G/TBT/W/528  
 
9 May  2018 
(18-2831) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
EFFECTIVE USE OF  THE NOTIFICATION FORMAT  
EIGHTH TRIENNIAL REV IEW 
Submission from Japan  
The following submission, dated 8 May 2018, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of 
Japan . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  Transparency is one of the most important elements under the TBT agreement, and TBT 
notification plays a central role in this context. Japan is of the view that sharing information in 
notification is beneficial to all Members in the understanding of the pu rpose and structure of 
notified measures.  
1.2.  The TBT Committee has been engaged in discussing the types of information recommended 
to be contained in the TBT notification at an early stage since the TBT agreement entered into 
force (see G/TBT/1/Rev.1, 10 Augu st 1995, Section C).   
1.3.  For instance, in 2006, with a view to facilitating the implementation of transparency 
procedures under the Agreement, and with regard to texts of notified technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures, the Committee agreed to encourage each M ember to provide 
the website address where Members can download the full text of the notified measure (see 
G/TBT/1/Rev.13, 8 March 2017, Section 5.6.2.1.a.i).  
1.4.  With regard to the box 8 "relevant docu ments" in the notificat ion format , which relate  to 
notified technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, the Committee agreed to 
encourage members to include information on the following 4 types of documents ; (1) Publication 
where notice appears, inc luding date an d reference number;  (2) Proposal and basic document 
(with specific reference number or other identification) to which proposal refers;  (3) Publication in 
which proposal will appear when adopted;  (4) Whenever practicable, give reference to relevant 
internat ional standard . 
1.5.  In accordance with the  above (2), many  notifications include the names or identification 
numbers of "relevant documents " to which notified technical regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures refer. Furthermore, some Members voluntarily provide website address es 
of the "relevant documents ". Searching "relevant documents " through Members ' websites is 
generally burdensome for stakeholders mainly due to language barrier s, thus, Japan is of the view 
that including the website addr ess of the "relevant documents" in the notification enables Members 
and stakeholders to reach the document quickly and easily.  
1.6.  In addition, recently the Committee has encouraged Members, whenever possible and on a 
voluntary basis , to indicate in box 8 of the notification format whether or not they consider that a 
relevant international standard exists and, if appropriate, to provide information about deviations 
(see G/TBT/26, 13 November 2009, para. 36). Japan considers some additional information could 
be useful to further enhance transparency.  G/TBT/W/528  
 
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  1.7.  For instance, when a notified measure deals only with imported products, providing 
information of the relevant laws and regulations applicable  to domestic products might be useful to 
better understand the purpose o r structure of the notified measure and to examine the WTO 
consistency of the notified measure as well.  
1.8.  Therefore, Japan considers that it is definitely beneficial for all Members to further discuss 
through thematic session, etc., on the necessity to updat e the scope of box 8 of the notification 
format and types of documents Members are encouraged to provide in box 8 of the notification 
format.   
2  PROPOSALS  
2.1.  In light of the above, we propose that Members are encouraged to provide a website address, 
where Members can find the text of the "relevant documents " in box 8 of the notification format.  
2.2.  We propose that Members are encouraged to discuss through thematic sessions, etc. on the 
necessity to updat e the scope of box 8 of the notification format and the types of documents 
Members are encouraged to provide in box 8.  
 
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