TN/MA/W/144/Rev.3  
 
27 October 2017  
(17-5846) Page: 1/4 
Negotiating Group on Market Access  Original: English  
 
MARKET ACCESS FOR NO N-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT S 
MINISTERIAL DECISION  ON FACILITATING SME TRADE: TRANSPARENCY OF 
REGULATORY MEASURES FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
Communication from Australia; Canada; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the 
Republic of Korea; Singapore;  and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu,  
Kinmen and Matsu  ("Chinese Taipei ") 
Revision1 
The following communication, dated 27 October  2017 is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of Australia; Canada; the European Union ; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Republic of 
Korea; Singapore;  and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu  
("Chinese Taipei "). 
 
_______________  
 
Ministers,  
 
Having regard to the negotiations launched under the Doha Ministe rial Decl aration 
of 20 November  2001;  
 
Desiring  to imp rove transparency under the WTO  Agreements relevant for trade in goods, and to 
further enhance transparency of regulatory measures, including during their development;  
 
Recogni zing the important contribution that transparency and enhancement of the global 
coherence of regulatory measures can bring to the improvement of efficiency, inclusiveness and 
development of international trade;  
 
Recogni zing the particular needs of developing a nd especially least -developed country Members 
and the particular value that enhanced access to information on regulatory measures can bring to 
their better inclusion in the international trading system;  
 
Recogni zing the potential of small and medium -sized enterprises for further integration of 
developing and especially least -developed country Members in global value chains;  
 
Recogni zing that small and medium -sized enterprises carry out an indispensable role in the global 
economy both in terms of growth and employment, whilst facing considerable difficulties in 
accessing information when approaching new markets;  
 
Recognizing the need to promote internationalization of small and medium -sized enterprises and 
assisting them through a business -friendly regulatory  enviro nment worldwide to access 
third markets;  
 
Hereby decide : 
                                                
1 The changes introduced in this version of the document in comparison with the previous one are the 
inclusion of Canada, Japan,  and the Republic of Korea as co -sponsors, the inclusion of a footnote related to 
"major regulatory measures" , the revision of Art icle 10, and the correction of minor typographical errors . TN/MA/W/144/Rev.3  
 
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  Article  1 
Definition  
 
For the purposes of this Decision, regulatory measures  mean mandatory measures of general 
application in the field of trade in goods as defined in each of the WTO  Agreements falling within 
the scope of this Decision, which are developed or applied by a Member . 
 
Article  2 
Scope  
 
1. Without prejudice to paragr aph 2, this Ministerial Decision applies to all regulatory measures 
falling within the scope of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.  
 
2. This Ministerial Decision applies to regulatory measures of central government bodies. Each 
Member shall take such reasonable measures as may be  available to it to ensure observance of the 
provisions of the Decision by the local governments and authorities on the level directly below that 
of a central government within its territories.  
 
Article  3 
Publication and Information Available Through Inter net 
 
1. Each Member shall promptly publish its regulatory measures in an official journal 
electronically, or otherwise made publicly available on the Internet, in a manner that enables 
governments, manufacturers, traders and other interested persons to bec ome acquainted with 
them.  
 
2. When regulatory measures are published pursuant to paragraph  1, each Member shall:  
 
(a) provide access to the regulatory measure on an o fficial website free of charge;  
 
(b) if appropriate, also publish  an explanation of the pu rpose of and ration ale for the 
regulatory measure.  
 
3. Whenever practicable, a description of the regulatory measure referred to in paragraph  2 
shall also be made available on the same official website in one of the official languages of the 
WTO.  
 
4. Each Member is encouraged to make available on the Internet further information related to 
the development or implementation of the major regulatory measur es, including on relevant 
trade -related aspects.2 
 
5. Each Member shall encourage the distribution of and information on such regulatory 
measures through additional channels of publication.  
 
Article  4 
Notification of Regulatory Measures  
 
Recognizing the potential of the recent web services on notifications provided by the WTO for the 
general public, where a Member is obliged to notify a draft regulatory measure to the other 
Members of the WTO under an existing WTO  Agreement falling within the scope of this Decision, 
the Member shall:  
 
(a) include a copy of the developed or proposed draft regulatory measure or  indicate an 
Internet address at which such measure may be viewed ; 
 
(b) provide a copy of the final text of the regulatory measure or an Internet address at 
which such measure may be viewed, at the time the text is adopted or published, as 
an addendum to t he original notification.  
 
                                                
2 Each Member may determine what constitute major regulatory measures.  TN/MA/W/144/Rev.3  
 
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  Article  5 
Public Internet Portal of Regulatory Measures  
 
In order to facilitate trade, in particular for small and medium -sized enterprises, an electronic 
version of the regulatory measures applicable in Members shall be made ava ilable through a 
repository. Such a repository shall be publicly accessible and be easily searchable. To that effect, 
the WTO  Secretariat shall coordinate with other international organiz ations that have built 
regulatory repositories.  
 
Article  6 
Public Con sultation of Interested Persons  
 
1. When preparing major regulatory measures, each Member shall, to the extent practicable 
and in accordance with its respective rules and procedures in view of outreaching to the widest 
possible public, including small and medium -sized enterprises : 
 
(a) publish i n advance regulatory measures that it proposes to adopt, or publish in 
advance documents that provide sufficient details about a possible new regulatory 
measure to allow interested persons to assess whether and how t heir interests might 
be significantly affected;  
 
(b) provide a reasonable opportunity to interested persons to provide input on such 
developed or proposed regulatory measures or docume nts referred to in 
subparagraph  (a), taking into account its prioritie s and resource constraints; and,  
 
(c) consider input received.  
 
2. Members are encouraged to publish the input received, electronically, such as on a publicly 
accessible website.  
 
Article  7 
Regulatory Measures in Urgency Situations  
 
Where urgent problems arise or threaten to arise for a Member and where there is an urgent need 
to adopt measures consistent with the relevant WTO  Agreement, that Member may omit s uch 
steps enumerated in Article  6, as it finds necessary, provided that the Member takes the actions 
described in the relevant WTO  Agreement and, after adoption of the regulat ory measure, applies 
Article  4. 
Article  8 
Special and Differential Treatment and Technical Assistance  
 
1. This Decision shall enter into force two  years after the date of ado ption of this Decision. 
Developing country Members shall apply these provisions at the latest five  years after the date of 
adoption of this Decision. The dedicated WTO  Internet portal referred to in Article  5 shall be 
established within two  years from entr y into force of this Decision.  
 
2. Developing country Members can apply Article  3 by providing the relevant information on 
regulatory measures to the WTO  Secretariat which shall host it, on their behalf, and include it in 
the repo sitories referred to in Ar ticle 5. 
 
Article  9 
Relation to WTO  Agreements  
In the event of any inconsistency between this Decision and a WTO  Agreement, the 
WTO Agreement shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency . In particular, nothing in this 
Decision shall be construed as diminishing the rights and obligations of Members under the 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures.  TN/MA/W/144/Rev.3  
 
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  Article  10 
Work Programme  
 
Members agree to continue discussions relating to t he transparency of regulatory measures falling 
within the scope of this Decision. Issues to be discussed in this context may include, inter alia , the 
publication of regulatory agendas, early information on regulatory measures, the conduct of 
regulatory imp act assessments when developing major regulatory measures and the evaluation 
and review of existing regulatory measures.  
 
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