G/TBT/GEN/275  
 
20 November 2019  
(19-7905) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
 
AGENDA ITEM 3: TECHN ICAL ASSISTANCE  
QUALITY INFRASTRUCTU RE  
This document contains the statement made by the WTO Secretariat  at the TBT Committee meeting  
of 13-15 November 2019 under Agenda Item 3.  
 
 
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1.  Thank you, Chairman. This is also in the area of technical assistance - I would like to provide 
delegations with an update of recent activities related to QI in furtherance of the work and 
instructions of this Committee.   
2.  As you know, quality infrastructu re has long been a topic of discussion in the TBT Committee. 
This is essentially about establishing trust in trading relationships. It enables Members to have 
confidence that products are safe and of good quality. Quality infrastructure is an important ena bler 
for trade, it drives competitiveness and supports the implementation of the TBT Agreement.  
3.  For many Members, however, there are important gaps  in the institutions that make up this 
infrastructure (standardization, accreditation, metrology, conformity  assessment). And these gaps 
can have significant negative consequences for trade, and development – in particular for developing 
countries and LDCs - and especially for SMEs.  
4.  Let me recall some the work that the Committee has undertaken in the area of qu ality 
infrastructure. In 2009 – 10 years ago – the Committee agreed to encourage Members to participate 
in technical cooperation activities in the area of conformity assessment aimed at improving quality 
(or technical) infrastructure. We then agreed to dis cuss approaches to the use of quality 
infrastructure, both national and regional – in 2005, and, in 2018 – at our last triennial review – the 
Committee decided to hold a thematic session on quality infrastructure – a topic that you have been 
discussing in the thematic session  this week .  
5.  During the recent A4T Global Review, the WTO secretariat organized an event in cooperation 
with the World Bank on quality infrastructure. The World Bank has explored with us the feasibility 
of enhancing our collaboration in this area subject to  the Commit tee's instructions to the Secretariat.  
6.  Key ideas suggested for this collaboration would be to:  
a. support developing countries in efforts to enhance their QI performance;  
b. support coordination across the global QI ecosystem; and,  
c. increase and disseminate k nowledge about QI and TBT, through studies and analytics.  
7.  So this is essentially about coordination, knowledge, and dissemination. Another suggestion, 
which would depend on funding and if there is demand, might be a project element – along the lines 
of the STDF, with assistance funds administered by the Bank, with technical and policy input from 
the WTO .  G/TBT/GEN/275  
 
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  8.  We will provide in future TBT meetings our report on whether such a collaboration would be 
feasible as we would appreciate your guidance and feedback. Nevertheless, for now, three points 
are worth underscoring:  
a. Global. First, we want to involve all relevant stakeholders globally (public and private) 
and learn from a global evidence base. We think that drawing on this Committee's 
expertise will be important. And as just mentioned, the overriding objective is one of better 
implementing the WTO TBT Agreement, to assure that unwarranted QI hurdles are 
reduced for all Members.  
b. Add value . We are looking at a global platform that could add value  to technical assistance 
in the QI area. We are mindful, of course, of the imp ortance of not duplicating, replacing 
or competing with ongoing activities at the national, regional level – and of other 
organizations.  
c. Resourcing . As this would be a new initiative, for it to work, additional resources will be 
needed consistent with TBT guidance and the objectives of the WTO and particularly the 
TBT Committee. We have been tentatively exploring the feasibility of marshalling 
resources for QI assistance to see whether there is interest; we are still at initial stages.  
9.  The Secretariat ende avours  to report back to the Committee in early 2020 with more detail on 
the feasibility of a QI initiative of the kind described above, after more fully consulting with Members, 
and other interested parties, including of course international financial or ganizations . 
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