. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/2/Add.93 
2 August 2007 
 (07-3316) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
 
  
IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT 
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
 
Communication from Malawi
 
 
Addendum  
 
 
 The following communication under Article 15.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to 
Trade has been received from the Government of Malawi.  
_______________ 
  
1. In accordance with Article 15. 2 of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) 
and considering the decision of the TBT Committee of 14 July 1995 concerning the statement on Implementation and administration as contained in  document G/TBT/1/Rev.8 of 23 May 2002, the 
Government of the Republic of Malawi accepted the Agreement Establishing the WTO, the TBT 
Agreement and associated Legal Instruments included in Annexes 1, 2 and 3. 
2. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Private Sector Development is the coordinating 
body/agency for the implementation of Malawi's ob ligations under the WTO Agreement on TBT and 
has the overall responsibility of ensuring that the obligations under the agreements are fulfilled. 
3. The contact address is: 
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Private Sector Development 
3
rd Floor, Gemini House 
P.O. Box 30366 
Capital City 
Lilongwe 3 
Malawi 
Tel: +(265) 1 770 244 
Fax: +(265) 1 770 680 
Email: minci@malawi.net   
4. The Trade Section within the Ministry is responsible for the follow-up monitoring and 
implementation of the TBT provisions.  Furthe rmore, a National TBT Coordinating Committee 
comprising representatives from relevant ministri es and organizations, both public and private, 
oversees the overall implementation of the TBT Ag reement.  The Trade Section and the Malawi 
Bureau of Standards work in clos e liaison and collaboration to ensure  that the provisions of the TBT 
Agreement are applied. G/TBT/2/Add.93 
Page 2  
 
  5. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Private S ector Development is th e National Notification 
Authority. 
6. The Malawi Bureau of Standards (the National Standards Body) is the designated National 
Enquiry Point for the WTO-TBT Agr eement.  Its contact address is: 
Director General  
Malawi Bureau of Standards P.O. Box 946 
Blantyre 
Malawi 
Tel: +(265) 1 870 488 
Fax: +(265) 1 870 756 
Email: mbs@mbsmw.org 
 info@mbsmw.org 
 
7. The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) is a st atutory organization established by an Act of 
Parliament Chapter 51:02 in 1972.  It is charged with the preparation and promulgation of national 
standards with a view to helping the local industry to produce quality products and services, hence 
enabling them to compete effectively in the global market.  The work of the MBS in standards 
development and conformity assessment is geared so as to enable local companies meet quality 
requirements of buyers at home and abroad. 
8. The MBS publishes an "MBS Standards Work Programme" every six months which contains 
a list of standardization projects under development an d is available to all interested parties free of 
charge. 
9. The MBS accepted and complies with the provi sions of the Code of Good Practice for the 
formulation of standards (Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement).  The standards development process 
involves the following stages: 
• Needs Identification 
• Draft proposal stage 
• Technical Committee State (consensus based decisions) 
• Public enquiry stage (60 days) 
• Divisional Committee stage (a higher technical stage including academia – decisions are 
consensus based) 
• Standards Policy Advisory Committee stage (c onsiders policy issues regarding standards 
implementation) 
• Approval stage (by the Malawi Standards Board) 
10. Standards developed by the MBS are either for vol untary application (voluntary standards) or 
for mandatory application (mandatory standards).  Mandatory standards (technical regulations) are 
implemented through provisions published as ministeria l orders or regulations issued by the relevant 
government ministry. 
11. Notices concerning standards and technical regulations developed, issued or adopted by the 
MBS and other relevant government bodies are publis hed in the Official Gazette of the Republic of 
Malawi. 
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