G/TBT/GEN/144  
 
11 March 2013  
(13-1301)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 THEMATIC SESSION ON STANDARDS 
5-6 MARCH 2013 
Moderator's Summary 
This statement was delivered by the Moderator1 of the Thematic Session on Standards at the 
TBT Committee meeting of 6-7 March 2013. 
 
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  1.1.  At the Sixth Triennial Review, the Committee agreed to hold a thematic session on standards 
in response to specific decisions and recommendations contained in past and present triennial 
review reports.
2 The Session considered the topics of (i) th e Code of Good Practice; (ii) the use of 
the "Six Principles"; and (iii) transparency in standard-setting. The final programme, containing 
the names and titles of the presentation made during the thematic session, is annexed to this 
statement. The Secretariat also provided a background document contained in JOB/TBT/42 and Corr.1. 
1.2.  The thematic session started with a presentation from Australia  on the topic of the Code of 
Good Practice. It focused on how business and operational processes had been implemented by Standards Australia to ensure a more effective application of the principles contained in the CGP. In particular, the point was made that addressing transparency early in the standard-setting 
process (at the proposal stage) – in addition  to the consultations at the public comment stage – 
had led to a more efficient delivery of the standard, both in terms of quality of the standard itself, 
and in terms of reducing the time it took to develop the standard.  
1.3.  We then heard three speakers from the European Union  describe the European system of 
standardization. Particular emphasis was put on the relationship between standards (voluntary) and legislation (mandatory). Standards could be described as a form of self-regulation: interested 
parties come together and agreed voluntarily on technical matters so as to compete more 
efficiently by ensuring interoperability of products. EU legislation (through essential requirements), in turn, made reference to these standards – and, since alternative systems for demonstrating compliance were permitted, this allowed for innovation. The Committee also heard presentations 
from three European Standards Organizations on how they apply the Code of Good Practice: CEN 
and CENELEC (the European equivalents of  ISO and IEC, respectively), and ETSI. 
1.4.  Next, moving to the topic of the "Six Principles" we heard a presentation from Indonesia  
which emphasized the practical and procedural elements needed for incorporating the Six 
Principles into national rules. The presentati on by Indonesia emphasized the perspective of 
domestic industry competitiveness: it was essential to have a national policy in place to adopt 
international standards - to the extent that it was possible – so as to enable domestic products to 
achieve acceptance in global markets. 
1.5.  From the United States  we heard an explanation of its rather unique system for 
standardization. This presentation illustrated impo rtant principles and processes in the US system 
                                               
1 Mr. Aaron Fowler (Canada).  This summary is pr ovided under the Moderato r's own responsibility. 
2 The latest decisions and recommendations are contained in Section C of G/TBT/32.  Previous decisions 
and recommendations on standards are containe d in Section III (Part 1) of G/TBT/1/Rev.10. G/TBT/GEN/144 
 
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  that facilitated competition and innovation – thereby supporting global trade. The American 
National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private sector organization, coordinated this system – and while it did not set standards itself – it accredited other standards development bodies in the US and was, moreover, the US national Member of ISO and IEC. The point was made that in a market 
driven standardization system – such as that of the United States – producers and industry needed 
to develop standards that served their own n eeds. Hence, standards development mirrored the 
dynamic and competitive nature of the market. 
1.6.  We then heard two presentations from observers in the TBT Committee – ISO and the IEC – 
on their efforts to implement the Six Principles. On decision-making it was pointed out that while decisions did not require unanimity, in the technical work all scientific or engineering arguments had to be taken into account, and sustained opposi tion on all fundamental issues needed to be 
overcome. The IEC stressed the transparency of its work (emphasizing electronic accessibility).  
ISO highlighted the importance of market relevance and effectiveness: in particular, the importance of not giving preference to specific  countries' or regions' characteristics. While 
competition was in principle a good thing, coherence was important for achieving harmonization. 
International standardizing bodies needed to cooperate and coordinate – and they needed to do this at the speed with which the market moved. 
1.7.  Japan then presented on how it provided for transparency in standard-setting, described in 
detail in G/TBT/W/357. The presentation explained the process of developing Japanese Industrial 
Standards (JIS), with a particular emphasis on the implementation of Pa ragraphs J and L of the 
Code of Good Practices relating to publicatio n of a work programme and receipt of comments 
before adoption of the standard. 
1.8.  Finally, UNCTAD  said that "Voluntary Sustainability  Standards" (VSS) had become an 
important issue in international trade and development. In support of developing countries, five 
UN agencies (FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UNEP and UNIDO), had jointly created the UN Forum on 
Sustainability Standards (UNFSS), to provide information and analysis in this respect. The Forum was intended to be a neutral and credible conv ener of governments, the business community and 
civil society with the mandate and objective to promote sustainable development. The launching 
conference would be held on 21-22 March 2013 in Geneva. 
1.9.  In the general discussion , one of the issues that arose was the "reasonable measures" 
taken by Members to ensure that non-governmental bodies in their territories accepted and 
complied with the Code of Good Practice.  
1.10.  On a personal note , the high level of engagement and interest demonstrated by Members 
suggested that the appetite for further information exchange on standards is unlikely to have been 
exhausted, and that the Committee may wish to cons ider how to bring this work forward. I note 
that the topic of standards is broad, and that this session was particularly useful in that it approached standardization from a range of different perspectives. Future work in the Committee 
might focus on some specific elements of the standardization process, in order to deepen our 
exchanges. I want to thank Members for the high level of engagement, and given Members' significant appetite for this subject, I believe that our discussion should continue. 
 
_______________ G/TBT/GEN/144 
 
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  ANNEX 
FINAL LIST OF PRESENTATIONS1 
The following presentations were made during the Thematic Session: 
 
 The Code of Good Practice 
 Australia : Implementing the Code of Good Practice – An Australian Perspective. 
Presentation by Mr Adrian O’Connell, General Manager of Operations, Standards 
Australia. 
 European Union : Implementation of the Code of Good Practice in the European Union 
context. Presentations by Silvia Vaccaro (European Commission, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry); John Ketchell (trate gic Adviser, CEN-CENELEC); and, Christian 
Loyau (Director Legal Affairs, ETSI). 
 Use of the "Six Principles" 
 Indonesia . The Six Principles in Standard Development - Indonesia's Experience. 
Presentation by Mrs. Erniningsih Haryadi, Head of Centre for Cooperation on 
Standardization. 
 United States : Processes and mechanisms (including the Six Principles) that enable 
wide-spread acceptance and use of standards an d that facilitate trade. Presentation by 
Julia Doherty, Senior Director, Technical Barriers to Trade, WTO and Multilateral Affairs, USTR. 
 ISO and IEC : The use of the Committee's Six Principles. Presentations by 
Mr Rob Steele, ISO Secretary-General and Mr Frans Vreeswijk, General Secretary & CEO 
of IEC. 
 Transparency in standard-setting  
 Japan : Transparency in Standard Setting. Pr esentation by Mr Akiyoshi KAWABATA, 
Deputy Director for Technical Regulations,  Standards and Conformity Assessment Policy 
Unit, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry METI, Japan. 
 Other Information 
 UNCTAD: Information on the Emerging United Nations Forum on Sustainability 
Standards. Presentation by Mr Ulrich Hoffmann, UNCTAD. 
 
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1 Draft programmes were circulated by a fax from the Chairman on 19 December 2012, and, reflecting 
further input from Members, on 5 February 2013 (J OB/TBT/41) and 22 February 2013 (JOB/TBT/41/Rev.1).