G/TBT/W/794  
 
26 February 2024  
(24-1701) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  
PROPOSAL TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS OF VOLUNTARY NOTIFICATIONS  
TENTH TRIENNIAL REVIEW  
Proposal from the United Kingdom  
The following submiss ion, dated 22 February  2024, is being circulated at the request of the  
delegation of the United Kingdom . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  In recent TBT Transparency Working Groups the use of voluntary "transparency notifications " 
by Members has been noted. These notifications are intended to, for example, draw Member 
attention to ongoing Member consultations on emerging policy proposals, increasing awareness of 
these consultations and allowing Members to engage with the developmen t of measures.  
1.2.  These "transparency notifications " are voluntary, and do not fulfill the mandatory notification 
obligations as laid out in the TBT Agreement. Rather they encourage transparency and engage 
Members  prior to policies being developed enough to require notification to the TBT Committee under 
Art 2.9.2 or Art. 5.6.21. 
1.3.  These notifications are made on the ePing platform, using the same notification format as 
regular notifications made to fulfil obligations under the TBT Agreement. However, typically,  these 
notifications do not have all the same features as a measure notif ied under Art 2.9.2 or Art 5.6.2 ; 
therefore , given their stage of developmen t, they do not feature a comment period or a draft text 
for Member consideration.  This is because such voluntary notifications are distinct from notifications 
under the TBT Agreeme nt and are not intended to fulfil the same requirements.  
1.4.  This can cause confusion as , on receipt of such a transparency  notification,  Members look for 
additional information or expect to be able to submit comments through Enquiry Points. This may 
then subs equently be clarified through the Enquiry Point but it takes time and resource from 
Members who may then miss the opportunity to engage with the notified consultation process.  
2  PROPOSAL  
2.1.  The United Kingdom proposes an additional notification function on ePin g, allowing members 
to clearly identify notifications which are relevant to the TBT Committee but made outside of the 
scope of TBT notification obligations. This could be in the form of a separate and distinct 
"Transparency " tick box in the "Notified Under " portion of the form, negating the need to provide 
draft text or dates for comment. Members could then tick that box for notifications which:  
a. Draw Member attention to ongoing Government consultations, which are not yet at the 
stage of development where no tification to the TBT Committee under Article 2.9.2 or 
Article 5.6.2 is required, but which may be of interest to Members.  
 
1 It should be noted that not all measures which are voluntarily notified will ultimately develop into 
measures that meet the conditions for mandatory notification under Article 2.9.  G/TBT/W/794  
 
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  b. Publicise resources such as registers, which do not in themselves warrant full notification, 
but which may be of benefit to Members and businesses.  
2.2.  Alongside other existing proposals for improvements to notification procedures and guidance, 
this function would facilitate additional transparency from Members and increase the clarity of 
notifications made through  the ePing platform. It would also enable increased and early  engagement 
of international partners in policy development , facilitating the developme nt of measures that are 
the least trade restrictive.   
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