G/TBT/GEN/150  
 
17 June 2013  
(13-3129)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
SEVENTH SPECIAL MEETING ON PROCEDURES FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE 
  
18 JUNE 2013 
 
 
Programme
1 
 
 
The Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (the TBT Committee) agreed in 1995 to 
hold, on a biennial basis, "regular meetings of persons responsible for information exchange, 
including persons responsible for en quiry points and notifications".2 These meetings are organized 
in order to provide Members with an opportunity to discuss issues relating to information exchange 
and to review periodically the functioning of noti fication procedures and the operation of enquiry 
points. Information exchange meetings are also used to follow-up on decisions and recommendations agreed by the TBT Committee during triennial reviews (the latest is contained in 
G/TBT/32). 
  The Seventh Special Meeting will be held on 18 June 2013 at the WTO building, back to 
back with the TBT Committee's regular meeting on 17, 19 and 20 June. The discussions will be 
held in panel sessions and will focus on the topics set forth in the attached programme. 
  Members, including relevant interested parties of their delegations, as well as observers and 
relevant bodies involved in the development of standards, are invited to participate in this Special 
Meeting. Members should communicate the names of their capital-based participants by e-mail to Mrs. Una Flanagan ( una.flanagan@wto.org  with a copy to
 bci@wto.org ). 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
                                               
1 Times are indicative. 
2 G/TBT/1/Rev.10, page 35. G/TBT/GEN/150 
 
- 2 - 
 
  18 JUNE 2013 (10:00) 
1  ONLINE NOTIFICATION: TBT NOTIFICATION SUBMISSION SYSTEM (TBT NSS)3  
This session will inform Members on developments in the new online TBT notification 
submission system (TBT NSS). The TBT NSS is a tool to facilitate the submission of 
notifications by Members. The following dele gations have indicated their intention to 
contribute to this session: 
(i) European Union:  A journey to the TBT NSS, Mr. Cyril HANQUEZ, 
Application Architect, DG Enterprise and Industry 
(ii) United States:  Using the TBT NSS - the US experience, Ms MaryAnn 
HOGAN, USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point, National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI) 
(iii) Canada: Canada's reflections on the proposed TBT NSS, Ms Jillian SENKIW 
and Ms Andrea SPENCER 
2  GOOD PRACTICES IN NOTIFICATI ON: USE OF NOTIFICATION FORMATS
4  
In the Sixth Triennial Review, the Committee recalled the previous recommendation for the 
establishment of common procedures on how and under which notification format (addendum, corrigendum, revision, new notification) to notify modifications or any other 
information relevant to previously notified measures. With a view to advancing this work, 
the Committee agreed to exchange experiences on Members' use of notification formats. 
The following delegations have indicated their intention to share their experiences in this session: 
(i) European Union: EU proposal for a coherent use of notification formats, 
Ms Jana KRESTYNOVA, DG Enterprise and Industry 
(ii) South Africa: Use of new notification formats, Ms Ronel GREYVENSTEIN, 
WTO/TBT Enquiry Officer, South Africa Bureau of Standards  
3  FUNCTIONING OF ENQUIRY POINTS
5  
In the Sixth Triennial Review, the Committee re iterated the importance of well-functioning 
enquiry points to the implementation of the TBT Agreement. In this regard, the Committee 
recommended that Members share experiences with regard to challenges faced by enquiry points in responding to comments and requests; and, agreed to discuss the functioning of enquiry points, including with respect to build ing support among interested stakeholders in 
the private sector for the services of the enquiry points. The following delegations have 
indicated their intention to share their experiences in this session: 
(i) Brazil : Exchanging Information Services Provided by the Brazilian 
WTO/TBT Enquiry Point to Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Rogerio 
CORREA, Head of Brazilian TBT Enquiry Point 
(ii) United States:  Adding Value to the National Economy: USA WTO TBT 
Enquiry Point, Ms MaryAnn HOGAN, USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point, National 
Center for Standards and Cert ification Information (NCSCI) 
(iii) Japan:  Experience and Operation of the Japan TBT Enquiry Point, Dr. 
Daisuke TANAKA, Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
(iv) China:  The functioning of China's TBT Enquiry Point, Mr. WANG Lizhou, 
DDG of China's WTO TBT Enquiry Point  
(v) European Union:  EU TBT Notification and Enquiry Point: Better 
communication with stakeholders and recent technical assistance activities, 
Ms Jana KRESTYNOVA, DG Enterprise and Industry. 
(vi) Malaysia: WTO/TBT Enquiry Point – Malaysia's Approach, Mrs. Anuja 
BALACHANDRAN, Malaysia TBT Enquiry Point, Standards Management 
Department (SIRIM Berhad) 
 
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3 G/TBT/32, paragraphs 17-18.  
4 G/TBT/32, paragraph 15. 
5 G/TBT/32, paragraph 16.