G/TBT/W/452  
 
24 October 2017  
(17-5774) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  English  
 
 
OPERATION OF THE COM MITTEE – GOOD REGULATORY PRAC TICE  – TRANSPARENCY  
EIGHTH TRIENNIAL REV IEW 
Submission from South Africa  
The following submission, dated 23 October 2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of South Africa . 
 
_______________  
 
 
On the occasion of the Eighth Triennial Review of the Operation and Implementation of the TBT 
Agreement in terms of Article 15.4 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), South 
Africa has the honour to share with the Committe e on Technical Barriers to Trade the following 
matters for its consideration, recommendation and possible decision.  
1  OPERATION OF THE COM MITTEE  
The Implementation and Administration of the TBT Agreement is one of the most important 
agenda items of regular T BT Committee meetings. The sub -agenda items Specific Trade Concerns  
(STCs) and Exchange of Experiences , respectively , remain a crucial part of the substantive work of 
the Committee. These two sub -agenda items provide to Members the opportunity to fully adh ere 
to the provision in Article 13.1 of the Agreement, namely, to consult on any matters relating to the 
operation of the Agreement or the furtherance of its objectives, and to carry out the 
responsibilities that Members have assigned to it under the Agree ment.  
1.1  Specific Trade Concerns  
1.1.  South Africa fully recognizes, endorses and fully supports the function of the TBT Committee 
as provided for in Article 13.1 of the TBT Agreement.  
1.2.  Since the TBT Committee 's first meeting, a substantial number of Members have used the 
Committee as a forum to discuss STCs. related to draft or already adopted technical regulations, 
standards or conformity assessment procedures of other Members that are deemed to be creating 
a technical barrier to trade.  
1.3.  The raising of STCs is an  essential part of the regular TBT Committee work to which 
substantial time is allocated at each formal TBT Committee meeting. The 528 ST Cs1 already raised 
in the TBT Committee meetings provided Members not only with information about the measures 
and just ification thereof, but also serve as an important educational function, particularly in terms 
of i) providing information regarding  the provisions contained in measures which may cause STCs 
and, ii) thereby contributing to the removal of possible TBTs, whi ch may otherwise have been 
duplicated in similar measures of other Members.  
                                                
1 http://tbtims.wto.org/  G/TBT/W/452  
 
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  1.4.  Therefore, the importance of the STC agenda item of the TBT Committee meetings is evident 
in the only 53 formal requests for dispute settlement consultations2 that had cited TBT Ag reement 
provisions, out of the 529 requests for consultation in terms of Article 4 of the Understanding on 
Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes since 1995.  
1.5.  However, some STCs have remained on the annotated agenda of several TBT Committ ee 
meetings and have been repeatedly raised at subsequent meetings. Although every Member has a 
right to use the Committee meetings to raise STCs, these repeated STCs are sometimes time 
consuming and to a certain extent, limit the efficiency of Committee m eetings.  
1.6.  Noting that the Committee, during the fifth triennial review, emphasized "the importance of 
making the discussion more efficient in order to secure a prompter response to concerns raised;  
there is a need to streamline the organization of the Commi ttee's discussion3. Therefore, South 
Africa would like to propose the following:  
1.1.1   Proposal  
1.7.   Without prejudice to the rights and obligations of Members in terms of the TBT Agreement, 
or any other WTO Agreement, Members should be encouraged to only repeat the same STC a 
maximum of two [2] times in the following TBT Committee meetings after it has been raised for 
the first time. Thereafter, the Member raising the STC raised in the previous TBT Committee 
meetings, should only bring to the TBT Committee 's attention any new information pertaining the 
same STC or where there were no new developments, on ly indicate to the Committee that the 
same issues and concerns raised still pertain by referring to the minutes of the previous 
Committee meetings where the specific STC has been raised.  
1.8.  In the cases, where other Members share the STC, they could bring to  the Committee 's 
attention any new information not previously mentioned, or only indicate to the Committee that 
they are still sharing the STC brought to the Committee 's attention, without repeating again in 
detail the same information the Committee was al ready informed of.  
1.2  Time to prepare ahead of Committee meetings  
1.9.  The TBT Committee agreed at its fifth triennial review that Members wishing to include an 
STC in the annotated draft agenda of the TBT Committee meeting, should directly inform both the 
Secret ariat and the Member(s) involved of their intention to do so no less than fourteen calendar 
days prior to the convening of the TBT Committee meeting and that the Secretariat should 
circulate the annotated agenda as early as possible but no less than ten calendar days  before the 
meeting4. 
1.10.   However, taking into account the processes and procedures that need to be followed by 
some delegations to inform the government, applicable regulator, standards body or conformity 
assessment body of the STC and to obtain an appropriate response from the government, 
regulator, standards body or conformity assessment body, the time frames recommended in the 
fifth triennial review5 may be too short under certain circumstances. It has also happened in some 
of the past meetings  of the Committee that some delegations had indicated that the matter had 
been referred to their capitals and that they would only be able to provide a response at the next 
meeting of the Committee. In this regard, South Africa wishes to propose the follow ing: 
1.2.1   Proposal  
1.11.    As the time frames to inform both the Secretariat and the Member involved of the intention 
of a Member to raise an STC and the circulation of the agenda, may be too short and impractical 
for certain Members, South Africa proposes that the ca lendar days should be changed to at least 
twenty (20) WTO working days to inform the Secretariat and the Member involved of the STC prior 
to the meeting and that the Secretariat should circulate the annotated agenda no less than fifteen 
(15) WTO working da ys prior to the meeting.  
                                                
2 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_agreements_index_e.htm  
3 G/TBT/26, 13 November 2009, para. 67 .   
4 G/TBT/26, 13 November 2009, para . 68. 
5 G/TBT/26, 13 November 2009, para.  68. G/TBT/W/452  
 
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  1.12.   In cases where a Member is in a position to do so, the Member raising the STC should 
inform the respondent Member of its intention to raise an STC prior to the time frame 
recommended by the Committee to enable all Members, but espe cially developing country and 
Least Developed Country Members where applicable, to consult and solicit a response from the 
responsible regulator and/or conformity assessment body to respond to the STC raised as 
effectively as possible.  
1.3  Sharing of experienc es 
1.13.   The sharing of experiences is another important item on the agenda of TBT Committee 
meetings. The sharing of information on the implementation, administration and operation of the 
TBT Agreement provides valuable lessons that could be learned by bringing  to Members ' attention 
best practices and the challenges experienced, as well as the cooperation between Members to 
facilitate trade, in removing technical barriers, while at the same time addressing the necessary 
risks that emanate from some shortcomings in good regulatory practices.  
1.14.   Hence the Committee recommendation at the sixth6 and seventh7 triennial reviews of the 
Agreement to hold thematic sessions has further built on the valuable experiences gained. The 
Thematic sessions provide valuable opportunit ies for information sharing and capacity building 
through this exposure. However, in the past, the proposals for speakers and topics have been 
slightly unbalanced and generally dominated by some developed and developing Members, which 
did not represent the  whole WTO Membership. Members from all development levels and regions 
of the world should be encouraged to share their experiences whether good or challenging.  
1.3.1   Proposal  
1.15.   With a view to further deepen the Committee's exchange of experiences on specific topi cs, it 
is proposed that the Committee continues to hold thematic discussions as appropriate pursuant to 
the decisions and recommendations before the Committee.  
1.16.   Although contributions from all Members to the thematic discussions are always welcome, a 
more b alanced discussion is proposed that includes the sharing of good experiences and the 
sharing of challenges experienced, as well as representation from all regions in the world that 
include developed, developing and least developed Members. Members from all  regions and 
development levels should be encouraged to contribute to the thematic sessions.  
1.17.   The volunteering of specific topics and speakers for thematic sessions should be maintained 
and also encouraged, but in order to ensure balanced representation an d a wide perspective on 
the topics decided for discussion at thematic sessions; Members should have the confidence to 
approach other Members that have experience on a specific topic to share their experiences with 
the Committee. The Secretariat may also ap proach regional organizations which have ad hoc TBT 
Committee observer status or other observers and persons with specific expertise, to address the 
Committee on specific topics proposed for thematic sessions.  
1.4  Decisions of the Committee on Observer status requests  
1.18.    The TBT Committee has already granted twelve (12) International Intergovernmental 
Organizations with observer status and  twelve (12) with ad hoc observer status, while the 
applications for observer status of five (5) Organizations are still pendi ng8 namely, the Convention 
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Convention on 
Biological Diversity (CBD), the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), the International 
Accreditation Forum (IAF) and I nternational Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the 
Office International de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV).  
                                                
6 G/TBT/32, 29 November 2012, para. 26.  
7 G/TBT/37, 3 December 2015, para. 8.3.  
8 G/TBT/GEN/2/Rev.12, 22 August 2016 . G/TBT/W/452  
 
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  1.19.   One of the applications for TBT Committee observer status dates back to 1998, while 
another dates back to 20009. 
1.20.   The inability of the Committ ee to decide on observer status requests of some Organizations, 
while others were granted observer status soon after a request had been submitted to the 
Committee for decision, shows an inconsistent approach to the consideration of observer status 
requests . 
1.21.   Bearing in mind the Rules of Procedure for the Meetings of the WTO Committee on Technical 
Barriers to Trade and Guidelines for Observer Status for Governments and International 
Intergovernmental Organizations and Article V of the Agreement Establishing t he WTO; South 
Africa is proposing that the Committee proceeds as follows on observer status decisions:  
1.4.1   Proposal  
1.22.   The Secretariat informs the TBT Committee Members of a request for observer status, 
within ten (10) working days after such a request has been r eceived through the circulation of an 
official WTO TBT Committee document. The Secretariat reminds Members of the request at the 
next formal TBT Committee meeting immediately after the receipt of such a request under agenda 
item "Updating by Observers ".  
1.23.   Sufficient time should be allowed for Members to consult on the observer status request, 
but that time should be limited to the time between the meeting where Members were first made 
aware of the request and the following formal meeting of the Committee. At  the latter formal 
meeting, Members should decide on the basis of consensus whether observer status should be 
granted to the applying organization, or where reservations exist, the Members with reservations 
inform the Committee thereof.  
1.24.   Requests for observer status should not remain pending. Where Members have expressed 
reservations about an organizations ' observer status, the Secretariat should inform the 
organization that Members expressed reservations and that observer status, could therefore, not 
be granted.  
2  GOOD REGULATORY PRACT ICE: DOMESTIC TBT COMMITT EE'S EFFECTIVE SET UP A ND 
FUNCTIONING  
2.1.  At the fourth triennial review of the TBT Agreement in 2006, the Committee agreed, with a 
view to deepening understanding of the contribution good regulatory pr actice can make to the 
implementation of the TBT Agreement, to share experiences on, amongst others, the 
establishment of domestic administrative mechanisms to facilitate cooperation and coordination 
between competent authorities and co -ordination with oth er stakeholders10. 
2.2.  Many Members have set up domestic TBT Committees to assist with the effective 
implementation and operation of the TBT Agreement.  
2.3.  However, there are still some Members whom have not yet established domestic TBT 
Committees and some who expe rience difficulties to get their Committees operate satisfactorily.  
2.4.  Therefore, South Africa proposes as follows:  
2.1  Proposal  
2.5.   The Committee holds another thematic session with the specific focus of sharing of 
experiences on:  
a. Role players who should be involve d in a domestic TBT Committee;  
b. The terms of reference of a domestic TBT committee;  
                                                
9 RD/TBT/1/Rev.4, 1 November 2016.  
10 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para 19.  G/TBT/W/452  
 
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  c. The functions of a domestic TBT Committee; and,  
d. The establishment and functions of regional TBT Committees in facilitating cooperation 
and harmonization of technical regula tions and conformity assessment procedures.  
3  TRANSPARENCY: ENQUIRY POINT INTEGR ATION WITH EPING  ALERT 
3.1.  At the seventh triennial review of the TBT Agreement, the Committee agreed "to request the 
Secretariat to explore the development of an export alert system  for TBT notifications, in 
cooperation with other organizations11". 
3.2.  As a result, the WTO, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and 
Social Affairs (DESA) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) established a notification alert 
system, "ePing alert ", which was launched on 8 November 2016 at the comm encement of the 
eighth Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange.  
3.3.  The ePing alert is an indispensable online tool, which provides to all Members, observers, and 
the public access to WTO members' TBT and SPS notifications to the WTO of proposed  new 
measures being developed for their required pursued regulatory objectives. It also facilitates public 
awareness and the identification of potential technical barriers in draft measures at an early stage, 
thereby facilitating the removal of potential t echnical barriers in draft measures, before its 
adoption.  
3.4.  Recalling that the Committee agreed in 1995 that "Regular meetings of persons responsible 
for information exchange, including persons responsible for enquiry points and notifications, will be 
held o n a biennial basis "12, South Africa proposes the following, for the ninth Special Meeting on 
Procedures for Information Exchange:  
3.1  Proposal  
3.5.  At the ninth Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange, Members are invited to 
share their experiences wi th their TBT Enquiry Point integration with, and usage of the notification 
alert system, "ePing alert " and the linkage of their domestic "early warning systems " with "ePing 
Alert". 
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11 G/TBT/37, December 2015, para 5.12(d)(iii)  
12 G/TBT/1/Rev.13, 8 March 2017, item 5.8.1, page 42