G/TBT/W/437  
19 January 2016  
(16-0383)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: Spanish  
 
  COLOMBIA - DRAFT DECREE "RESTRUC TURING THE NATIONAL QUALITY 
SUBSYSTEM AND AMENDING DECREE NO. 2269 OF 1993" 
STATEMENT BY MEXICO TO THE COMMITT EE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
4-6 NOVEMBER 2015 
The following communication, dated 15 January 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Mexico. 
 
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1.  Mexico wishes once again to submit this trade concern regarding the draft Ministry of 
Commerce, Industry and Tourism Decree "Restructuring the National Quality Subsystem and amending Decree No. 2269 of 1993", notified to TBT Committee members on 7 February 2014 in 
document G/TBT/N/COL/201. This concern was first raised at the June 2014 Committee meeting. 
Furthermore, Mexico sent comments to Colombia's contact point on 6 May 2014. 
2.  According to the preambular paragraphs of the document, Decree No. 2269 of 1993 is being 
amended with a view to establishing a clearer framework for conformity assessment, technical 
regulations, accreditation, metrology, designation and market surveillance. Mexico's concerns 
relate to the following points: 
1  THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR 
3.  In the light of the provisions on conformity cert ificates in Article 55 of the draft Decree, Mexico 
believes, in regard to Article 35 laying down types of risk, that Colombia may be contravening 
Articles 5.1 and 5.1.2 of the TBT Agreement by setting requirements that were not previously 
contemplated for Mexican products; Mexico is mainly concerned about what is being regulated in 
the automotive industry. 
4.  In relation to the foregoing, there are clearly defined international standards for the automotive 
industry, which are used by a large number of countries as a reference for manufacturing such 
products. Given the existence of conformity assessment certificates issued by foreign bodies recognized under multilateral recognition arrangements, the establishment of a "high-risk" category pursuant to the aforementioned Articl e 35, and the resulting obligation to provide a 
certificate from a third party, would imply a double certification requirement, which would 
constitute an unnecessary barrier to trade in Mexican automotive industry products. 
5.  It is Mexico's understanding that the type of risk will be determined in each of the technical 
regulations, and in that regard, requests Colombia to notify the said technical regulations to the 
TBT Committee so as to have an opportunity to make comments. 
1.1  The conformity assessment procedure 
6.  With regard to the aforementioned Article 55, under which regulatory bodies may accept the 
results of conformity assessment procedures issu ed by conformity assessment bodies that are 
accredited in other countries and are party to mu ltilateral recognition arrangements, such as the 
IAF, ILAC and IAAC, Mexico thanks Colombia for re cognizing the results issued by other conformity 
assessment bodies; however, depending on the ty pe of risk associated with the product in 
question, the regulatory body will have full discretion to automatically accept or not these 
certificates. G/TBT/W/437 
- 2 - 
  7.  In this regard, Mexico believes that the afor ementioned Article could be in breach of 
Article 5.1.1 of the TBT Agreement in providing fo r the possibility of an additional verification 
procedure at the domestic level, thereby creating a technical requirement that would affect conditions of access to the Colombian market for foreign products versus local products. 
8.  Furthermore, the establishment of a "high" risk for certain technical regulations would cancel 
out the benefit represented by the fact that the conformity assessment bodies accredited in other 
countries are part of multilaterally recognized arrangements, as it would cause some overlap 
between the opinion of the regulatory bodies and multilateral arrangements on the matter, 
thereby creating an unnecessary trade barrier among Members. 
9.  Mexico therefore requests that Colombia: 
a. Provide more information as to the reasons why it is necessary to define a priori  the risk 
level of technical regulations (irrespective of the differences on which basis those risk 
levels are classified), in light of the legitimate objective being pursued by Colombia in promulgating the legislation. 
b. Review the parameters used to determine the type of risk under Article 35 of the 
draft Decree by incorporating the specific elements or factors to be taken into consideration in determining the risks referred to in the said Article. 
c. Remove the possibility given to regulatory entities in the draft Decree not to 
automatically accept the results of conf ormity assessment procedures issued by 
conformity assessment bodies that are accredited in other countries and are party to multilateral recognition arrangements referred to in Article 55 of the draft Decree. 
d. Take into consideration the comments formulated by Mexico on 6 May 2014 when 
determining the type of risk in the technical regulations for each sector. 
2  THE TOY SECTOR 
10.  As regards the toy sector, the concern relates to the amendments contained in 
Decree No. 1471 of 2014, specifically the amendmen t to Article 12 of Resolution No. 3388 of 2014. 
11.  Mexico understands and supports the right to protect consumers through regulatory 
instruments such as the one before us, but is of the view that there are alternative ways to attain 
the aforementioned objective through less costly processes. 
12.  Under the proposed amendments, before the ma rketing and inward clearance of toys and 
their components and accessories, domestic producers as well as importers of these items must 
obtain the corresponding certificate of conformi ty. The Article lays out three alternatives for 
obtaining the certificate of conformity. 
13.  It is considered that for different reasons, the three proposed alternatives may contravene 
Article 5.1.2 of the TBT Agreement, as they impo se additional costs, arising, for example from 
having to take a certifier to the place where the tests are conducted, having to translate the certificates into Spanish under certain circumstances, and by admitting that there may be a low 
level of certainty regarding certification using standards that would appear to be considered 
equivalent. 
14.  Broadly speaking, the foregoing entails the submission of "third party" certificates of 
conformity for toy industry products. This causes both considerable delays in the import process as 
well as incremental costs amounting to roughly US$170,000 per year, the net effect of which is to 
push up prices for consumers, who will ultimately be among those most affected. 
15.  In the light of the foregoing, Colombia is requested to consider amending Decree No. 1471 
of 2014 or exploring mechanisms for concrete ly determining conformity alternatives. 
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