G/TBT/GEN/190  
 
 17 March 2016  
(16-1565)  Page: 1/4  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
THEMATIC SESSIONS ON CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES1 
REPORT BY THE CHAIRPERSON TO THE TBT COMMITTEE2  
This Report was delivered by the Chairperson of the WTO TBT Committee at the meeting of  
9-10 March 2016.  
 
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 At the Seventh Triennial Review, Members agreed  to continue to hold thematic sessions in 
conjunction with regular meetings of the Committee,
3 and agreed to dedicate the 8 March 2016 
thematic sessions to the topics of conformity asse ssment procedures and good regulatory practice. 
The thematic session on conformity assessment procedures focused on developments in 
international and regional systems, and regional trade agreements (RTAs), relating to the 
recognition and acceptance of conformity assessment results.4 The presentations summarized 
below will be made available through the WTO website.5  
1.  Dr. Chun Lee  (Chinese Taipei) presented results of a survey of Chinese Taipei firms showing 
that the main benefits of performing conformity assessment locally was time savings, followed by 
better communication with labs, and cost reduction. Referring to the indicative list of approaches adopted by the TBT Committee
6, Chinese Taipei most often uses mutual recognition arrangements 
(MRAs), although there were limits to effectiveness such as their cost and time consuming nature, 
rigidity and limitation in scope (coverage list can rapidly become obsolete), and difficulty in 
prioritizing MRA partners. Supplier's declaration o f  c o n f o r m i t y  ( S D o C )  a r e  u s e d  i n  F T A s  o n  a  
product or sector specific basis, albeit with a sm aller scope than applied in domestic regimes, but 
required robust market surveillance capacity which poses challenges for Members that follow a 
pre-market certification system. A new approach in FTAs was to permit participation of CABs (in terms of accreditation, approval, licensing) on a na tional treatment basis, exemplified in Article 6.1 
of the Agreement between New Zealand and the Se parate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, 
Kinmen, and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC). This approach required supporting measures, for example, that CABs need not be loca ted in, or have an office or physical presence, 
in a Member in order to perform conformity assessment activities in that Member. The Canada-EU 
CETA provides an example of deeper integration, ensuring the application of national treatment for 
CABs on the basis of recognition, accreditation and designation of non-governmental CABs for performing conformity assessment activities on a specific list of products (subject to future 
review). Overall, national treatment for CABs wa s more time and cost effective, and mitigated 
issues of rigidity and obsolescence, particularly  when there was the possibility for expansion of 
scope.
7  
2.  Mr. Kukuh Achmad  (Indonesia) introduced Indonesia's new law on standardization and 
conformity assessment (Law No. 20/2014) as well as the interplay between the various related 
business processes. Compliance to Standar Nasional Indonesia  (SNI) is voluntary, except when 
r e l a t i n g  t o  h e a l t h  a n d  s a f e t y  i n  w h i c h  c a s e  S N I  m a y  b e  s t i p u l a t e d  a s  m a n d a t o r y  b y  r e s p e c t i v e  
                                               
1 The list of speakers is contained in JOB/TBT/169. 
2 Alana Maria Lanza Suazo (Honduras). This Report is provided on the Chairperson's own responsibility.  
3 G/TBT/37, para. 8.3. 
4 G/TBT/37, para. 3.9(e). 
5 https://www.wto.org/ english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm  
6 G/TBT/1/Rev.12, pp.45-46. 
7 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/123. G/TBT/GEN/190 
 
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  government ministries. In case of mandatory SNI, conformity assessment activity must be 
p e r f o r m e d  b y  K A N - a c c r e d i t e d  C A B s  t h a t  h a v e  been designated by respective regulators. 
Designation was followed because regulators have full responsibility for ensuring conformity with their requirements. The recognition of competency of foreign CABs occurs through bilateral or 
multilateral recognition agreements following a reciprocal principle. With respect to international 
recognition, KAN is a signatory of the ILAC MRA and APLAC MRA, as well as the IAF MLA and PAC 
MLA. To date KAN has accredited over 1,200 la boratories and inspection bodies, and over 200 
CBs.
8  
3.  Dr. Elsabe Steyn  (South African) explained that a revi ew of the TBT Annex of the Southern 
African Development Community (SADC) Trade Protocol had been undertaken in 2014 partly to enhance discussion of SADC TBT issues at the re gional level. There are a series of SADC TBT 
committees and cooperation structures in the areas of: technical regulations (to promote the use 
of good regulatory practices); stakeholder participation (to enhance private sector participation in SADC quality infrastructure matters); accreditation; legal metrology; measurement traceability; 
standardization; and TBT expert advisory. In the area of accreditation, the SADC Cooperation in 
Accreditation (SADCA) helps to facilitate nation al, regional and international recognition and 
acceptance of conformity assessment results through the 3 accreditation bodies in the region 
namely the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS), the Mauritius Accreditation 
System (MAURITAS) and the SADC Accreditation Service (SADCAS), which is the world's first 
multi-economy accreditation body serving the other SADC countries. In the context of the Pan-African Quality Infrastructure (PAQI) initiative, the African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC) aims 
to cooperate and expand accreditation awareness an d capacity throughout Africa with a view to 
expand the AFRAC Mutual Recognition Agreement between the African accreditation bodies to facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results.
9 
4.  Mr. Tomoyuki Kinoshita (Japan) introduced two examples of sectoral international schemes 
that could facilitate the acceptance of test result s in other countries, recalling a recommendation of 
the Seventh Triennial Review. First, Japan described the IECEE CB Scheme, an international 
system for mutual acceptance of test reports and ce rtificates dealing with the safety of electrical 
and electronic components, equipment and products. Reliability of test results is ensured because 
under the scheme National Certification Bodies (NCBs) and CB Testing Laboratories (CBTLs) must meet relevant international standards, testing is based on relevant IEC standards, and there is 
ongoing peer assessment amongst Member NCBs an d CBTLs to ensure technical competence to 
carry out tests against IEC standards. Second, Ja pan introduced the OECD principles of Good 
Laboratory Practice (GLP) to be followed by test facilities carrying out studies assessing the health 
and environmental safety of chemicals, and Mu tual Acceptance of Data (MAD), to promote 
acceptance of non-clinical chemical safety st udies amongst participating Members. To ensure 
reliability, national GLP compliance monitoring programs and periodic peer assessments are 
applied. Both the IECEE CB and OECD schemes help to reduce duplicative testing and save 
government and industry resources, and Japan ex plained how they are applied in the context of 
Japan's national regulations.
10 
5.  Mr. Guillaume Parent (Canada) described his country's approach to conformity assessment 
and summarized the different categories based on examples as applied in Canada (e.g. SDoC for 
low risk products like motor vehicles, recreational craft, and electromagnetic compatibility; third party for medium risk products like telecom, electrical products, construction products and 
organics; Government Assessment for products of high risk like pharmaceuticals and medical 
devices). Canada approaches acceptance of conformity assessment results in FTAs on a case-by-case basis, while striving towards the ideal of "one standard, one test, one certificate, accepted 
anywhere". In this respect, Canada prefers nati onal treatment of conformity assessment bodies 
(CABs), providing for recognition (including desi gnation, registration, approval, licensing and 
notification) of foreign CABs on conditions no less favourable than applied to domestic ones, citing the example of Article 8.6 of the TPP. In terms of  other approaches, Canada encourages the use of 
voluntary Multilateral Accreditation Arrangements (MLAs). Finally, MRAs are also used but are the 
                                               
8 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/124. 
9 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/125. 
10 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/126. G/TBT/GEN/190 
 
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  least favoured approach, as these are difficult to negotiate, implement, and benefits difficult to 
measure – even though they can be useful for certain sectors such as telecoms.11 
6.  Ms. Esther Peh  (Singapore, on behalf of ASEAN) highlighted ASEAN’s achievements on 
standards and conformance. ASEAN’s work in the acceptance and recognition of conformity 
assessment results has facilitated the flow of goods within the region, led to reduced cost for 
traders and faster time-to-market for goods. The ASEAN Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) undertakes work on stan dards harmonization, MRAs and harmonized 
regulatory regimes. The ASEAN Framework Agr eement on MRAs provides a template for the 
development of sectoral MRAs in ASEAN. ASEAN introduced examples of MRAs and harmonized 
regulatory regimes in three sector s: Electrical and Electronic Equi pment (EEE) (based on IECEE CB 
scheme), pharmaceuticals (based on Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme – PIC/S), 
and cosmetics. Despite difference s in ASEAN Member States' national standards and conformance 
systems and levels of development, these sectoral initiatives delivered important benefits due to the willingness and commitment of all ASEAN regulatory authorities to collaborate.
12 
7.  Ms. Ann Weeks  (United States) offered the perspectiv e of a conformity assessment body on 
the benefit of conformity assessment provisions in  FTAs, focusing on questions of: market access 
(can services be provided?); parameters for providin g services (e.g. is a local presence required to 
provide services?); and fair competition (are al l conformity assessment bodies treated equally?). 
She said that public-private partnerships were important for facilitating trade in conformity 
assessment without sacrificing the quality of the conformity assessment programme. The TBT Chapter of NAFTA (Article 908.2) was as presented an example that enables recognition of 
conformity assessment bodies of NAFTA parties thro ugh accreditation. Further, the example of TPP 
was mentioned, both in terms of facilitating business case decisions on the location of laboratories so as to provide the most cost effect services (Article 8.6.4), and how regulatory coherence could 
enable private sector conformity schemes to fu lfil regulatory requirements (Articles 25.5.2 and 
25.5.8). Finally, that fact that the WTO TBT Ag reement maintained neutrality with respect to 
approaches to conformity assessment was crucial, given the dynamic nature of risk, including in 
areas like the "internet of things" and "3D printing".
13 
8.  Mr. Sebastien Morard  (Switzerland) explained how the Switzerland-China FTA had used OIML 
standards to recognise test results and to reduce  the costs of CAP in weighing instruments. The 
FTA refers to relevant international standards. It includes a side Agreement on mutual recognition 
of test results of measuring instruments. This side Agreement provides for recognition of tests 
carried out in the other Party in line with OIML recommendations, on the basis of the issuance of OIML test reports, which are then recognized by the other Party for the purposes of type approval 
in their market, according to their technical re gulations. So far, 18 product types had been 
recognized in two years of the operation of the Agreement; it was no longer necessary to ship 
specimens for testing in the export market. Building on the foundation of the OIML Mutual 
Acceptance Arrangement and standards, this mutual ly-beneficial case study shows that test results 
can be recognised based on reliable international standards and schemes, despite differences in legislation.
14 
9.  Mr. Javier Arregui  and Ms. Nike Bönnen  (European Union) outlined proportionality and 
recognition (or lack thereof) as two inter-relate d trade aspects of confor mity assessment. The EU 
approach to conformity assessment in FTAs included: a joint commitment to choose the least burdensome procedure on basis of risk assessm ent and GRP principles to ensure fitness for 
purpose; reference to existing multilateral schemes (e.g. ILAC, IAF) where positive assurance of 
conformity is required; sector-specific provisions such as use of UNECE type approval certificates 
for motor vehicles or SDoC for electronics; and, integration of existing bilateral MRAs into FTAs. 
While traditional MRAs do provide a one-stop shop for manufacturers, there are a number of 
drawbacks such as high administrative burdens (e.g. CAB designation procedure, need for regular updates of lists of applicable laws and regulation s), and the fact that they freeze the status quo 
and give little incentive for further regulatory convergence. On the other hand, enhanced MRAs 
based on regulatory alignment, which extend the EU internal market in specific product sectors to 
                                               
11 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/127. 
12 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/128. 
13 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/129. 
14 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/130. G/TBT/GEN/190 
 
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  interested EU neighbours, offer gr eater benefits, but require a higher degree of cooperation as well 
as convergence in the areas of standards and quality infrastructure.15 
10.  Mr. Xinhua Sun  (China) set the scene by recalling the obligations for recognition of 
conformity assessment procedures contained in th e TBT Agreement, and the indicative list of 
approaches adopted by the TBT Committee.16 Focusing on MRAs, China's approach was reflected in 
its "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Certification and Accreditation", which encourages MRAs based on equality and mutual  benefit. China exemplified its approach by 
introducing the China-New Zealand FTA, which was China's first FTA negotiated with a developed 
Member. The annex of this FTA focuses on collabo ration in context of the EEE MRA and seeks to 
reduce compliance costs and facilitate trade while assisting regulators in managing risks related to electrical safety and EMC, as well as reducing language barri ers. The EEE MRA covers products 
listed in the CCC catalogue and also requires SD oC to access the market  of New Zealand. New 
Zealand manufacturers can have their products tested and certified in a New Zealand testing laboratory and certification body accepted by CNCA and thereafter a CCC certificate and a CCC 
mark can be issued to allow placing on the Chinese market. Conversely, Chinese manufacturers 
can have their products tested and certified in a testing and certification body designated by CNCA of China, demonstrating compliance with CCC certification requirements and the deviations for the 
product standards required by New Zealand. Once a CCC certificate is issued, this can be used as a 
basis of SDoC for placing on th e New Zealand market. An expansion of the scope of the EEE MRA 
is currently under discussion. As a second example, China mentioned the China-Korea FTA, signed in 2015. Under this FTA framework, CNCA of Ch ina and KATS of Korea signed an EEE MRA. The 
objective of the FTA was to achieve mutual recognition of EEE conformity assessment results and 
certificates.
17 
11.  Mr. Abel Hernández Pineda  (Mexico) introduced the development of Mexico's system for 
conformity assessment and mutual recognition agreements. He said that regulators were currently 
more actively seeking to work in line with WTO agreements and that Mexico had recently published 25 new technical regulations and pursued 10 constitutional changes concerning 
conformity assessment. He said that conformity  assessment is mostly carried out by private 
institutions in Mexico. An example on washing machines was provided: washing machines require three technical regulations to attain relevant certification – for safety, energy efficiency, and labelling for commercial information. He introduced a pilot project on safety requirements of 
electric products – where the new regulation is based on ISO/IEC 17067:2013. He said that while 
some national variations are sometimes needed, international schemes such as those of the ISO/IEC system were used for certification. To enable and improve MRAs, Mexico had initiated a 
program for international cooperation. In this regard, the Mexican Council for Standardization and 
Conformity Assessment (COMENOR) cooperates with several international laboratories for the purpose of offering fast and reliable solutions for foreign manufacturers so as to enable them to 
obtain the Mexican NOM mark.
18 
 
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15 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/138. 
16 G/TBT/1/Rev.12, pp.45-46. 
17 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/132. 
18 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/137.