G/TBT/W/463  
 
13 March 2018  
(18-1516) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
DOMESTIC COORDINATIO N OF INFORMATION REL EVANT TO NOTIFICATIO NS   
EIGHTH TRIENNIAL REV IEW 
Submission from New Zealand  
The following submission, dated 12 March 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of New Zealand . 
 
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New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to participate in the Eighth Triennial Review of the 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). New Zealand would like to take this opportunity 
to suggest additional ways to enhance the transparency of notifications a nd the capability of 
enquiry points established under the TBT Agreement. In particular, New Zealand proposes 
increased information sharing and identification of best practice to facilitate internal coordination 
for the enquiry points of Members that are de veloping countries and Members, who because of 
their size, make smaller volumes of notifications.  
1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  Enquiry points are a central function of the Committee and they give effect to the 
transparency obligations in the TBT Agreement. In the past, the Committee has considered many 
ways of enhancing the transparency of measures and supporting enquiry points, including 
introducing tools such as e -Ping and NSS. New Zealand supports the ongoing development of tools 
that assist enquiry points and encourages the sharing of information amongst Members about the 
effective operation of enquiry points. In particular, New Zealand supports the sharing of 
information to reduce the burden of establishing and operating enquiry points in Members that are 
developing coun tries, or Members that do not make large volumes of notifications due to their 
size. 
1.2.  New Zealand notes that the TBT Committee has a biennial Meeting on Procedures for 
Information Exchange, which includes technical discussion on good practices in notificati on and 
operation of enquiry points, and notes the existing transparency toolkit designed by the 
Committee. In the Seventh Triennial Review, and during the Eighth Special Meeting on Procedures 
for Information Exchange (JOB/TBT/207/Rev.1), the Committee reco mmended that discussions 
continue on enquiry points’ role in facilitating internal coordination and the handling of comments 
domestically. At that Special Meeting, the European Union and Chinese Taipei shared their 
experiences on facilitating internal coor dination and building constructive relationships with 
regulators.  
1.3.  New Zealand considers that the continued sharing of this type of information is valuable to 
the ongoing effectiveness of enquiry points. In particular, the New Zealand enquiry point and 
policy officials have developed approaches to ensure the enquiry point is receiving the right 
information from regulators about notifiable measures, in a timely way. This work is focused on 
educating domestic regulatory agencies about the TBT Agreement and the  work of the TBT 
Committee, and to ensure that the enquiry point receives information in a way that enables timely 
and effective notification to the Committee. For Members that do not submit large volumes of 
notifications, and for developing Members, the b urden on the enquiry point, which for some 
Members is only one official, to ensure this information is continuously communicated to regulatory G/TBT/W/463  
 
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  agencies can be significant. New Zealand proposes that increased information sharing amongst 
members that have sm aller enquiry point teams would be beneficial for those Members and for 
Members that are developing countries.  
2  PROPOSAL  
2.1.  New Zealand offers the following proposal, recognising that Members are likely to have 
different ways of operating their enquiry points,  depending on their development status and 
volume of notifications, and different ways of coordinating information internally.  
2.2.  New Zealand proposes that good practices for domestic coordination and engagement with 
regulators be discussed as part of the Eig hth Triennial Review. This will reinforce the transparency 
obligations in the TBT Agreement and ensure all relevant measures are notified in accordance with 
the Agreement. New Zealand proposes that the TBT Committee take up discussion of coordination 
mecha nisms and identify best practices for the benefit of developing Members, and Members 
without large teams dedicated to fulfilling the enquiry point functions. This may include Members 
sharing information about how they effectively communicate with regulator y agencies and ensure 
that all relevant notifications are made or sharing tools or documents, such as user guides for 
regulators, used to achieve effective coordination.  
2.3.  New Zealand also proposes that the TBT Committee Secretariat incorporate the outcomes  of 
these proposed discussions in the Guide for Enquiry Points, currently under development. A single 
reference point for enquiry points on best practice for internal coordination, particularly aimed at 
ways that enquiry points of different sizes can best ensure they are receiving the right information 
internally will support smaller enquiry points in ensuring that notifiable measures are notified in 
accordance with the Agreement.  
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