G/TBT/N/CHE/224  
 
23 August 2017  
(17-4509) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member : SWITZERLAND   
If applicable, name of local government involved  (Article 3.2 and 7.2) :  
2. Agency responsible:  Federal Office for Agriculture ( FOAG)  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification  shall be indicated if different from above :  
State Secretariat for Econo mic Affairs SECO  
Holzikofenweg 36, 3003 Berne  
tbt@seco.admin.ch , www.seco.admin.ch   
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [X], 5.7.1 [  ], other:  
4. Product s covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Organic products  
5. Title, number of pages  and language(s)  of the notified document:  Draft Amendment 
of the Ordinance on  Organic Farming of 22 September 1997 (910.18), 6 pages, available 
in French, German and Italian; and  
Draft Amendment of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research 
(EAER) Ordinance on Organic Farming of 22 September 1997 (910.181), 26 pages, 
available in French, German and Italian.    
6. Description of content:  The ordinances shall be amended in order to facilitate the 
processing of the import certificates in the Trade Control & Expert System of the European 
Union ( TRACES ). The Federal Office for Agriculture shall be authorized to recognize and 
withdraw organic control bodies. Moreover, some minor technical modifications and the 
adaptation of a few administrative pr ocedures are foreseen.  
7. Objective and rationale , including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
Improvement of the traceability of organic products, administrative simplification and 
alignment with the EU law.  
8. Relevant documents:   
 Draft A mendment of the Ordinance on Organic Farming of 22 September 1997 
(910.18), 6 pages, available in French, German and Italian (see attachment);  
 Draft Amendment of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and 
Research (EAER) Ordinance on Organic  Farming of 22 September 1997 (910.181), 
26 pages, available in French, German and Italian (see attachment);  
 Ordinance on Organic Farming of 22 September 1997 (910.18);  
German: https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified -
compilation/19970385/201501010000/910.18.pdf   G/TBT/N/CHE/224  
 
- 2 - 
 
  French: https://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified -
comp ilation/19970385/201501010000/910.18.pdf   
Italian: https://www.admin.ch/opc/it/classified -
compilation/19970385/201501010000/910.18.pdf   
 Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) 
Ordinance on Organic Farming of 22 September 1997 (910.181)  
German: https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifie d-
compilation/19970387/201610010000/910.181.pdf   
French: https://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified -
compilation/19970387/201610010000/910.181.pdf   
Italian: https://www.admin.ch/opc/it/classified -
compilation/19970387/201610010000/910.181.pdf   
English: https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified -
compilation/19970387/201610010000/910.181.pdf   
9. Proposed date of adoption: 18 October 2017  
Proposed date of entry into force: 1 January 2018  
10. Final date for comments:  60 days from notification  
11. Texts available from : National enquiry point  [X] or address, telephone and fax 
number s and e mail and website address es, if available , of other body:   
tbt@seco.admin.ch  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2017/TBT/CHE/17_3747_00_f.pdf  
https://membe rs.wto.org/crnattachments/2017/TBT/CHE/17_3747_00_x1.pdf  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2017/TBT/CHE/17_3747_00_x2.pdf  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2017/TBT/CHE/17_3747_01_f.pdf  
https://members.wto.org /crnattachments/2017/TBT/CHE/17_3747_01_x1.pdf  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2017/TBT/CHE/17_3747_01_x2.pdf