. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/GEN/79 
15 December 2008 
 (08-6127) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
RECENTLY COMPLETED AND FORTHCOMING ANALYTICAL  
WORK/EVENTS OF OECD RELATED TO TBT 
 
  The following information was provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and 
Development (OECD)  at the TBT Committee meeting of 5-6 November 2008 
 
_______________ 
 
 I. EVALUATING THE TRADE EFFECTS OF SUPPLIER’S DECLARATION OF 
CONFORMITY (SDOC).   
1. This study discusses SDOC and empirically assesses its effect on trade. It explains the 
rational for using SDOC, expected benefits and design characteristics of SDOC regimes. The 
empirical analysis of trade impact focuses on th ree cases of SDOC introduction in the European 
Union covering eligible products from the medi cal devices, telecom equipment and machinery 
sectors. Introduction of SDOC is found to have infl uenced the evolution of import flows into EU 
markets positively, with non-OECD (developing) trad ing partners benefiting most in all three product 
groups. Analysis of the effects of SDOC for indi vidual EU members furthermore suggests that the 
magnitude of trade effect depends on the characteristics of the CA regime that SDOC replaced.
1      
II. DO BILATERAL AND REGIONAL APPROACHES FOR REDUCING TECHNICAL 
BARRIERS TO TRADE CONVERGE TOWARDS THE MULTILATERAL 
TRADING SYSTEM?    
2. This paper examines TBT provisions in selected  bilateral and regional trade agreements, and 
assesses their degree of similarity and convergen ce with the WTO TBT Agreement, and with each 
other. The analysis indicates that most TBT provisions found in RTAs converge towards the multilateral trading system. Agreements seeking deep er economic integration can (when implemented 
effectively) in fact strengthen the operation of the WTO TBT Agreement by setting the pace for 
improved regulatory practices and infrastructure.  Yet, when overlapping agreements promote 
different criteria for harmonisation of standards -related measures and when regional initiatives are 
undertaken in isolation from international efforts,  new obstacles may arise for regulators and for 
businesses. To remedy these potential problems, the study proposes a number of policy 
recommendations.
2    
III. WORKING TOWARD GOOD PRACTICE IN RIAS   
3. Part of an OECD project on improving the quality of tools for assessing the impact of 
regulations is being devoted to the impact on market openness. Recently work has focused on 
experience in emerging countries, namely Brazil, Chin a, Russia and South Africa. As is the case with 
                                                      
1 See  http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/3/41481368.pdf  
2 See http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/20/20/39711550.pdf  G/TBT/GEN/79 
Page 2  
 
  many other countries, these countries lack formal requirements for Regulatory Impact Assessments 
(RIAs). However, they have formal or informal  procedures that may effectively serve a similar 
purpose with respect to market openness, for example by strengthening transparency or introducing an 
international perspective into standard-setting and conformity assessment. This work was published 
with the proceedings of last December’s session of the OECD Group on Regulatory Policy. It will 
soon be available on the web and is already available on SourceOECD.
3 
IV. FORTHCOMING:  
A. USE OF INTERNATIONAL ST ANDARDS IN REGULATION   
4. Work has been launched to develop a methodolog y and collect pilot data indicating how and 
to what extent countries have taken up interna tional standards in national regulation. Aimed at 
improving the factual basis of policy discussion of standard use, this stock-taking exercise will 
initially looks at the experiences of a few OECD  countries and product groups (domestic electrical 
appliances, telecom equipment and natural gas), followe d by an extension of data collection to certain 
non-OECD countries. An effort may also be made to investigate trade impact. The results will be 
available in the first half of 2009.    
B. OECD  WORKSHOP ON TBT,   25-26  MAY 2009    
5. As a follow-up on the Workshop on Standards and Conformity Assessment in Trade: 
Minimising Barriers and Maximising Benefits , which OECD organised jointly with InWEnt Capacity 
Building International Germany in Berlin in N ovember 2005, OECD is planning to hold on 16-17 
March at its headquarters in Paris a similarly st ructured Workshop and Policy Dialogue. The two-day 
meeting will bring together policymakers, regulat ors and representatives of standards, accreditation 
and conformity assessment bodies from devel oping and developed countries, as well as 
representatives of business and other stakeholders. The programme is presently under development.4  
__________ 
 
                                                      
3 www.sourceoecd.org  
4 Further information can be obtained from: barbar a.fliess@oecd.org.  The proceedings of the 2005 
Berlin Workshop are available at  http://www.oecd.org/dat aoecd/19/27/36223999.pdf .