G/TBT/W/458  
30 November  2017 
(17-6589) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
ECUADOR – SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERN REGARDING DRAFT AMENDMENT NO. 3  
TO ECUADORIAN STANDARDIZATION INSTITUTE TECHNICAL REGULATION  
(RTE INEN) NO. 009 ON HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATING APPLI ANCES,  
NOTIFIED BY THE REPUBLIC OF  ECUADOR IN DOCUMENT  
G/TBT/N/ECU/3/ADD.5 OF 6 JUNE 2017  
STATEMENT BY COLOMBIA TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE  
8 and 9 November  2017 
The following communication, dated 2 9 November  2017, is being circulated at the r equest of the 
delegation of Colombia . 
 
 
_______________  
 
 
1.  Colombia appreciates and respects the intention of the Government of Ecuador  to adopt  a 
public policy to protect the environment from risks relating to  the handling, operation and 
functioning  of household refrigerating appliances.  
2.  Nevertheless , Colombia believes that the policy should be implemented in such a way that it 
does not become  more restrictive than necessary  for an unnecessary barrier to trade . In our view, 
draft Amendment No. 3 to R TE INEN  No. 009 on household refrigerating appliances , notified by 
Ecuador in  G/TBT/N/ECU/3/A dd.5, is not in line with Article 2.12 of the Agreement o n Technical 
Barriers to Trade ( TBT Agreement), which states : "… Members shall allow a reasonable interva l 
between the publication of technical regulations and their entry into force in order to allow time for 
producers in exporting Members, and particularly in developing country Members, to adapt their 
products or methods of production to the requirements of  the importing Member."  
3.  In its notification G/TBT/N/ECU/3/A dd.5, Ecuador does not provide  a final date for comments, 
nor does it include a link to the relevant document . The Government of Colombia encourages 
Ecuador to notify its measures according to the  TBT Committee's recommendation on the coherent 
use of notification formats to ensure  greater clarity among interested parties , contained in  
document G/TBT/1/Rev.13 of 8 March  2017. 
4.  Colombia requested a period  of nine (9) months between the publication in the Official Journal 
and entry into force of Amendment No. 3 to RTE  INEN No. 009 on household refrigerating 
appliances , a period provided for  in the Transitory Provisions article of the draft Amendment 
notified in document G/TBT/N/ECU/3/A dd.5. 
5.  The Ecuadoria n Government rejected  Colombia 's request , claiming  that the 30 days from the 
date of publ ication in the Official Journal  in addition to the 90 days for submit ting comments to the 
WTO and Andean Community  was sufficient time for both national industry and importing firms to 
meet the requirement . Ecuador thus reaffirmed its initial position.  
6.  Ecuador's response goes against the recommendations of the Ministerial Decision on 
implementation -related issues and concerns (WT/MIN(01)/17), adopted on 1 4 November  2001 
in Doha, which affirms  that the phrase "reasonable interval" (between the publication of technical G/TBT/W/458  
- 2 - 
  regulations and /or conformity assessment procedures and their entry into force ) shall be  
understood to mean a period of not less than six months . 
7.  Colombia considers that the reasonable interval begins on the date of the measure's adoption . 
The six months should therefore be counted from  the date of publication in the Official Journal.  
8.  The 90 -day comment per iod set by the Government of Ecuador cannot be considered as part of 
the reasonable interval referred to  in Article 2.12 of the WTO TBT Agreement.  
9.  On 16 October  2017, t he Government of Ecuador issued  Amendment 3 to RTE  INEN No. 009 on 
household refrigerating appliances , which prohibits  the use of certain substances as refrigerants, in 
Resolution No. 17512.  
10.  In Colombia's view,  the principle of tr ansparency was violated since Resolution No. 17512 
should have been notified by the Government of Ecuado r, in accordance with  paragraph (b) of 
section 5.3.1.11 in G/TBT/1/Rev.13 of 8 March  2017 and Article 1.6 of the TBT Agreement . 
11.  The very short period  between the publication and entry into force of Ecuador's measure does 
not allow enough time  for Colombian  producers to adapt their products or methods of production 
to the new requirements, since changes must also be made in areas such as  budget and 
production processes.  
12.  Our industry has expressed  on several occasions  that in order to comply with the  requirement , 
it would be necessary to modify the design  of equipment  and to change  certain components , which 
could involve the approval of new suppliers . For example, refrigerators containing  R600 use 
different compressors than refrigerators that do not c ontain  R600. Colombian production is 
prepared to a certain extent and is making progress ; however, more time is needed to make 
changes and stabilize processes.  
13.  Other comments by our industry are the following:  
 The conversion of a refrigeration  plant from R134 to R600 refrigerant gas is a highly 
complex operation . It requir es a long implementation period , which, based on 
experience, could last for  more than two years , and significant investment in equipment 
and facilities used to contain and distribut e the gas. It may also impact  the development 
of the products produced where their  functioning is somehow affected  by thermodynamic 
differences between the gases (tests have to be repeated and products adjusted ). 
 R600 gas is highly inflammable and requires  special equipment and facilities to be fed 
into production lines, robust  equipment for detecting gas leaks, extraction equipment 
and a safety system with alarm mechanisms for different response  levels  (alert, 
evacuation, etc.) . A plan for emergencies and for the training of all operators is a 
fundamental part of the conversion in terms of safety . 
 The entire facility  consists of an  internal part inside the plant , where the gas is 
distributed by p ipes to load and assembly lines,  and an external part, where  the gas 
must be contained in a structure  in an isolated area away from the plant in accordance 
with a number of  legal safety requirements for inflammable gases , which vary from 
country to country . The R600 gas facility must be audited and approved by a specialized 
company, such as T ÜV (Germany) . Only a few such companies exist worldwide.  
14.  The Government of Colombia reiterates its request for a reasonable implementation period of 
at least six months from publication in the Official Journal.  
__________