G/TBT/W/790  
 
16 February 2024  
(24-1393) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
FURTHER STRUCTURAL REFORMS OF THE WTO TBT COMMITTEE:  
THEMATIC SESSIONS AND TRANSPARENCY  
TENTH TRIENNIAL REVIEW  
Proposal from the United States  
The following submiss ion, dated 16 February  2024, is being circulated at the request of the  
delegation of the United States . 
 
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1  THEMATIC SESSIONS  
1.1  Background  
1.1.  As part of its workplan, the TBT Committee holds thematic sessions throughout the year. These 
sessions, typically scheduled the day before the TBT Committee meetings, provide the opportunity 
for Members to share experiences and information on specific topics with experts invited by 
governments.  
1.2.  Thematic sessions cover topics central to the TBT Committee's work, including those related to 
good regulatory practices, regulatory cooperation, technical regulations, conformity assessment, 
standards, transparency, and technical assistance.  
1.3.  Thematic sessions are typically structured around guiding questions on a particular topic. 
Invited experts give brief presentations, followed by discussion with the moderator and audience. 
Since 2020, thematic sessions have been offered as webcasts and in hybrid formats.  
1.4.  Following a session, the moderator provides a report to the TBT Committee that summarizes 
the presenta tions and discussion. The TBT Committee makes presentations, moderator reports, and 
recordings available online.1 Presentations and reports from more than 30 thematic sessions have 
been made available online since 2013.  
1.5.  As evidenced by recent sessions on digital technologies and tools in good regulatory practice, 
conformity assessment and e -commerce, and regulatory cooperation between Members on 
cybersecurity, thematic sessions have been highly successful in promoting dialogue amongst 
Members and industry,  particularly on challenging or emerging topics.  
1.2  Proposal  
1.6.  To build on the success of thematic sessions and support increased engagement, dialogue, and 
accessibility, the United States submits the following proposals for the TBT Committee 's 
consideration:  
1.7.  First, the United States proposes that the TBT Committee explore a variety of thematic session 
formats. Given the diversity and complexity of topics addressed in thematic sessions, different 
 
1 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/thematicsession_e.htm  G/TBT/W/790  
 
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  formats may be best suited for different topics. To complement pr esentation -focused formats, 
moderators could consider structured roundtable discussions or question -and-answer style panels. 
In presentation -focused thematic sessions, organizers could consider limiting the number of 
presenters to allow for more detailed p resentations. To invite deeper discussion, moderators might 
also consider offering detailed materials for the intended audience or soliciting questions prior to a 
session. To promote dissemination and accessibility among broader audiences, moderators might  
also consider involving regulatory or other bodies who contribute to implementation of the TBT 
Agreement but may not regularly participate in Committee meetings;  
1.8.  Second, to further increase accessibility and transparency, the United States also proposes t hat 
the TBT Committee consider updates to the thematic session webpage. Past sessions are currently 
listed in chronological order by title and date. These sessions could be made more accessible by 
applying tools such as tags and keywords, dropdowns, or a s earchable table. Such changes would 
allow for members and other users to easily reference past sessions as well as identify gaps across 
topics that might be suitable to address in future sessions; and  
1.9.  Third, to promote interactive discussions, the United S tates proposes that the TBT Committee 
consider the use of digital tools, such as real time polls to gauge topics of interests and assess 
audience retention of the topics discussed. The use of digital tools will help to increase engagement 
and support more interactive dialogue between the speakers and audience during thematic sessions.  
1.10.   Fourth, the United States encourages the WTO to use its social media platforms to advertise 
the discussions in advance to increase the public viewing of the thematic sessions.   
2  TRANSPARENCY  
2.1  Enquiry Point Guide  
2.1.1   Background  
2.1.  In the 9th Triennial Review, a recommendation was taken up by the Committee to draft a model 
comment for a WTO notification. Some information was collected that went beyond the mandate of 
that recommendation wi th regard to TBT Enquiry Point procedures.  
2.1.2   Proposal  
2.2.  Building upon the information gathered to develop the draft comment guide that was a 
recommendation of the 9th Triennial Review, the United States proposes that the additional, updated 
information on the  operation of Enquiry Points be included in an updated Enquiry Point guide 
compiled by the TBT Secretariat.  
2.2  ePing  
2.2.1   Background  
2.3.  With more than 20,000 registered users, ePing is a successful tool of the WTO TBT and SPS 
Committees.  Members are using ePing more than ever. However, some Members have noticed a 
decline in comments when they moved from their national notification systems to ePing. Therefore, 
we would like to suggest more be done to highlight the comment opportunity available on each 
notification . 
2.2.2   Proposal  
2.4.  We propose that a comment button be added to ePing, so that those interested in commenting 
on a notification can be directed to the contact information for their national Enquiry Point. National 
Enquiry Points would help direct those interested in commenting on how to submit a comment 
through ePing.  
 
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