trade concerns ( STCs) and collaboratively build the agenda in real -time. 
The use of eAgenda enabled the TBT Committee to hold the 13 -14 May 2020 meeting, on an 
exceptional basis, by written procedure focus ing only on STCs.3 
2.2.  Members discussed and exchanged experiences on COVID -19-related matters in the TBT 
Committee, including at an informal meeting of the TBT Committee held on 8 December 2020;4 at 
the thematic session on technical assistance held on 27 Oc tober 2020;5 during 2021 in the context 
of the Ninth Triennial Review of the TBT Agreement;6 and at the thematic session on conformity 
assessment procedures held on 8 March 2022.7 These discussions related to trade -facilitating 
measures and regulatory f lexibilities introduced in the context of the pandemic, technical assistance 
and capacity building projects, development of and access to standards, and the role of accreditation.  
2.3.  At the 10 February 2022 informal meeting of the TBT Committee, Members share d views on 
how the Committee could initiate its Ninth Triennial Review mandated work on COVID -19 and future 
 
1 JOB/CTG/18 . 
2 G/TBT/46 , para. 8.4.  
3 G/TBT/M/81 .  
4 JOB/TBT/395 ; RD/TBT/333 ; RD/TBT/336 ; RD/TBT/337 ; RD/TBT/338 ; RD/TBT/339 .  
5 G/TBT/GEN/306 .  
6 G/TBT/46 ; G/TBT/W/736 .  
7 JOB/TBT/447 .  G/L/1457 • G/TBT/48  
 
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  pandemic preparedness. At the 9 -11 March 2022 meeting of the TBT Committee, and in this 
connection, Members requested the Secretariat to prepare a b ackground document on the COVID -
19-related work of the TBT Committee since the start of the pandemic as a reference point for further 
work.8 
2.4.  On 10 May 2022, the Secretariat issued the background document "Overview of COVID -19-
related Discussions in the TB T Committee"  and presented it to the TBT Committee  at its 13-15 July  
2022 meeting.9 This background document reviews the discussions held in the TBT Committee 
relating to COVID -19 in the following six areas: (i) COVID -19-related TBT notifications; (ii) 
discussions of COVID -19 in STCs in the TBT Committee; (iii) Members' exchange of experience on 
COVID -19-related matters in the TBT Committee; (iv) WTO Secretariat work relating to COVID -19 
and TBT; (v) inputs from observers on COVID -19-related matters in the TBT Committee;  and (vi) 
TBT-related discussions in other WTO bodies on COVID -19-related matters.10 
3  NOTIFICATIONS  
3.1.  The key points from the TBT Committee's background document11 are summarized below:  
a. Notifications.  34 Members submitted 225 COVID -19-related notifications to the TBT 
Committee, comprising 46 per cent of all WTO notifications.12 The notified measures 
mostly deal with extraordinary and temporary streamlining of certification and related 
procedures, and the introduction of new  regulatory requirements for medical goods, in 
response to the pandemic.  
4  SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERNS  
4.1.  The key points from the TBT Committee's background document13 are summarized below:  
a. STCs.  WTO Members made references to the COVID -19 pandemic in 54 STCs. The vast 
majority of these STCs were not linked to COVID -19-related notifications or medical goods. 
Rather, they addressed the significant impacts of the pandemic on Members' economies, 
in particular: (i) the difficulties to comply with regulatory requirements; (ii) the difficulties 
to perform conformity assessment procedures; and (iii) the overall impact on Members' 
work in the areas of standards and regulations.  
5  PRACTICES  DISCUSSED  
5.1.  Based on  the work of the TBT Committee to date, a range of practices were discussed that 
appear to have mattered in the COVID -19 pandemic response, and thus may be relevant for future 
pandemic preparedness.14 In order to help Members to initiate their work on exam ining and 
compiling best practices15, the Secretariat distilled in its background document the following list from 
the work of the TBT Committee for Members' consideration : 
a. Understanding and using relevant international standards as a basis for technical 
regulations or standards on select essential medical goods, as well as relevant 
international standards, guides or recommendations as a basis for conformity assessment 
proced ures associated with those measures;  
b. Increasing transparency on, and providing free and/or facilitated access to, standards 
relevant to producing select essential medical goods on a temporary/emergency basis, 
during pandemics;  
 
8 G/TBT/M/86 , para. 2.478.  
9 See the Secretariat's presentation in RD/TBT/367 . 
10 JOB/TBT/458 .  
11 JOB/TBT/458 .  
12 The figures are updated as of 26 October 2022.  
13 JOB/TBT/458 .  
14 JOB/TBT/458 , paras. 8.2 -8.3. 
15 G/TBT/46 , para. 8.4.  G/L/1457 • G/TBT/48  
 
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  c. Temporary/emergency suspensi on or relaxation of technical regulations for select 
essential medical goods during pandemics, where appropriate ; 
d. Temporary/emergency suspension or relaxation of conformity assessment procedures for 
select essential medical goods during pandemics, where ap propriate;  
e. Temporary/emergency use of information technology tools for conducting remote 
conformity assessment procedures (in instances when such option is not already ordinarily 
available) for select essential medical goods during pandemics, where approp riate;  
f. Promoting recognition and acceptance of conformity assessment results for select essential 
medical goods, including through reliance on accreditation, to facilitate trade in select 
essential medical goods;  
g. Enhancing international regulatory coopera tion on select essential medical goods; and  
h. Providing technical assistance to support the application of the above practices, taking into 
account the particular circumstances of each Member.  
5.2.  This non -exhaustive list is meant as a starting point for Members ' consideration in examination 
and compilation of best practices for future pandemic preparedness in the TBT Committee. While 
these practices have been discussed in the Committee's work to date, there may be a range of other 
relevant practices that Members  may wish to consider.  
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