G/TBT/W/749  
 
21 May 2021 
(21-4280) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
PROPOSAL ON TRANSPARENCY PRACTICES  
NINTH TRIENNIAL REVIEW  
Submission from the United States  
The following submission, dated  21 May 2021, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of 
the United States . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  ON PROPOSAL TO NOTIFY DRAFT MEASURES THAT IMPLEMENT 
ARTICLE  15.2 
1.1.  Transparency is central to the TBT Agreement and a key element of good regulatory practice 
that has been addressed through subsequent decisions and recommendations of the TBT Committee.  
Article 15.2 obligates Members to inform the  TBT Committee of measures taken to ensure the 
implement ation or administ ration of  the TBT A greem ent as well as any changes thereafter.  In 
practice, many Members have only complied with this article upon joining the Committee.   
1.2.  Just as the standards and conformity landscape is continually changing, so too have Members ' 
laws and practices.  For example,  National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) laws, while not generally 
considered  technical regulation s, do contain important elements relating to Member practices for the 
development of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.  Some  
Members do notify draft NQI measures to the TBT Committee with open comment periods, while 
others have not yet notified these types of measures. The notification would assist Members with 
understanding systematic changes to the national quality system, pa rticularly as they pertain to 
standards, conformity assessment procedures, and metrology.  
1.3.  Another example relates to consultation practices that have evolved as technology has 
changed.  Many Members have developed , or have received support from internationa l organizations 
or other Member technical assistance  to set up, online consultation platforms to facilitate 
transparency.  These are often distinct from the Enquiry  Point function and operated by other bodies, 
but do include consultations on technical regul ations as well as consultations on other regulations. 
Some platforms contain not only the draft regulation, but primary and supporting documents, and 
comments received.  
2  PROPOSAL S 
2.1.  That Members notify their National Quality Infrastructure laws as a good practice.  We 
recommend a notification format that would be specific to Article 15.2 to distinguish the notifications 
from proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.  
2.2.  That Members notify or update the information on where Members ' comments on draft 
technical regulations can be submitted.  G/TBT/W/749  
 
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  3  BACKGROUND  ON PROPOSAL TO NOTIFY THE WTO AT THE SAME TIME AS DOMESTIC 
CONSULTATIONS  
3.1.  With regard to the timing of notifications, i n 1995  the Committee agreed that when  
implementing the provisions of Articles 2.9.2, 3.2  (in relation to Article 2.9.2), 5.6.2 and 7.2 
(in relation to Article 5.6.2), a notification  to the WTO should be made when a draft with the complete 
text of a proposed technical regulation or procedures for assessment of conformity is available and 
when amendments can still be introduced and be taken into account.  
3.2.  The United States has observed that many WTO Members neither  conduct their domestic and 
international consultations on draft technical regulations  at the same time , nor take c omments from 
domestic and international stakeholders simultaneously.  It appears that domestic consultation often 
occurs first and then a measure is notified.  If this is the practice, while it may still be possible to  
take i nto account WTO Members ' comments , it is preferable to  simultaneously  consider domestic 
and WTO Member s' comments on draft  measures so as to minimize issues with having to integrate 
and consider domestic stakeholder concerns separate from those of WTO Members.  
4  PROPOSAL  
4.1.  That Members notify  draft technical regulations at the same time that domestic consultations  
occur . 
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