G/TBT/W/430  
19 January 2016  
(16-0366)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: Spanish  
 
  ECUADOR - FOREIGN TRADE COMMITTEE RESOLUTION NO. 116 OF 19 NOVEMBER 2013 
AND TECHNICAL REGULATION OF THE ECUADORIAN STANDARDIZATION INSTITUTE RTE 
INEN NO. 022 ON THE LABELLING OF PROCESSED AND PACKAGED FOOD PRODUCTS 
STATEMENT BY MEXICO TO THE COMMITT EE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
4-6 NOVEMBER 2015 
The following communication, dated 15 January 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Mexico. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
1.  Mexico wishes once again to express its concern regarding Resolution No. 116 of the 
Ecuadorian Foreign Trade Committee, which establishes the "certificate of recognition" 
requirement for a series of products listed in the same document. 
2.  This concern was first raised in this forum at the meeting of 5 and 6 November 2014, and was 
reiterated at subsequent Committee meetings. It has also been the subject of bilateral dialogue 
with Ecuador on several occasions, when a request was made for information to justify the 
establishment of this requirement for a wide range of products, as it focuses on more than just one sector of production. 
3.  Owing to the variety of products covered by Resolution No. 116, Mexico requests Ecuador to 
provide information on how the new requirement contributes to the fulfilment of the legitimate 
objectives pursued by the various technical regulations governing the specifications of the various products covered. 
4.  For the foregoing reasons, Mexico reiterates its concern and the need to obtain a concrete reply 
from Ecuador to the requests made. 
1  RTE INEN NO. 022: 
5.  Mexico also wishes to reiterate its concern regarding the draft revision of the Ecuadorian 
Standardization Institute Technical Regulation on  the labelling of processed and packaged food 
products (PRTE INEN 022 (1R)), notified to WTO Members in document G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.10. This concern was first raised at the Committee meeting of 5 and 6 November 2014, and was 
reiterated at the Committee meetings in March and June 2015, for the following reasons: 
a. While the regulatory provision forming the ba sis of the draft revision of Ecuadorian 
Standardization Institute Technical Regulation  No. 022, i.e. the Sanitary Regulations for 
the Labelling of Processed Foods for Human Consumption, has technical regulation 
characteristics of the kind specified in Annex 1 to the TBT Agreement, it is considered that the Government of Ecuador failed to comply with the transparency obligation laid 
down in Article 2.9 of the TBT Agreement, which prevented Mexico and other interested 
Members from being able to submit comments for consideration during the preparation of these Regulations. 
b. Regarding the specific content of the draf t revision of Ecuadorian Standardization 
Institute Technical Regulation No. 022, Mexico considers that the definitions of "food", 
"processed food" and "nutritional claim", and the system of colour-coded charts may G/TBT/W/430 
- 2 - 
  contravene the provisions of Article 2.4 of the TBT Agreement, as they are not based on 
international standards such as the Codex Alimentarius General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (CODEX STAN 1-1985, point 2). The same would be the case for labelling with references to non-caloric sweetener and transgenic contents. 
c. Mexico also considers that the system of colour-coded charts (showing a "high", 
"medium" or "low" concentration of total fats, sugars and salts) may contravene the principle of proportionality provided for in  Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement, by not 
constituting the least restrictive alternative necessary to fulfil the desired legitimate 
objective. Mexico is concerned about this system, which it feels may arouse fear in consumers. 
d. Moreover, Mexico considers that the measures on advertising, which prohibit the use of 
images of real or fictitious persons and animals on labels, could be contrary to the 
provisions of Article 20 of the WTO Agreemen t on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights, as they could unjustifiably complicate the use of a brand name in the 
course of trading. 
6.  In view of the above, Mexico formally submi tted comments to Ecuador on 17 June 2014, along 
with the following requests that we are now reiterating: 
a. It is requested that Ecuador notify the Sanitary Regulations for the Labelling of 
Processed Foods for Human Consumption, in accordance with the provisions of the TBT Agreement, so as to allow for the su bmission of comments and observations 
thereon. 
b. It is requested that PRTE INEN 022 be amended so that concepts such as "food" and 
"nutritional claim" coincide with the provisions of the Codex Alimentarius, and the difference between "food" and "processed food" is eliminated. 
c. An explanation is requested of the just ification and scientific evidence for the 
colour-coded system of charts specifying th e "high", "medium" or "low" concentration of 
three components: total fats, sugars and salts, respectively. 
d. It is also requested that justification be provided or, if appropriate, consideration be 
given to eliminating the requirement to include the term "transgenic" on labels, in the case of transgenic content. 
e. It is requested that the restrictions on advertising on labels be reconsidered. 
f. It is requested that consideration be given to the comments formally submitted by 
Mexico to Ecuador with respect to complianc e with the TBT Agreement, and that replies 
be provided. 
 
__________