G/TBT/W/698   
27 November  2019 
(19-8148) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: Spanish  
 
  
CHILE - PUBLIC CONSULTATION FOR DRAFT LEGISLATIO N SETTING OUT RULES  
ON THE PREPARATION, DESCRIPTION AND LABE LLING OF  
MILK PRODUCTS DERIVI NG FROM  MILK  
STATEMENT BY CHILE T O THE COMMITTEE ON T ECHNICAL BARRIERS TO  TRADE  
13 TO 15 NOVEMBER  2019 
The following communication , dated  13 November  2019,  is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Chile. 
 
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1.  On 26 September  2019, the text of the draft Law establishing rules on the marketing and labelling 
of milk , which was approved by the Congress of Chile,  was notified to the WTO in document 
G/TBT/N/CHL/500 , in compliance with the transparency obligations established in the WTO TBT 
Agreement . The original content of the draft parliamentary initiatives (from both the Chamber of 
Deputies and the  Senate) was notified to the WTO in docu ments G/TBT/N/CHL/442  and 
G/TBT/N/CHL/458  on 24 May 2018 and 3 September 2018, respectively. The text was notified at an 
early appropriate  stage, in accordance with Article 2.9 of the TBT Agreement , and w as published as 
a law on 2 November 2019 . 
2.  Since then, the comments submitted by the countries that responded to the open consultation 
held by the WTO , have been reflected  the Law, as the Gov ernment of Chile  had presented  them 
during  a parliamentary discussion.  
3.  However, the Legislative Branch operates independently from the Executive Branch, which 
cannot influence or determine, in an absolute manner, the content of laws during the legislative 
process.  
4.  The objective of the notification contained in document G/TBT/N/CHL/500  was to provide 
information o n the process, mainly with regard to the text approved in the Congress, which is a 
different text from those notified on the two previous occasions. It also aimed to obtain the views 
and comments of WTO Members.  
5.  Based on this information, the comments will be analysed and replies will be sent in writing. It is 
therefore import ant to receive the comments of interested countries on the matter in order to carry 
out the relevant evaluations . 
6.  It should be noted that the period for entry into force is nine months as from publication.  
7.  We note the various concerns raised today, and as indicated, replies will be sent in writing to all 
the comment s that we receive.   
8.  To provide context , the purpose of this Law is to improve consumer information. It should be 
recalled that the Codex General Standard for the labelling of pre -packaged foods  indicate s that labels 
should not be misleading and should indicate the true nature of the food , which was an area to be 
improved for dairy products in Chile.  G/TBT/W/698  
 
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  9.  Lastly , it is important to highlight and to reiterate that this Law was the result of a parliamentary 
motion and did not come from the Executive. All the necessary efforts were made  to engage in 
discussions with the Parliament on the importance of the obligations of the TBT Agreement and the 
transparency of the process . As is known, the influence of the Executive on the Parliament can be 
quite limited, particularly concerning a draft law resulting from  a parliamentary motion , as in this 
case. 
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