WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
8 September 2008 
 (08-4215) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  
  
 
 
DECISIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED BY THE  
WTO COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
SINCE 1 JANUARY 1995 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
Revision  
 
 
 The present document contains the ninth revision of the compilation of the TBT Committee's 
Decisions and Recommendations.  The first compila tion, circulated on 22 June 1995 (G/TBT/1), has 
been revised eight times (Revs. 1 – 8). The present revision, which supersedes all previous G/TBT/1 documents, is in two parts.  Part 1 contains the Committee's decisions and recommendations adopted 
since 1 January 1995.  Part 2 contains the Comm ittee's Rules of Procedure including Guidelines for 
Observer Status for Governments and Intern ational Intergovernmental Organizations. 
 
  
_______________ 
  
                                                     
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 2  
 
   
Table of Contents
 
 
 
PART 1: Decisions and Recommenda tions adopted by the Committee 
  on Technical Barriers to Trade ............................................................................................................. 4 
 
I. GOOD REGULATORY PRACTICE....................................................................................................4  
A. GENERAL ............................................................................................................................... ....................4  
B. INFORMATION EXCHANGE ..........................................................................................................................4  
II. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT.......................................................................................................... ..6 
A. GENERAL ............................................................................................................................... ....................6  
B. INFORMATION EXCHANGE ..........................................................................................................................7  
III. STANDARDS...................................................................................................................... ...................10  
A. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS , GUIDES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...........................................................10  
B. INFORMATION EXCHANGE ........................................................................................................................11  
C. REGIONAL STANDARDS -RELATED ACTIVITIES .........................................................................................12  
IV. TRANSPARENCY................................................................................................................... .............13  
A. STATEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE TBT  AGREEMENT (ARTICLE 15.2)....13  
B. NOTIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................................... .........15  
1. Technical Regulations and Confo rmity Assessment Procedures ......................................................15  
(i) "Significant effect on tr ade of other Members" ...................................................................15  
(ii) Timing of Notifications ........................................................................................................ 16 
(iii) Submission of Not ification (Format an d Guidelines) ..........................................................16  
(iv) Labelling requirements........................................................................................................1 7 
(v) Notifications of Proposed Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures 
of Local Governments at the Level Directly Below that of the Central Government .......................17  
(vi) Monthly Listing of Notifications I ssued by the WTO Secretariat ........................................18  
(vii) Length of time allowed for comments ..................................................................................18  
(viii) Handling of comments .........................................................................................................18  
(ix) Timing of Entry into Force of Technical Regulations and Understanding of "Reasonable 
Interval" under Article 2.12................................................................................................... ...........20  
(x) Follow-up...................................................................................................................... .......20  
2. Standards ..................................................................................................................... ........................20  
(i) Notification of the Acceptance of, or Withdrawal from, the Code of Good Practice 
(Paragraph C) .................................................................................................................. ................21  
(ii) Notification of th e Existence of a Work Programme (Paragraph J)....................................22  
(iii) Publishing of a Notice (Paragraph L) .................................................................................22  
3. Notification under Article 10.7 of the TBT Agreemen t......................................................................23  
C. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ...........................................................................................................23  
1. Publication ................................................................................................................... ..........................23  
2. Texts of Notified Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures .........................24  
3. Provision of Translations ...................................................................................................... ................24  
D. ENQUIRY POINTS ............................................................................................................................... .......26  
1. Establishment of Enquiry Points................................................................................................ ..........26  
2. Functioning of Enquiry Points .................................................................................................. ...........26  
(i) Handling and Processi ng of Requests .................................................................................26  
(ii) Enquiries which the Enquiry Points should be prepared to Answer ...................................27  
3. Booklets on E nquiry Points ..................................................................................................... .............28  
E. SPECIAL MEETINGS ON PROCEDURES FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE .....................................................28  
V. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE........................................................................................................... ....29 
A. GENERAL ............................................................................................................................... ..................29  
B. INFORMATION EXCHANGE ........................................................................................................................31  
VI. SPECIAL AND DIFFERENT IAL TREATMENT.............................................................................33  
A. GENERAL ............................................................................................................................... ..................33  
B. INFORMATION EXCHANGE ........................................................................................................................34   G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  ANNEXES TO PART 1 .............................................................................................................. .......................35  
A. INDICATIVE LIST OF APPROACHES TO FACILITATE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RESULTS OF CONFORMITY 
ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................... ....................35  
1. Mutual Recognition Agreements (M RAs) For Conformity Assessmen t to Specific Regulations ...35  
2. Co-Operative (Vol untary) Arrangements Between Domestic  And Foreign Conformity Assessment 
Bodies ........................................................................................................................ .....................35  
3. The Use Of Accreditation To Qualif y Conformity Asse ssment Bodies.............................................35  
4. Government De signation ......................................................................................................... .............35  
5. Unilateral Recognition Of Results  Of  Foreign Conformity Assessment..........................................35  
6. Manufacturer’s / Supplier’ s Declarations (SDoC)..............................................................................35  
B. DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE ON PRINCIPLES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL 
STANDARDS , GUIDES AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RELATION TO ARTICLES 2, 5 AND ANNEX 3 OF THE 
AGREEMENT ............................................................................................................................... ....................37  
1. Transparency ................................................................................................................... ......................37  
2. Openness ...................................................................................................................... .......................38  
3. Impartiality a nd Consensus..................................................................................................... .............38  
4. Effectiveness and Relevance .................................................................................................... .............39  
5. Coherence ..................................................................................................................... ........................39  
6. Development Dimensi on.......................................................................................................... ..............39  
C. FORMAT AND GUIDELINES FOR NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR DRAFT TECHNICAL REGULATIONS AND 
CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES ......................................................................................................40  
D. NOTIFICATION FORMAT UNDER ARTICLE 10.7.........................................................................................44  
E. UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS (NOTIFICATION FORMAT ) ...........................................................................45  
F. BOOKLETS ON ENQUIRY POINTS ..............................................................................................................46  
1. Objective, name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail and Internet addresses, if 
available, of WTO TBT enquiry point(s)......................................................................................... ......46  
2. Who can use the en quiry point(s): .............................................................................................. .........46  
3. Information available fr om enquiry point(s). ................................................................................... ..46 
4. Facilities offered (includi ng charges, if any). ................................................................................ ......47  
G. FORMAT FOR THE VOLUNTARY NOTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE NEEDS AND 
RESPONSES ............................................................................................................................... ......................48  
 
 
PART 2:  Rules of Procedure for the Meetings of the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers 
to Trade and Guidelines for Observer St atus for Governments and International 
Intergovernmental Organizations ..................................................................................................... 50 
. 
   
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 G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  PART 1: 
DECISIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED  
BY THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
  
I. GOOD REGULATORY PRACTICE 
1. Good regulatory practice is about the practical  implementation of the TBT Agreement.  
Effective implementation through best practices is  seen as an important means of avoiding 
unnecessary obstacles to trade.  
A. G
ENERAL  
Recommendation  
(a) In 1997, in order to assist the implementation of the relevant provisions of the 
Agreement, the Committee agreed:2 
(i) When considering the preparation of a t echnical regulation, it is important for 
Members first to identify the related problem, including its magnitude and the 
legitimate objective; and then consider all options available consistent with 
the Agreement, bearing in mind that in  accordance with Articles 2.2 and 2.3 a 
technical regulation shall not be more trade restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective, and shall not be  maintained if the circumstances or 
objectives giving rise to its adoption no long exist or if the changed circumstances or objectives can be a ddressed in a less trade-restrictive 
manner.  If a technical regulation is requi red, it shall comply with the relevant 
provisions of the Agreement, including Articles 12.3 and 12.7; 
(ii) to avoid duplication of work and to en sure effective implementation of the 
Agreement, coordination between governme ntal regulatory authorities, trade 
officials and national standardizing bodies is essential. 
B. I
NFORMATION EXCHANGE  
Recommendation  
(a) Members have engaged in informati on exchange on various aspects of good 
regulatory practice.3  In 1997 and in 2000 in order to assist the implementation of the 
relevant provisions of the Agreement, the Committee agreed:4 
(i) to invite Members, on a voluntary basis, to submit descriptions of their 
approach to technical regulations;   
(ii) to examine the various approaches to the preparation, adoption and 
application of technical regulations a nd their consequences for market access, 
with a view to assisting regulatory au thorities through promoting awareness 
of their rights and obligations under the Agreement.   
                                                      
2 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 24 (a)-(c).  At the subsequent Triennial Review (the Second), the 
Committee agreed to continue this exchange of information (G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 37). 
3 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, paras. 23-24; G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 37; G/TBT/13, 
11 November 2003, para. 14; G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 19. 
4 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 24(c); G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 37.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  (b) In 2003, noting that the issue of good regulatory practice is important, evolving, and 
worthy of further discussion in the TBT Committee, to further its work on good 
regulatory practice, the Committee agreed to: 5 
(i) invite Members to exchange experien ces related to the identification of 
elements of good regulatory pr actice at the domestic level; 
(ii) continue its exchanges on Members’ experiences and focus its discussion on, 
inter alia , choice of policy instruments, mandatory versus voluntary 
measures,  and the use of regulatory impact assessments to facilitate good 
regulatory practice;  
(iii) initiate a process of sharing experiences on equivalency in the Committee 
particularly with regard to how the concept is implemented in practice. 
(c) In 2006, with a view to deepening unders tanding of the contribution good regulatory 
practice can make to the implementati on of the TBT Agreement, the Committee 
agreed to share experiences on:6  
(i) factors used by regulators to determine whether there is a need to regulate in 
a given situation or whether other instruments are better suited to fulfil the 
legitimate objective sought; 
(ii) the use of tools, such as regulatory impact assessment, to assist regulatory 
decision-making (including with respect to (i) above);   
(iii) the use of performance-based regulations by Members;    
(iv) how good regulatory practices have been integrated into Members' regulatory 
structures, including the use of mechanis ms to ensure openness, transparency 
and accountability of the regulatory processes;   
(v) the establishment of domestic admini strative mechanisms to facilitate 
cooperation and coordina tion between competent authorities and co-
ordination with other stakeholders;     
(vi) how regulatory cooperation between Members has contributed to the 
avoidance of unnecessary regulatory differences; 
(vii) steps taken and criteria used to arrive at an equivalency decision between 
Members (Article 2.7), or harmonization on the basis of international standards (Article 2.6). 
Action on Information Exchange
 
(a) On 18-19 March 2008, with a view to advancing its work on good regulatory 
practice, the Committee held a Workshop on Good Regulatory Practice, which addressed, among other topics, regulatory impact assessment.
7 
                                                      
5 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 14. 
6 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 19. 
7 A Summary Report of the Workshop is contained in G/TBT/W/287, 6 June 2008. The Chairman's 
Report of the Workshop to the TBT Committee is contained in G/TBT/M/44, 10 June 2008, Annex 1.  The 
Workshop was held in response to the recommendation contained in G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 20. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 6  
 
  II. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT 
2. Five articles of the TBT Agreement deal with conformity assessment procedures.  Articles 5 
and 6 contain the disciplines with regard to central g overnment bodies.  Articles 7 to 9 deal with local 
government bodies, non-governmental bodies and interna tional and regional systems.  The definition 
of a conformity assessment procedure is contained in Annex 1, Paragraph 3 of the Agreement.   
A. G
ENERAL  
Recommendations  
(a) In 1997, in order to further the objectives of Articles 5 and 6, including in particular 
the need to avoid the creation of unnecessar y obstacles to international trade due to 
conformity assessment procedures,  and with a view to making recommendations to 
remove any unnecessary duplication of c onformity assessment, the Committee agreed 
to the following: 8 
(i) the Committee will pursue further discu ssions on ISO/IEC Guides.  Members 
are invited, on a voluntary basis, to continue providing information on their experience in using relevant intern ational guides and recommendations on 
conformity assessment, and the extent to which these guides and 
recommendations have served as a basis for the recognition of conformity 
assessment procedures adopted by bodies in their territories and in regional 
and international conformity assessme nt systems, or as a harmonized 
approach to conformity assessment.  In the light of this exercise, the Committee will consider ways and means for better implementation of 
Articles 5 and 6; 
(ii) for transparency purposes and to support the work of the Committee, a list of 
relevant international guides and re commendations related to conformity 
assessment procedures will be consolid ated, circulated and updated regularly 
by the Secretariat for the information of Members;   
(iii) the Committee will review the role of regional and international systems for 
conformity assessment as covered by Article 9 and how these systems could contribute to solving the prob lems of multiple testing and 
certification/registration for traders and industries, including in particular small and medium size enterprises.  This exercise will also address the extent to which international guides and recommendations contribute to the 
establishment of these systems, and th e possible technical assistance needed 
for developing countries to develo p operational conformity assessment 
procedures within the context of Articles 11.6, 11.7 and 12.5; 
(iv) the Committee will review the operation of  Articles 6, 10.7 and other relevant 
provisions which contain disciplines with respect to recognition of the results 
of conformity assessment procedures.  In this regard, Members are invited, 
on a voluntary basis, to exchange inform ation.  The review will also address 
the possible difficulties and problems associated with MRAs.  In the light of this exercise, the Committee may c onsider the usefulness of drafting 
guidelines, inter alia  for MRAs. 
                                                     
 
8 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 29 (a)-(e).  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  (b) In 2000, the Committee developed an indica tive list describing different approaches 
to facilitate acceptance of results of conformity assessment. This list is contained in 
Annex A (on page 35 of this document).  The Committee noted the following in respect of this list:
9 
(i) the list was not intended to prescribe particular approaches that Members 
might choose to adopt as it was recognized  that the application of different 
approaches would depend on the situation of Members and the specific sectors involved;   
(ii) governments and non-governmental bodies might choose to apply different 
approaches across different sectors, or apply more than one procedure within 
individual sectors, taking into account va riations in procedures in different 
Members and perceived levels of risk in the acceptance of results in different sectors. 
B. I
NFORMATION EXCHANGE  
Recommendations  
(a) The Committee has regularly engaged in information exchange on the use of 
conformity assessment procedures with a view to improving Members' implementation and unders tanding of Articles 5-9.
10   
(b) In 1997, in order to further the objectives of Articles 5 and 6, including in particular 
the need to avoid the creation of unnecessar y obstacles to international trade due to 
conformity assessment procedures, and w ith a view to making recommendations to 
remove any unnecessary duplication of c onformity assessment, the Committee agreed 
to the following: 
(i) Members are invited, on a voluntary basi s, to exchange information on their 
experience in the various types of conformity assessment procedures and 
their conditions of application.  In the light of this exercise, the Committee 
will consider making recommendations ai med at ensuring that procedures for 
the assessment of conformity avoid the creation of unnecessary obstacles to international trade;
11   
(ii) in regard to the review of the opera tion of Articles 6, 10.7 (II.A.(a)(iv), 
above) and other relevant provisions which contain disciplines with respect to 
recognition of the results of conformity assessment procedures, Members 
were invited, on a voluntary basis, to exchange information.12 
(c) In 2000, the Committee agreed to invi te Members, on a voluntary basis: 
                                                      
9 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 27 and Annex 5. 
10 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 29(c); G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, paras. 28 and 33; 
G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 40;  G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 46.  In 1996, the Committee established a Technical Working Group to examine certain ISO/IEC Guides on conformity assessment 
procedures (G/TBT/M/6, 6 December 1996, para. 14).  The Working Group met three times and the Reports are 
contained in G/TBT/M/7-8 and 10 (1997). 
11 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 29(c). 
12 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 29(e). G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  (i) to supply further information on the different mechanisms used in their 
jurisdiction for acceptance of results of conformity assessment;
13   
(ii) to further exchange information on thei r experience in the use of supplier's 
declaration of conformity (SDoC).14 
(d) In 2003, with a view to improving Member s' implementation of Articles 5-9 of the 
Agreement and promoting a better unde rstanding of Members’ conformity 
assessment systems, the Committee agrees to the following work programme to:15 
(i) exchange information and experiences  on existing conformity assessment 
procedures and practices, the use of rele vant international standards, guides 
and recommendations, and the participati on of Members in national, regional 
and international accreditation schemes; 
(ii) exchange information and experi ences and hold a workshop on SDoC 
covering issues such as:  the regulatory authorities, sectors and suppliers which use SDoC;  the surveillance m echanism, liability law and penalties 
used to ensure that products comply with requirements;  the incentives for 
suppliers to comply with requirements; and the legislation that underpins the 
relationship between buyers and sellers; 
(iii) invite representatives from relevant in ternational and regional accreditation 
fora to provide information on their operation and the participation of Members, in particular, developing country Members, in their systems.  Moreover, users, such as certification bodies, should also be invited to share 
their experiences in this respect; 
(iv) hold a workshop on the different appr oaches to conformity assessment, 
including on the acceptance of conformity assessment results; 
(v) to take stock of the progress made on th is Work Programme and reflect it in 
its Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Goods. 
(e) In 2006, with a view to furthering th e understanding of the implementation of 
Articles 5-9 of the Agreement, the Committee agreed to continue sharing experiences 
on:
16 
(i) approaches to conformity assessment, and in particular on 
- various considerations that are relevant when deciding on the need for a 
conformity assessment procedure and on the type of procedure, including the 
level of risk associated with products; 
- the use of different types of conformity assessment procedures; 
- the design and implementation of SDoC and situations for which SDoC may 
be a suitable conformity assessment procedure; 
                                                      
13 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 28. 
14 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 33. 
15 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, paras. 40 and 41. 
16 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 46.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  - the use of accreditation to qualify the technical competence of conformity 
assessment bodies; 
(ii) the use of international standards, guides or recommendations in Members' 
domestic conformity assessment procedures; 
(iii) recognition of conformity assessment results, and in particular on 
- unilateral recognition of results of foreign conformity assessment, including 
on existing government designation schem es in relation to Article 6.1.2; 
- the participation of foreign conformity assessment bodies in domestic 
conformity assessment procedures pursuant to Article 6.4; 
- the operation of existing MRAs, including cases where implementation has 
not been deemed satisfactory;  and their cost-effectiveness; 
- voluntary mutual recognition arrangements and on the extent to which results 
of conformity assessment are accepted by regulators. 
Action on Information Exchange  
(a) A Symposium on Conformity Assessment Procedures was held on 8-9 June 1999.17   
(b) A Special Meeting dedicated to Conformity Assessment Procedures was held on 
29 June 2004.18 
(c) A Workshop on Supplier's Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) was held on 21 March 
2005.19 
(d) A Workshop on the Different Approach es to Conformity Assessment, including on 
the Acceptance of Conformity Assessment  Results, was held on 16-17 March 2006.20 
                                                      
17 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, Annex 1. 
18 A Report of the special meeting is contained in G/TBT/M/33/Add.1, 21 October 2004. 
19 A Report of the workshop is contained in Annex 1 of G/TBT/M/35, 24 May 2005. 
20 A Report of the workshop is contained in G/TBT/M/38/Add.1, 6 June 2006. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 10  
 
  III. STANDARDS 
A. I
NTERNATIONAL STANDARDS , GUIDES AND RECOMMENDATIONS  
3. In 2000, at the Second Triennial Review of the Agreement, the Committee noted that in order 
for international standards to make a maximum contribution to the achievement of the trade 
facilitating objectives of the Agreement, it was impo rtant that all Members had the opportunity to 
participate in the elaboration and adoption of inte rnational standards.  Adverse trade effects might 
arise from standards emanating from international bodies as defined in the Agreement which had no 
procedures for soliciting input from a wide range of interests.  Bodies operating with open, impartial 
and transparent procedures, that afforded an opportu nity for consensus among all interested parties in 
the territories of at least all Members, were seen  as more likely to develop standards which were 
effective and relevant on a global basis and would th ereby contribute to the goal of the Agreement to 
prevent unnecessary obstacles to trade.  In order to improve the quality of in ternational standards and 
to ensure the effective application of the Agreemen t, the Committee agreed th at there was a need to 
develop principles concerning transparency, openness,  impartiality and consensus, relevance and 
effectiveness, coherence and developing country interests that would clarify and strengthen the 
concept of international standards under the Agr eement and contribute to the advancement of its 
objectives. In this regard, the Committee adopted  a decision containing a set of principles it 
considered important for international standards de velopment.  These principles were seen as equally 
relevant to the preparation of international st andards, guides and recommendations for conformity 
assessment procedures. The dissemination of such principles by Members and standardizing bodies in their territories would encourage the various international bodies to clarify and strengthen their rules 
and procedures on standards development, thus fu rther contributing to the advancement of the 
objectives of the Agreement.
 21 
Decision  
(a) In 2000, the Committee adopted a Decision on Principles for the Development of 
International Standards,  Guides and Reco mmendations with Relation to Articles 2, 5 
and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement. This De cision is contained in Annex B (on page 
37 of this document).22   
Recommendations  
(a) In 1997, with a view to developing a be tter understanding of international standards 
within the Agreement, the Committee agreed:23 
(i) to explore ways and means of improvi ng the implementation of Articles 2.6, 
5.5, 11.2, 12.5 and paragraph G of th e Code with a view to enhancing 
Members' awareness of, and participa tion in, the work of international 
standardizing bodies.  As appropria te, the Committee will consider the 
usefulness of communicating its views to the relevant international standardizing bodies for their consideration; 
                                                     
 
21 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 20 and Annex 4; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, pp. 26-29. 
22 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 20 and Annex 4; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, pp. 26-29. 
23 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 22(a).  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  B. INFORMATION EXCHANGE  
(a) In 1997, the Committee agreed to seek info rmation from international standardizing 
bodies regarding their procedures to ensure  cooperation with their national members 
and regional standardizing bodies and to c onsider the usefulness of communicating 
the Committee's views to the relevant  international standardizing bodies.24  Also, with 
a  view to developing a better understanding of international standards within the 
Agreement, the Committee agreed:25 
(i) to invite Members, on a voluntary basis, to submit specific examples to the 
Committee addressing the difficulties and pr oblems they encounter in relation 
to international standards, including those mentioned in paragraph 18 above, 
taking into account Article 12.4.  This  information exchange process, as well 
as the indications obtained through the no tifications of draft regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures, w ould provide relevant information on 
the national practices of Members, a nd on the manner in which international 
standardizing bodies developed standards.   In the light of this experience 
sharing exercise, the Committee may consider the usefulness of 
communicating its views to relevant international standardizing bodies for 
their consideration; 
(ii) to consider the appropriate means fo r the Committee to express its views to 
relevant international standardizing bodies regarding the preparation of 
international standards, and to invite  international standardizing bodies to 
follow the relevant principles of the Code of Good Practice;     
(iii) in accordance with the rules of proce dures of the Committee and on an ad 
hoc basis as agreed, relevant intern ational standardizing bodies will be 
invited to meetings of the Committee to enable them to take into account the 
on-going discussions in the WTO, and to increase Members' awareness of the 
activities of these organizations.  Releva nt international standardizing bodies 
will be invited to provide prior information concerning their activities. 
Action on Information Exchange  
(a) An Information Session of Bodies Involved in the Preparation of International 
Standards was held on 19 November 1998.26 
 
                                                      
24 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 13. 
25 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 22 (b)-(d). 
26 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, Annex 1. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  C. R
EGIONAL STANDARDS -RELATED ACTIVITIES  
Decision  
(a) In 2000, the Committee noted that the Agreement contains a number of provisions on 
regional standardizing bodies and systems fo r conformity assessment.  In order to 
keep abreast of the activities of such bodi es and systems, the Committee decided as 
follows: 27 
(i) representatives of regional standardizing bodies and systems for conformity 
assessment may be invited to address the Committee on their procedures and 
how they relate to those embodied in th e Agreement, on the basis of agreed 
lists of questions. 
Recommendation28 
(a) In 2006, with regard to the acceptance of the Code of Good Practice by regional 
standardizing bodies, the Committee agreed: 29 
(i) to encourage regional standardizi ng bodies to accept the Code of Good 
Practice and to notify their acceptance of the Code to the ISO/IEC 
Information Centre. 
                                                      
27 G/TBT/M/3, 5 January 1996, para. 15; G/TBT/W/14, 29 September 1995, p. 4; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 23.   
28 This recommendation is also reproduced under the Section on Transparency under IV.B.2(i), on 
p. 21. 
29 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, paras. 66-67 and 68(g)(i).  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
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  IV. TRANSPARENCY 
A. STATEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE TBT  AGREEMENT 
(ARTICLE 15.2)   
4. Pursuant to Article 15.2, Members have an obl igation to submit a statement on the measures 
in existence or taken to ensure the implementati on and administration of the Agreement, including the 
provisions on transparency. Such statements, to be made by a Member promptly after the date on 
which the WTO Agreement enters into  force for it, give a brief overview of how individual Members 
implement the TBT Agreement.  Since the es tablishment of the Committee, Members have 
emphasized the importance of fulfilling their obligations under Article 15.2.30   
Decisions  
(a) In 1995, the Committee agreed on the followi ng concerning the contents of Article 
15.2 statements:31 
(i) the statement should cover the legislative, regulatory and administrative 
action taken as a result of the negotiation of the Agreement or currently in existence to ensure that the provisions of the Agreement are applied.  If the 
Agreement itself has been incorporated  into domestic law, the statement 
should indicate how this has been done.  In other cases, the statement should describe the content of the relevant la ws, regulations, administrative orders, 
etc.  All necessary references should also be provided. 
(ii) In addition, the statement should specify: 
- the names of the publications used to  announce that work is proceeding on 
draft technical regulations or standa rds and procedures for assessment of 
conformity and those in which the texts of technical regulations and standards 
or procedures for assessment of conf ormity are published under Articles 
2.9.1, 2.11;  3.1 (in relation to 2.9.1 and 2.11);  5.6.1, 5.8;  7.1, 8.1 and 9.2 (in 
relation to 5.6.1 and 5.8);  and paragraphs J, L and O of Annex 3 of the 
Agreement; 
- the expected length of time allowed for presentation of comments in writing 
on technical regulations, standards or procedures for assessment of 
conformity under Articles 2.9.4 and 2.10. 3;  3.1 (in relation to 2.9.4 and 
2.10.3);  5.6.4 and 5.7.3;  7.1, 8.1 and 9.2 (in relation to 5.6.4 and 5.7.3);  and 
paragraph L of Annex 3 of the Agreement; 
- the name and address of the enquiry point(s) foreseen in Articles 10.1 and 
10.3 of the Agreement with an indica tion as to whether it is/they are fully 
operational;  if for legal or administ rative reasons more than one enquiry 
point is established, complete and una mbiguous information on the scope of 
responsibilities of each of them;  
                                                     
 
30 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 7; G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 9;  G/TBT/13, 
11 November 2003, para. 7; G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 6. 
31 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5, G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 2, G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 10. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 14  
 
  - the name and address of any other agenci es that have specific functions under 
the Agreement, including those foreseen in Articles 10.10 and 10.11 of the Agreement; 
- measures and arrangements to ensure  that national and sub-national 
authorities preparing new technical regul ations or procedures for assessment 
of conformity, or substantial amendm ents to existing ones, provide early 
information on their proposals in order to enable the Member in question to 
fulfil its obligations on notifications under  Articles 2.9, 2.10, 3.2, 5.6, 5.7 and 
7.2 of the Agreement. 
Recommendations
 
(a) In 1997, in order to ensure the submissi on of statements under Article 15.2 and to 
improve the implementation and administ ration of the Agreement, the Committee 
agreed to the following:32 
(i) with due consideration to the obliga tions under Article 15.2 to inform the 
Committee of measures in existence or taken to ensure the implementation 
and administration of the Agreement, Members who have not submitted such 
information are expected to do so without further delay.  They are invited to indicate any difficulties and needs in this respect, so that technical assistance 
may be provided as appropriate; 
(ii) for the purpose of information exchange , Members are invited, on a voluntary 
basis, to make oral presentations to further elaborate on the arrangements 
they have in place to achieve an effective implementation and administration 
of the provisions of the Agreement, including those under Article 12.  This exercise would be a useful means of sharing information with respect to good 
practices and in meeting the needs of those Members that may be seeking assistance. 
(b) In 2000, the Committee agreed that:
 33 
(i) Members should be encouraged to continue sharing their experiences on the 
arrangements they had in place to achieve an effective implementation and administration of the provisions of the Agreement.   
(c) In 2003, in order to assist Members in meeting their obligations under Articles 15.2 
and 10.1, the Committee:
34 
(i) invited Members to seek assistance from other Members that had met their 
15.2 obligations to share their knowledge and experience in this regard. 
Documents  
(a) Members' Statements on Implementation a nd Administration of the Agreement are 
contained in the G/TBT/2/Add - series. 
                                                      
32 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 7. 
33 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 9. 
34 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 7.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 15 
 
 
  (b) A list of Members having submitted their 15. 2 Statements is maintained in the 
G/TBT/GEN/1/ - series. 
Action on Information Exchange  
(a) On 8 November 2007, the WTO Secretariat organized a Workshop on the Statement 
on Implementation and Administration of  the TBT Agreement under Article 15.2.35 
B. NOTIFICATIONS  
1. Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures 
5. Articles 2, 3, 5, and 7 of the TBT Agreement contain the notification obligations related to 
technical regulations and conformity assessment pro cedures.  In addition, the TBT Committee has put 
in place detailed procedures for notification (set out below) which have been refined over the years.  
The importance of fulfilling notification provision s has been reiterated regularly by the TBT 
Committee, as notifications can make an impor tant contribution towards avoiding unnecessary 
obstacles to trade and provide Members with the opportunity to influence the development of technical requirements of other Members.   
Documents
 
(a) Notifications under Article 2, 3, 5, and 7 are circulated in the document series 
G/TBT/N/[Member]/[Number]. 
(i) "Significant effect on trade of other Members"  
Recommendations  
(a) In 1995, the Committee established the follo wing criteria with a view to ensuring a 
consistent approach to the selection of pr oposed technical regulations and procedures 
for assessment of conformity to be notified.36  
(i) For the purposes of Articles 2.9 and 5.6, the concept of "significant effect on 
trade of other Members" may refer to the effect on trade:  
- Of one technical regulation or proce dure for assessment of conformity only, 
or of various technical regulations or procedures for assessment of 
conformity in combination; 
- in a specific product, group of pro ducts or products in general;  and 
- between two or more Members. 
(ii) When assessing the significance of the effect on trade of technical 
regulations, the Member concerned s hould take into consideration such 
elements as: 
- the value or other importance of imports in respect of the importing and/or 
exporting Members concerned, whether from other Members individually or collectively,  
                                                     
 
35 G/TBT/M/43, 21 January 2008, para. 4. 
36 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 8; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 15. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 16  
 
  - the potential growth of such imports, and 
- difficulties for producers in other Members to comply with the proposed 
technical regulations.   
(iii) The concept of a significant effect on trade of other Members should include 
both import-enhancing and import-reduc ing effects on the trade of other 
Members, as long as such effects are significant. 
(ii) Timing of Notifications 
Recommendation
 
(a) When implementing the provisions of Articles 2.9.2, 3.2 (in relation to Article 2.9.2), 
5.6.2 and 7.2 (in relation to Article 5.6.2), a notification should be made when a draft 
with the complete text of a proposed technical regulation or procedures for 
assessment of conformity is available and when amendments can still be introduced 
and taken into account. 37 
(iii) Submission of Notification (Format and Guidelines) 
Decisions  
(a) The agreed version of the Guidelines and Fo rmat is contained in Annex C (on page 
40 of this document).38  
(b) In 2000, the Committee noted that enhancem ent of Internet usage can facilitate access 
to and exchange of information by Members.   This would also facilitate and provide 
the maximum time possible for receiving notifications, obtaining and translating of relevant documents, and the presentation of comments.  With a view to facilitating 
access to information by Members, as well as to strengthen the notification process, 
including the time needed for the publication and circulation of notification by the Secretariat, the Committee agreed on the following action:
39 
(i) Whenever possible Members should file notifications by downloading, filling 
out and returning the complete form by e-mail to the Secretariat.  The 
Committee will continue to explore ways to shorten the time for the 
submission, publication and circulation of notifications, as well as to examine the steps that would be needed to fa cilitate the electronic transmission of 
information among Members to comple ment the hard copy information 
exchange. 
Recommendations
 
(a) Information contained in the notification form should be as complete as possible and 
no section should be left blank.  Where necessary, "not known" or "not stated" should be indicated.
40   
                                                      
37 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 8; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 15. 
38 G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 11 
39 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, paras. 13, 15 and Annex 3; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 18. 
40 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 3; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 11.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 17 
 
 
  (b) Members are requested to transmit their notifications to the Secretariat electronically 
via the Central Registry of Notifications (CRN) at crn@wto.org in order to accelerate their processing.
41 
(c) In 2003, the Committee agreed, with rega rd to the electronic transmission of 
information on proposed standards, techni cal regulations and conformity assessment 
procedures: 42  
(i) to examine the feasibility of creating a central depository for notifications on 
the WTO website, which would enable Members to complete notification forms on line.  This would compleme nt, not replace, the submission of 
notifications to the CRN. 
(iv) Labelling requirements 
Decision
 
(a) In 1995, the Committee took the following d ecision with the purpose of clarifying the 
coverage of the Agreement with respect to labelling requirements:43 
(i) In conformity with Article 2.9 of the Agreement, Members are obliged to 
notify all mandatory labelling requireme nts that are not based substantially 
on a relevant international standard a nd that may have a significant effect on 
the trade of other Members.  That obligation is not dependent upon the kind of information which is provided on the la bel, whether it is in the nature of a 
technical specification or not. 
Event
 
(a) On 21-22 October 2003, with the objectiv e of improving Members' understanding of 
the preparation, adoption and application of  labelling requirements in the context of 
the implementation of the Agreement, as well as of the impact of such requirements on market access, the Committee held a Le arning Event on Labelling, which focussed 
on developing country Members' concerns.
44 
(v) Notifications of Proposed Technical Regulations  and Conformity Assessment Procedures of 
Local Governments at the Level Directly Below that of the Central Government 
Recommendation  
(a) In 2006, with regard to the notification of proposed technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures of local governments at the level directly below 
that of the central govern ment, the Committee agreed:45 
                                                      
41 G/TBT/M/15, paras. 43 and 45; G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, paras. 13, 15 and Annex 3; 
G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 26;  G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 11.  
42 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 27. 
43 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 11; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 18. 
44 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 3. 
45 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, paras. 52 and 68(b)(i). G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 18  
 
  (i) to invite Members to indicate th e local government bodies in their 
jurisdiction that are subject to the notification obligations contained in Articles 3.2 and 7.2. 
(vi) Monthly Listing of Notifications Issued by the WTO Secretariat  
Decision
 
(a) In 2000, the Committee agreed on the following with a view to providing a brief 
indication of the notifications issued:46 
(i) The Secretariat is requested to prepare a monthly table of notifications issued, 
indicating the notification numbers, notifying Members, Articles notified under, products covered, objectives and final dates for comments.
  
Document  
(a) Monthly lists of notifications are contained in the document G/TBT/GEN/N/- series. 
(vii) Length of time allowed for comments  
Recommendations  
(a) The Committee set the following time limits  for presentation of comments on notified 
technical regulations and procedures for assessment of conformity: 
(i) The normal time limit for comments on notifications should be 60 days.  Any 
Member which is able to provide a time limit beyond 60 days, such as 90 days, is encouraged to do so and should indicate this in the notification.
 47   
(ii) The Committee agreed to recognize that, to improve the ability of developing 
country Members to comment on notifi cations, and consistent with the 
principle of special and differential treatment, developed country Members 
are encouraged to provide more than a 60-day comment period. 48 
(viii) Handling of comments 
Recommendations  
(a) In 1995, in order to improve the handling of comments on proposed technical 
regulations and procedures for assessmen t of conformity submitted under Articles 
2.9.4, 2.10.3, 3.1 (in relation to 2.9.4 and 2.10.3), 5.6.4, 5.7.3 and 7.1 (in relation to 
5.6.4 and 5.7.3) of the Agreement,  the Committee agreed on the following 
procedures. 49 
                                                      
46 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 13 and Annex 3, p. 22;  G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, 
pp. 17-18. 
47 G/TBT/9, para. 13 and Annex 3, p. 22; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 17. 
48 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 26. 
49 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 10; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 17.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 19 
 
 
  (i) Each Member should notify the WTO Secretariat of the authority or agency 
(e.g. its enquiry point) which it has designa ted to be in charge of handling of 
comments received; and 
(ii) A Member receiving comments through the designated body should without 
further request: 
- acknowledge the receipt of such comments; 
- explain within a reasonable time to any Member from which it has received 
comments, how it will proceed in order to take these comments into account and, where appropriate, provide addi tional relevant information on the 
proposed technical regulations or pr ocedures for assessment of conformity 
concerned; and 
- provide to any Member from which it has received comments, a copy of the 
corresponding technical regulations or procedures for assessment of conformity as adopted or informa tion that no corresponding technical 
regulations or procedures for assessment  of conformity will be adopted for 
the time being. 
(b) In 2003, the Committee agreed to: 
50 
(i) invite Members to formulate their requests to enquiry points, on comment 
periods or on any other matter,  in one of the three official languages of the WTO; 
(ii) encourage Members to voluntarily respond to comments in writing if so 
requested, and to share their responses with the TBT Committee.  Members 
are also encouraged to draft their re sponses in one of the three official 
languages of the WTO; 
(iii) invite Members, on a voluntary basis, to disseminate their comments and 
responses by means of national websites and to draw the Committee's 
attention to these. 
(c) In 2006, with a view to facilitating the implementation of transparency procedures 
under the Agreement, the Committee agreed:
51 
(i) to encourage Members to provide sufficient time between the end of the 
comment period and the adoption of th e notified technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures for the consideration of comments made 
and the preparation of subsequent responses;  
(ii) to encourage Members to exchange comments and to provide information on 
websites on which comments received from Members and replies thereto are posted, taking into account the fact that some bilateral communications 
between Members could be of a confidential nature; and 
(iii) to request the Secretariat to prepare a list of these websites, based on the 
information provided by Members. 
                                                     
 
50 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 26. 
51 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, paras. 58 and 68(d)(i)-(iii). G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 20  
 
  (ix) Timing of Entry into Force of Technical Regulations and Understanding of "Reasonable 
Interval" under Article 2.12 
6. In the 2001 Ministerial Decision on Implementa tion-related Issues and Concerns, Ministers 
stated that "Subject to the conditions specified in  paragraph 12 of Article 2 of the Agreement on 
Technical Barriers to Trade, the phrase 'reasonable interval' shall be understood to mean normally a 
period of not less than 6 months, except when this  would be ineffective in fulfilling the legitimate 
objectives pursued."
52  
Decision  
(a) The Committee took note of the above-mentioned Ministerial Decision regarding the 
implementation of Article 2.12 of the Agreement and decided as follows:53 
(i) Subject to the conditions specified in paragraph 12 of Article 2 of the 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Tr ade, the phrase "reasonable interval" 
shall be understood to mean normally a period of not less than 6 months, except when this would be ineffective in fulfilling the legitimate objectives 
pursued. 
Recommendation
 
(a) In 2006, with a view to facilitating the implementation of transparency procedures 
under the Agreement the Committee agreed:54 
(i) to encourage Members to provide an interval of more than six months, when 
possible, between the publication of tec hnical regulations and their entry into 
force. 
(x) Follow-up 
Recommendations  
(a) In 2003, in order to facilitate the follow- up on Members’ technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures brought to the attention of the Committee, the Committee agrees to: 
55  
(i) have amendments to notifications carry  the same document symbol as that of 
the original notification to allo w them to be adequately traced; 
(ii) encourage Members to share, on a vol untary basis, with the Committee any 
follow-up information on issues that have  been previously brought to its 
attention. 
2. Standards 
7. Article 4 of the Agreement establishes a "C ode of Good Practice for the Preparation, 
Adoption and Application of Standard s" (the "Code").  The text of th e Code is contained in Annex 3 
of the TBT Agreement.  The Code provides that, inter alia , Members shall ensure that their central 
                                                      
52 WT/MIN(01)/17, 20 November 2001, para. 5.2. 
53 G/TBT/M/26, 6 May 2002, para. 15; WT/MIN(01)/17, 20 November 2001, para. 5.2;  
G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 30. 
54 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, paras. 61-63 and 68(e)(i). 
55 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 28.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 21 
 
 
  government standardizing bodies accept and comply with the Code, and to take such reasonable 
measures as may be available to them to ensu re that local government and non-governmental 
standardizing bodies within their territories, as well as regional standardizing bodies of which they or 
one or more bodies within their territories are member s, accept and comply with the Code.  The Code 
is open for acceptance to any such bodies (Paragraph B).  Standardizing bodies that have accepted or 
withdrawn from the Code shall to notify this fact (Paragraph C), as well as the existence of a work 
programme (Paragraph J).   
(i) Notification of the Acceptance of, or Wit hdrawal from, the C ode of Good Practice 
(Paragraph C) 
Recommendations  
(a) In 1997, the Committee agreed, in order to  improve the transparency, acceptance of, 
and compliance with the Code:56 
(i) to invite Members to share their experi ence with respect to the steps taken to 
fulfil their obligations under Article 4 and to exchange information on the 
reasons why certain standardizing bodies as identified in Article 4.1 have not 
yet accepted the Code;     
(ii) that Members should take appropriate action to inform standardizing bodies 
of the provisions of the Code and the benefits they would gain from accepting 
it;  
(iii) that the Secretariat will draw up a list of standardizing bodies on the basis of 
information provided by Members for this purpose. 
(b) In 2006, with a view to facilitating the implementation of transparency procedures 
under the Agreement, and with regard to th e acceptance of the Code of Good Practice 
by regional standardizing bodies, the Committee agreed: 57 
(i) to encourage regional standardizi ng bodies to accept the Code of Good 
Practice and to notify their acceptance of the Code to the ISO/IEC 
Information Centre. 
Document  
(a) Notifications under the Code are circulated by the WTO Secretariat in the document 
series G/TBT/CS/N/[Number].58 
                                                      
56 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, sub-paras. 12(a), (b) and (d).   
57 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, paras. 66-67 and 68(g)(i).  This recommendation is also reproduced 
in Section III.C on p. 12. 
58 Pursuant to the Ministerial Decision taken in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994 on "Proposed 
Understanding on WTO-ISO Standards Information System", a "Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 
WTO Standards Informa tion Service Operated by ISO" was reached between the Secretary-General of the ISO 
Central Secretariat and the Director -General of the WTO.  This MoU established a WTO-ISO Information 
System regarding standardizing bodies under Paragraphs C and J of the Code of Good Practice.   Pursuant to 
Paragraph 2 of the MoU and in order to ensure a uniform and efficient operation of the procedures for notifications, the ISO and the WTO Secretariats devel oped notification formats and related guidelines, which 
were to be used by standardizing bodies accepting the Code of Good Practice (contained in G/TBT/W/4).   G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 22  
 
  (ii) Notification of the Existence of a Work Programme (Paragraph J) 
Decision
 
(a) In 1999, the Committee agreed: 59  
(i) that the communication of the work programmes of standardizing bodies via 
the Internet would be another possibility to fulfil paragraph J obligations on 
transparency.  Hard copies of such work programmes would, nevertheless, 
always be made available on request in  accordance with paragraph P of the 
Code of Code of Good Practice.  
Recommendations  
(a) In 1997, the Committee agreed, in order to  improve the transparency, acceptance of, 
and compliance with the Code:60 
(i) to examine any problems faced by Members in the implementation of the 
provisions of the Code, for example, problems encountered in publishing work programs every six months as required under paragraph J, so that appropriate technical assistance can be provided, if necessary;
  
(b) In 2006, with a view to facilitating the implementation of transparency procedures 
under the Agreement, the Committee agreed: 61 
(i) to invite the ISO/IEC Information Ce ntre to provide information to the 
Committee on the status of notifications of the existence of a work programme made under Paragraph J wh en the WTO TBT Standards Code 
Directory is published. 
(ii) to encourage standardizing bodies that communicate their work programmes 
via the internet to specify  the exact web pages where the information on work 
programmes is located under the item "Publication" of the notification form. 
(iii) Publishing of a Notice (Paragraph L) 
Recommendations
 
(a) In 1997, the Committee agreed, in order to  improve the transparency, acceptance of, 
and compliance with the Code that:62 
(i) without prejudice to the views of Members concerning the coverage and 
application of the Agreement, the ob ligation to publish notices of draft 
standards containing voluntary labellin g requirements under paragraph L of 
the Code is not dependent upon the kind of information provided on the label. 
(b) In 2003, with regard to the electronic transmission of information on proposed 
standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, the Committee took note of Paragraph L of the C ode of Good Practice which states that:  
                                                     
 
59 G/TBT/M/15, 3 May 1999, paras. 67 and 69; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 25.   
60 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 12(c).   
61 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, paras. 64-65 and 68(f)(i)-(ii).   
62 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 12(e).    G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 23 
 
 
  "No later than at the start of the comment period, the standardizing body shall publish 
a notice announcing the period for commenting in the publication referred to in paragraph J," and agreed:
63   
(i) that the electronic publication of notices announcing the periods for 
comments can constitute another possi bility for the fulfilment of this 
transparency obligation. 
3. Notification under Article 10.7 of the TBT Agreement 
8. The TBT Agreement contains an obligation to  notify agreements between Members on issues 
related to technical regulations, standards or conformity assessment pro cedures which may have a 
significant effect on trade (Article 10.7).  
Decision  
(a) In 1996, the Committee agreed to adopt th e format for notifications under Article 
10.7 of the Agreement contained in Annex D (on page 44 of this document).64 
Document  
(a) Notifications under Article 10.7 are circulated under document symbol 
G/TBT/10.7/N/[Number]. 
C. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION  
1. Publication 
9. Members are required to publish a notice of a proposed technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure if it may have a significant effect on trade of other Members, and whenever a relevant international standard (or, in the case of a conformity assessment procedure, a relevant guide 
or recommendation issued by an international st andardizing body) does not exist or the proposed 
measure is not in accordance with the technical conten t of relevant international standards (or, in the 
case of a conformity assessment procedure, relevant guides or recommendations issued by international standardizing bodies) (Articles 2.9.1 and 5.6.1).   
Recommendation
 
(a) In 2006, with regard to the publication of a notice of proposed technical regulations 
and conformity assessment procedures (pursu ant to Articles 2.9.1 and 5.6.1) the 
Committee agreed:65  
(i) to examine ways in which the publications for such notices – and their 
content – are made available, so as to en able all interested parties to become 
acquainted with them. 
                                                      
63 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 27. 
64 G/TBT/M/5, 19 September 1996, para. 15; G/TBT/W/25, 3 May 1996; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 24. 
65 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, paras. 51 and 68(a)(i). G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 24  
 
  Document
 
(a) Information on official publications relate d to technical regulations, standards and 
conformity assessment in the form of a list, including website references, is contained in the document G/TBT/GEN/39/-series. 
2. Texts of Notified Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures 
Decision
 
(a) In 2008, with the purpose of facilitating acces s to notified draft texts, the Committee 
decided:66 
(i) to establish a facility whereby Members may, on a voluntary basis, provide 
the WTO Secretariat with an electronic version of the notified draft text 
(attachment) together with the notification format.  (Texts will be stored on a 
WTO server and accessed through a hyperlink in the notification format.) 
Recommendations  
(a) In 2006, with a view to facilitating the implementation of transparency procedures 
under the Agreement, and with regard to te xts of notified technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures, the Committee agreed: 67 
(i) to encourage Members to provide:   
- more detailed information on proposed technical regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures in Section 6 "Description of content" of the notification form; 
- the website address where Members can download the full text of the notified 
measure in Section 11 "Text available fr om" of the notification form or any 
other means to quickly and easily access the text; 
- to explore ways to attach to the notification form a copy of the text of the 
notified measure;  
(ii) to encourage Members to notify the availability of the adopted final text as an 
addendum to the original notification and to provide information on where 
the final text can be obtained, including website address. 
3. Provision of Translations 
Decisions
 
(a) In 1995, in order to avoid difficulties that can arise from the fact that the 
documentation relevant to technical re gulations, standards and procedures for 
assessment of conformity is not available in one of the WTO working languages and 
                                                      
66 G/TBT/M/43, 21 January 2008, para. 129.  Guidelin es for the use of this facility are contained in 
document G/TBT/GEN/65, 14 December 2007. 
67 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, sub-paras. 68(c)(i)-(iii).    G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 25 
 
 
  that a body other than the enquiry point may be responsible for such documentation, 
the Committee agreed on the following procedures:68 
(i) when a translation of a relevant document exists or is planned, this fact shall 
be indicated on the WTO TBT notification form next to the title of the document.  If only a translated summary exists, the fact that such a summary 
is available shall be similarly indicated;  
(ii) upon receipt of a request for documents, any translated summaries that exist 
in the language of the requester or, as the case may be, in a WTO working 
language, shall be automatically sent w ith the original of the documents 
requested; 
(iii) Members shall indicate under point 11 of the WTO TBT notification form the 
exact address, where available, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the body responsible for supplying the re levant documents if that body is not 
the enquiry point. 
(b) In 2008, with a view to enhancing the shari ng of translation of documents referred to 
in notifications and facilitating information-sharing by Members on the availability of 
unofficial translations on the Internet, the TBT Committee agreed:
 69 
(i) to set up a mechanism whereby Members ar e invited, on a voluntary basis, to 
provide information about the availab ility of unofficial translations of 
notified measures;  
(ii) that this will be done through the circulation by the Secretariat of a 
supplement to the original notification submitted by a Member;   
(iii) that such information should be provided to the Central Registry for 
Notifications (crn@wto.org) in the fo rmat contained in Annex E (in this 
document on page 45). 
Recommendations  
(a) In 1995, in order to avoid difficulties that can arise from the fact that the 
documentation relevant to technical re gulations, standards and procedures for 
assessment of conformity is not available in one of the WTO working languages and 
that a body other than the enquiry point may be responsible for such documentation, the Committee agreed on the following procedures.
70 
(i) When a Member seeks a copy of a document relating to a notification which 
does not exist in that Member's WT O working language, it will be advised, 
on request, by the notifying Member of other Members that have requested, as of that date, a copy of the document.  The Member seeking a copy of a document relating to a notification may then contact such other Members in order to determine whether the latter ar e prepared to share, on mutually 
                                                     
 
68 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, pp. 8-9; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 15-16. 
69 G/TBT/M/43, 21 January 2008, para. 131.  Guidelines for the use of the facility are contained 
document G/TBT/GEN/66, 14 December 2007.   
70 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, pp. 7-8; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, pp. 15-16. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 26  
 
  agreed terms, any translation that they  have or will be making into relevant 
WTO working language(s).  
(b) In 2003, in the context of the hand ling of comments the Committee agreed:
 71 
(i) to encourage Members under Article 10.5, to provide translations of the 
documents covered by specific notifications, in any WTO official language of 
their choosing without being requested to do so. 
(c) In 2006, with a view to facilitating the implementation of transparency procedures 
under the Agreement, and with regard to te xts of notified technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures, the Committee agreed: 72 
(i) to explore ways to enhance the sharing of translation of documents referred 
to in notifications, such as posting on Members' websites or developing a 
format to inform other Members of the existence of translations of notified measures. 
 
D. E
NQUIRY POINTS  
1. Establishment of Enquiry Points 
10. Under the TBT Agreement, two provisions ma ndate Members to create enquiry points.  
Article 10.1 concerns enquiries regarding, inter alia , technical regulations, conformity assessment 
procedures and standards issued by central or local government bodies, non-governmental bodies 
which have the legal power to enforce a technical regulation, or regional standardization bodies of 
which such bodies are members or participants.  Article 10.3 relates, inter alia , to enquiries on 
standards and conformity assessment procedur es issued by non-governmental bodies and regional 
bodies of which they are members or participants. 
Recommendation  
(a) In 1999, the Committee agreed that e-mail addresses of enquiry points should be 
provided, where available, in order to be included in document G/TBT/ENQ/- 
series.73 
Documents  
(a) A list of national enquiry points is contained in the document G/TBT/ENQ/ - series. 
2. Functioning of Enquiry Points 
(i) Handling and Processing of Requests 
Recommendations  
(a) In 1995, with the purpose to improve the handling of requests from other Members 
received under Article 10.1 and 10.3, it was agree that: 74 
                                                      
71 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, para. 26 (fifth tiret). 
72 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, sub-para. 68(c)(iv).   
73 G/TBT/M/15, 3 May 1999, paras. 41 and 45 and Annex 1; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 21.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 27 
 
 
  (i) an enquiry point should, without furt her request, acknowledge the receipt of 
the enquiry. 
(b) In 1995, when addressing problems of supplying and obtaining requested 
documentation on notified technical regulations and procedures for assessment of conformity, the Committee agreed that: 
75 
(i) requests for documentation should cont ain all the elements permitting the 
identification of the documents and in particular, the WTO TBT notification number symbol to which the requests re fer.  The same information should 
appear on the documents supplied in response to such requests; 
(ii) any request for documentation should be processed if possible within five 
working days.  If a delay in supplying the documentation requested is 
foreseen, this should be acknowledged to the requester, along with an 
estimate of when the documents can be provided;  
(iii) E-mail requests for documentation s hould include name, organization, 
address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address in the request; 
(iv) electronic delivery of documentation is encouraged and requests should 
indicate whether an electronic version or hard copy is desired. 
(ii) Enquiries which the Enquiry Points should be prepared to Answer 
Recommendations
 
(a) In 1995, with a view to encouraging a uniform application of Articles 10.1 and 10.3 
of the Agreement the Committee agreed that:76 
(i) an enquiry should be considered "reasonable" when it is limited to a specific 
product, or group of products, but not wh en it goes beyond that and refers to 
an entire business branch or field of re gulations, or procedures for assessment 
of conformity;  
(ii) when an enquiry refers to a composite pr oduct, it is desirable that the parts or 
components, for which information is sought, are defined to the extent 
possible.  When a request is made concerning the use of a product it is desirable that the use is related to a specific field;  
(iii) the Enquiry Point(s) of a Member should be prepared to answer enquiries 
regarding the membership and participa tion of that Member, or of relevant 
bodies within its territory, in internati onal and regional standardizing bodies 
and conformity assessment systems as well as in bilateral arrangements, with 
respect to a specific product or group of products.  They should likewise be prepared to provide reasonable information on the provisions of such systems and arrangement. 
                                                                                                                                                                    
 
74 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 14; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 21.   
75 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 9; G/TBT/M/15, 
3 May 1999, para. 45 and Annex 1; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 16. 
76 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 14; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 21.   G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 28  
 
  3. Booklets on Enquiry Points 
Recommendation
 
(a) In 1995, in order to improve publicity concerning the role of enquiry points in 
answering queries from Members as provided in Articles 10.1 and 10.3 of the Agreement the Committee agreed that:
 77 
(i) The issuing of brochures on enquiry points would be of value. 
(ii) All booklets issued by Members should contain the elements and, as far as 
possible, follow the layout set out in Annex F (on page 46 of this document). 
 
E. SPECIAL MEETINGS ON PROCEDURES FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE  
Decision  
(a) In 1995, in order to give Members the opportunity to discuss the activities and 
problems relating to information exchange  and to review periodically how well 
notification procedures work, the Committee agreed that: 78 
(i) Regular meetings of persons responsible  for information exchange, including 
persons responsible for enquiry points  and notifications, will be held on a 
biennial basis.  Representatives of in terested observers will be invited to 
participate in such meetings.  The me etings will deal only with technical 
issues, leaving any policy matters for c onsideration by the Committee itself.  
Special Meetings  
(a) A Special Joint Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange of the Committees 
on Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary  and Phytosanitary Measures was held on 
6-7 November 1995.79 
(b) A Workshop and the Second Special Meeting on Procedures for Information 
Exchange was held on 14 September 1998.80 
(c) The Third Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange was held on 
28 June 2001.81 
(d) The Fourth Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchanges was held on 
2-3 November 2004.82 
(e) The Fifth Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange was held on 
7-8 November 2007.83 
                                                      
77 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, pp. 12-13; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, pp. 19-21. 
78 G/TBT/M/2, 4 October 1995, para. 5; G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1, 21 June 1995, p. 12; G/TBT/9, 
13 November 2000, para. 13 and Annex 3; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002, p. 19. 
79 The Chairman's Report is contained in document G/TBT/W/16, dated 22 November 1995. 
80 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, Annex 1. 
81 The Chairman's Report is contained in Annex 1 of G/TBT/M/24, dated 14 August 2001. 
82 A Summary Report of the meeting is contained in Annex 2 of G/TBT/M/34, dated 5 January 2005.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 29 
 
 
  V. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
11. Provisions on technical assistance are contained in Article 11 of the TBT Agreement. 
Technical assistance has been c onsidered an area of priority work for the Committee since its 
establishment; it figures on the agenda of the Co mmittee on a permanent basis.  Members have 
regularly, on a voluntary basis, exchanged expe riences and information on technical assistance in 
order to enhance the implementation of Article 11 of the TBT Agreement.   
A. GENERAL  
Decisions  
(a) In 1995, in considering the ways in which the provisions of Article 11 could be given 
operational significance, the Committee agreed that:84 
(i) technical assistance would remain as an item of the agenda of the Committee 
on a permanent basis and would be in cluded on the agenda of a regular 
meeting of the Committee when so re quested by a Member in accordance 
with the agreed procedures. 
(b) In 2005, with a view to increasing transparen cy in the identification and prioritization 
of technical assistance needs, the Committee: 85 
(i) adopted, for use on a trial basis for two years, a Format for the Voluntary 
Notification of Specific Technical Assistance Needs and Responses;  
(ii) the Format is contained in Annex G (on page 48 of this document).   
Recommendations  
(a) In 2000, in considering technical assist ance, the Committee agreed to develop a 
demand driven technical cooperation progra mme related to the Agreement, taking 
into account existing and proposed techni cal assistance activities, as well as seeking 
ways to achieve more effective cooperati on and coordination among donors to better 
target the needs identified by developing  country Members.  The Committee agreed 
that the programme would need to evolve  on the basis of the following elements: 86   
(i) design of a survey with the assistance of  relevant international, regional and 
bilateral organisations to assist devel oping countries in needs identification;  
(ii) identification and prioritization by de veloping and least developed country 
Members of their specific needs in the TBT field;  
(iii) consideration of existing technical a ssistance activities by multilateral, 
regional and bilateral organizations with a view to the effective and efficient 
development of technical assistance programmes;  
                                                                                                                                                                     
83 A Summary Report as well as the Chairman's Report is contained in Annex 1 and 2, respectively, of 
G/TBT/M/43, dated 21 January 2008. 
84 G/TBT/W/14, 29 September 1995, p. 3; G/TBT/M/3, 5 January 1996, paras. 14-15; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002 p. 22.   
85 G/TBT/16, 8 November 2005; G/ TBT/M/37, 22 December 2005, para . 82; G/TBT/19, 14 November 
2006, para. 71. 
86 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, paras. 45 and 46. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 30  
 
  (iv) enhancement of co-operation between donors;  
(v) reassessment of needs in light of agreed  priorities, identification of technical 
assistance partners and financial considerations.  
The Committee also agreed that the prog ress made in implementing the programme 
should be assessed by the Committee in the c ontext of the Third Triennial Review 
and the Committee should also reflect its  work on the programme in its Annual 
Report to the General Council.
87 
(b) In 2003, in light of the work programme88 on TBT-related technical assistance and in 
order to assist Members in implementi ng and operationalizing Article 11, the 
Committee agreed as follows:89  
(i) The Committee notes the importance of tr ansparency in the provision of 
technical assistance and the need for coordination at the national, regional and international levels.  Recognizi ng that improvements are needed to 
facilitate the meeting of demand and supply of technical assistance, and with a view to building on the informati on received, the Committee agrees:   
- To consider the creation of an inform ation coordination mechanism including 
through the possible development of voluntary notification procedures for donors, and recipient Members to communicate information on current and future activities.  To this end, and considering proposals made by Members, the Chair is requested to hold consu ltations with interested Members to:  
   1. Examine what extent an Internet facility could serve this purpose;   
   2. examine what an appropriate management approach might be;  and  
   3. report to the Committee by mid-2004;    
- that the survey questionnaire could be a dynamic tool to maintain information 
on developing country Members' needs and encourages Members, on a 
voluntary basis, to update responses to the survey questionnaire;  and   
- to invite Members to communicate to  the Committee pertinent information 
regarding technical assistance activities of  relevant regional and international 
bodies. 
(ii) With regard to technical assistance provided by the Secretariat, the 
Committee agrees to:
   
- Explore how the results of the Committee's discussions (e.g., on needs 
identified, lessons learned, gaps in technical assistance activities) could be 
reflected in the WTO's Technical Assistance and Training Plan;  and  
- request the Secretariat, as part of the Committee's standing agenda item on 
technical assistance, to regularly deliver information on its recently 
                                                      
87 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 46. 
88 In respect of the "work programme", it is noted th at in 2001, Ministers co nfirmed the approach to 
technical assistance being developed by the Committee on T echnical Barriers to Trade, reflecting the results of 
the Triennial Review work in this area, and ma ndated this work to continue (WT/MIN(01)/17, 
20 November 2001, para. 5.1). 
89 G/TBT/13, 11 November 2003, paras. 54-56.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 31 
 
 
  concluded programmes and future plan s on TBT-related technical assistance, 
and reflect this in the Committee's a nnual reviews.  This should include 
information on modality, content, par ticipation and any feedback from 
recipient Members. 
(iii) With regard to the appropriate role of  the Committee in relation to technical 
assistance, the Committee: 
- Agrees on the need for Members and the Secretariat to raise the profile of 
TBT issues at the internatio nal and national levels;   
- reaffirms the need for its future work  to contribute to enhanced cooperation 
and coordination between those involved in technical assistance; 
- reaffirms the need to continue f acilitating the exchange of national 
experiences;   
- should provide a forum for feedback and assessment of the outcomes and 
effectiveness of technical assistance;  and 
- considers, based on Members' experience of technical assistance received and 
provided, developing further elements of good practice in technical assistance 
in the TBT field. 
(c) In 2006, with a view to facilitating th e implementation of the TBT Agreement's 
provisions on technical assistance, the Committee agreed:90  
(i) to encourage Members to make use of the Format for the Voluntary 
Notification of Specific Technical Assistance Needs and Responses 
contained in G/TBT/16 (contained in Anne x G on page 48 of this document);    
(ii) to review, in 2007, the use of the Format for the Voluntary Notification of 
Specific Technical Assistance Needs and Responses, including the possible 
further development of the demand-driv en technical cooperation mechanism. 
B. INFORMATION EXCHANGE  
Decisions  
(a) In 1995, in considering the ways in which the provisions of Article 11 could be given 
operational significance, the Committee agreed to exchange information on technical 
assistance as follows:91 
(i) specific needs for technical assistance, as well as information that may be 
provided by potential donor Members on their technical assistance 
programmes, may be communicated to Members through the Secretariat.  
Members will take into account the pr ovisions of Article 11.8 of the TBT 
Agreement when considering requests fo r technical assistance from the least-
developed country Members.  In ag reement with requesting Members or 
potential donor Members, as the case may be, the information concerning 
specific needs and technical assistance programmes would be circulated by 
the Secretariat to all Members on an informal basis.  Whilst information 
                                                      
90 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, sub-paras. 78(a)-(b). 
91 G/TBT/W/14, 29 September 1995, p. 3; G/TBT/M/3, 5 January 1996, paras. 14-15; G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, p. 22.   G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 32  
 
  would be multilateralized in this manner,  technical assistance would continue 
to be provided on a bilateral basis.  The Secretariat would reflect the information circulated under this procedure in the documentation prepared for annual reviews of the implementati on and operation of the Agreement if 
the Members concerned so agree. 
Recommendations
 
(a) In 1997, in order to enhance the implementation of Article 11 the Committee 
agreed:92 
(i) to invite Members, on a voluntary basis,  to exchange information regarding 
the implementation of Article 11, including to communicate to the 
Committee annually any information c oncerning their national and regional 
technical assistance programmes; and 
(ii) to invite Members that require technical assistance to inform the Committee 
of any difficulties they encounter in the implementation and operation of the Agreement, and the kind of technical assistance they may need.  Other 
Members are invited to contribute to the technical assistance process by 
sharing their experience in the implementation and operation of the 
Agreement. 
(a) In 2000, the Committee invited Members on a voluntary basis to further communicate 
information on technical assistance programmes they proposed, provided or received.
93 
(b) In 2006, with a view to facilitating th e implementation of the TBT Agreement's 
provisions on technical assistance, the Committee agreed:  
(i) to exchange experiences in respect of the delivery and receipt of technical 
assistance with a view to identifying good practices in this regard94; and 
(ii) to invite observer international standa rdizing bodies and other international 
standardizing bodies to provide informati on on steps taken to ensure effective 
participation of developing country Members in their work.95 
Documents  
(a) Notifications of Specific Technical Assistance Needs and Responses are contained in 
the following document series:  G/TBT/TA-[number]/[Member]. 
Action on Information Exchange  
(a) On 19-20 July 2000, the Committee held a Workshop on Technical Assistance and 
Differential Treatment in the context of the TBT Agreement.96 
(b) On 18 March 2003, with the objectives of further developing the technical 
cooperation programme and providing an  opportunity for further information 
                                                      
92 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 31. 
93 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, para. 45. 
94 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 78(c). 
95 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 77. 
96 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, Annex 1.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 33 
 
 
  exchange on technical assistance, on both the demand and supply sides, a special 
workshop on TBT-related technical assistance was held.97   
 
 
VI. SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT 
12. Article 12 of the TBT Agreement deals with Special and Differential Treatment of 
Developing Country Members.  Members have, on various occasions, exchanged information and 
views on the operation and implementation of this Ar ticle, including in the context of other items on 
the TBT Committee's agenda. 
A. GENERAL  
Recommendations  
(a) In 1997, with a view to operationalize and im plement the provisions of Article 12, the 
Committee agreed to the following: 98 
(i) the Committee will consider including the following matters in its future 
programme of work, which could be taken up during the next three years and 
reviewed during the Second Triennial Review of the Agreement: 
- The use of measures to engender capacity building in developing country 
Members, including the consideration of measures relevant to transfer of technology to these countries, for the pur pose of preparation and adoption of 
technical regulations, standards or c onformity assessment procedures, taking 
into account their special development, financial and trade needs;  
- the preparation of a study by the Secretariat to establish the state of 
knowledge concerning the technical barriers to the market access of developing country suppliers, especially small and medium sized enterprises 
(SMEs), as a result of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;   
- inviting representatives of relevant in ternational standardizing bodies and 
international systems for conformity assessment procedures to make written and oral presentations to the Committee with a view to assessing whether and how account is taken of the special problems of developing countries in such 
bodies and systems.  The Secretariat will circulate a compendium of the 
written contributions by the relevant organisations;  and  
- the encouragement of the organization of  international meetings relevant to 
the provisions of the Agreement in the territories of developing country Members to give greater representative pa rticipation by such Members to the 
deliberations and recommendations of su ch international meetings, and the 
electronic dissemination of information. 
                                                     
 
97 A Summary Report by the Chairperson is contained in Annex A of G/TBT/M/29, 19 May 2003. 
98 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 33. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 34  
 
  B. I
NFORMATION EXCHANGE  
Recommendations  
(a) In 1997, with a view to operationalize and im plement the provisions of Article 12, the 
Committee agreed to the following: 99 
(i) Members are invited, on a voluntary basis, to exchange information on the 
implementation of Article 12, including information related to Articles 12.2, 
12.3, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7 and 12.9.  Members are invited, on a voluntary basis, to exchange information on any specific problems they face in relation to the operation of Article 12;  and  
(b) In 2006, in order to have a more focuse d exchange of information, the Committee 
agreed: 
100 
(i) to encourage Members to inform the Committee of special and differential 
treatment provided to developing country Members, including information on how they have taken into account special and differential treatment 
provisions in the preparation of t echnical regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures; and 
(ii) to encourage developing country Members to undertake their own 
assessments of the utility and benefits  of such special and differential 
treatment. 
Action on Information Exchange
 
(a) On 19-20 July 2000, the Committee held a Workshop on Technical Assistance and 
Differential Treatment in the context of the TBT Agreement.101 
 
                                                      
99 G/TBT/5, 19 November 1997, para. 33. 
100 G/TBT/19, 14 November 2006, para. 82. 
101 G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, Annex 1.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 35 
 
 
  ANNEXES TO PART 1 
A. INDICATIVE LIST OF APPROACHES TO FACILITATE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RESULTS OF 
CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT  
1. Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) Fo r Conformity Assessment to Specific 
Regulations 
1. Governments may enter into agreements which will result in the acceptance of the results of 
conformity assessment originating in the territory of either party. 
2. Co-Operative (Voluntary) Arrangements Between Domestic And Foreign Conformity 
Assessment Bodies   
2. This includes arrangements among accreditati on bodies as well as arrangements between 
individual laboratories, between certification bodies, and between inspection bodies. Such 
arrangements have been common for many years and have been developed for the commercial 
advantage of the participants.  Some of these agre ements have been recognized by governments from 
time to time as the basis for acceptance of test r esults and certification activities in the mandatory 
sector.   
3. The Use Of Accreditation To Qualif y Conformity Assessment Bodies   
3. Accreditation bodies have been working towards harmonization of international practices for 
accreditation of conformity assessment bodies.  This has resulted in the development of global networks to facilitate recognition and acceptance of results of confor mity assessment. These networks 
take the form of multilateral recognition agr eements or arrangements (MLAs) whereby each 
participant undertakes to recognize the accreditation gr anted or certificates issued by any other party 
to the agreement or arrangement as  being equivalent to that granted by itself and to promote that 
equivalence throughout its territory of operation.  There are international standards and guides for 
such arrangements. 
4. Government Designation  
4. Governments may designate specific conformity  assessment bodies, including bodies located 
outside their territories, to undertake conformity assessment. 
5. Unilateral Recognition Of Results  Of Foreign Conformity Assessment 
5. A government may unilaterally recognize the results of foreign conformity assessment 
procedures.  In this it may be guided by Artic le 6.1 of the TBT Agreement.  The conformity 
assessment body may be accredited abroad under r ecognized regional or international accreditation 
systems.  In the absence of accr editation, the conformity assessment body may prove its competence 
by other means.  On the basis of equivalent co mpetence of the conformity assessment body, foreign 
test reports and certificates are recognized unilaterally.  
6. Manufacturer’s / Supplier’s Declarations (SDoC) 
6. Manufacturer's/supplier’s declaration of conform ity is a procedure by which a supplier (as 
defined in ISO/IEC Guide 22:1996, a supplier is the party that supplies the product, process or service 
and may be a manufacturer, distributor, importer, assembler, service organization, etc.) provides 
written assurance of conformity to the specified re quirements.  The declaration identifies the party 
responsible for making the declaration of c onformity and for the conformity of the G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 36  
 
  product/process/service itself.  Under this appro ach, the manufacturer/supplier, rather than the 
regulatory authority, takes on the responsibility fo r ensuring that products entering a market comply 
with the mandatory technical regulations.  Assessmen t may be undertaken either by the suppliers own 
internal test facility or by an independent test facility.  
7. This system is often predicated on: 
(a) adequate market surveillance; 
(b) substantial penalties for false or misleading declarations; 
(c) an appropriate regulatory environment; and 
(d) an appropriate product liability regime. 
  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 37 
 
 
  B. DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE ON PRINCIPLES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL 
STANDARDS , GUIDES AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RELATION TO ARTICLES 2, 5 AND 
ANNEX 3 OF THE AGREEMENT   
Decision  
 
1. The following principles and procedures should be  observed, when international standards, 
guides and recommendations (as mentioned under Ar ticles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement 
for the preparation of mandatory technical re gulations, conformity assessment procedures and 
voluntary standards) are elaborated, to ensure tr ansparency, openness, impartiality and consensus, 
effectiveness and relevance, c oherence, and to address the con cerns of developing countries. 
2. The same principles should also be observed when technical work or a part of the 
international standard developmen t is delegated under agreements or contracts by international 
standardizing bodies to other relevant or ganizations, including regional bodies. 
1. Transparency 
3. All essential information regarding current work programmes, as well as on proposals for 
standards, guides and recommendations under consider ation and on the final results should be made 
easily accessible to at least all interested parties in the territories of at least all WTO Members.  Procedures should be established so that adequa te time and opportunities are provided for written 
comments.  The information on these procedures should be effectively disseminated.  
4. In providing the essential information,  the tran sparency procedures should, at a minimum, 
include: 
(a) the publication of a notice at an early appropr iate stage, in such a manner as to enable 
interested parties to become acquainted with  it, that the international standardizing 
body proposes to develop a particular standard; 
(b) the notification or other communication th rough established mechanisms to members 
of the international standardizing body, pr oviding a brief description of the scope of 
the draft standard, including its objective a nd rationale.  Such communications shall 
take place at an early appropriate stage, wh en amendments can still be introduced and 
comments taken into account; 
(c) upon request, the prompt provision to members of the international standardizing 
body of the text of the draft standard;  
(d) the provision of an adequate period of time fo r interested parties in the territory of at 
least all members of the international st andardizing body to make comments in 
writing and take these written comments into  account in the further consideration of 
the standard;   
(e) the prompt publication of a standard upon adoption;  and 
(f) to publish periodically a work programme containing information on the standards 
currently being prepared and adopted.  
5. It is recognized that the publication and communication of notices, notifications, draft 
standards, comments, adopted standards or work programmes electronically, via the Internet, where 
feasible, can provide a useful means of ensuring the timely provision of information.  At the same G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 38  
 
  time, it is also recognized that the requisite tec hnical means may not be available in some cases, 
particularly with regard to developing countries.  Accordingly, it is important that procedures are in 
place to enable hard copies of such docum ents to be made available upon request.  
2. Openness 
6. Membership of an international standardizi ng body should be open on a non-discriminatory 
basis to relevant bodies of at least all WTO Members.  This would include openness without 
discrimination with respect to the participation at the policy development level and at every stage of 
standards development, such as the: 
(a) proposal and acceptance of new work items; 
(b) technical discussion on proposals; 
(c) submission of comments on drafts in order that they can be taken into account;  
(d) reviewing existing standards; 
(e) voting and adoption of standards;  and 
(f) dissemination of the adopted standards.   
7. Any interested member of the internationa l standardizing body, including especially 
developing country Members, with an interest in a specific standardization activity should be 
provided with meaningful opportunities to participate at all stages of standard development.  It is 
noted that with respect to standardizing bodies w ithin the territory of a WTO Member that have 
accepted the Code of Good Practice for the Prepara tion, Adoption and Application of Standards by 
Standardizing Bodies (Annex 3 of the TBT Agreemen t) participation in a particular international 
standardization activity takes place, wherever possible, through one delegation representing all 
standardizing bodies in the territory that have adopted , or expected to adopt, standards for the subject-
matter to which the international standardization activ ity relates.  This is illustrative of the importance 
of participation in the international standardiz ing process accommodating all relevant interests.  
3. Impartiality and Consensus 
8. All relevant bodies of WTO Members should be  provided with meaningful opportunities to 
contribute to the elaboration of an international sta ndard so that the standard development process will 
not give privilege to, or favour the interests of, a particular supplier/s, country/ies or region/s. 
Consensus procedures should be established that seek  to take into account the views of all parties 
concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments.  
9. Impartiality should be accorded throughout all the standards development process with 
respect to, among other things: 
(a) access to participation in work;   
(b) submission of comments on drafts;   
(c) consideration of views expressed and comments made;   
(d) decision-making through consensus;  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 39 
 
 
  (e) obtaining of information and documents;   
(f) dissemination of the international standard;  
(g) fees charged for documents;   
(h) right to transpose the international standard into a regional or national standard;  and  
(i) revision of the international standard. 
4. Effectiveness and Relevance 
10. In order to serve the interests of the WTO me mbership in facilitating international trade and 
preventing unnecessary trade barriers, international st andards need to be relevant and to effectively 
respond to regulatory and market needs, as well as scientific and technological developments in 
various countries.  They should not distort the globa l market, have adverse effects on fair competition, 
or stifle innovation and technological development.  In addition, they should not give preference to 
the characteristics or requirements of specific countri es or regions when different needs or interests 
exist in other countries or regions.  Whenever possi ble, international standards should be performance 
based rather than based on design or descriptive characteristics. 
11. Accordingly, it is important that international standardizing bodies: 
(a) take account of relevant regulatory or mark et needs, as feasible and appropriate, as 
well as scientific and technological developments  in the elaboration of standards;    
(b) put in place procedures aimed at identifying and reviewing standards that have 
become obsolete, inappropriate or in effective for various reasons;  and 
(c) put in place procedures aimed at improving communication with the World Trade 
Organization.  
5. Coherence 
12. In order to avoid the development of conflicting international standards, it is important that 
international standardizing bodies avoid duplicati on of, or overlap with, the work of other 
international standardizing bodies.  In this resp ect, cooperation and coordina tion with other relevant 
international bodies is essential. 
6. Development Dimension 
13. Constraints on developing countries, in particul ar, to effectively participate in standards 
development, should be taken into  consideration in the standards development process.  Tangible 
ways of facilitating developing c ountries' participation in interna tional standards development should 
be sought.  The impartiality and openness of any in ternational standardization process requires that 
developing countries are not excluded de facto from the process.  With respect to improving 
participation by developing countries, it may be appr opriate to use technical assistance, in line with 
Article 11 of the TBT Agreement.  Provisions for ca pacity building and technical assistance within 
international standardizing bodies ar e important in this context. 
 
 G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 40  
 
  C. F
ORMAT AND GUIDELINES FOR NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR DRAFT TECHNICAL 
REGULATIONS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES  
Item Description 
1.  Member to Agreement notifying Government, including the competent authorities 
of the European Communities, which has acceded to the Agreement and which is making the notification;  if applicable, name of local 
government involved Articles 3.2 and 7.2). 
2. Agency responsible Body elaborating a proposal for or promulgating a 
technical regulation or procedures for assessment 
of conformity.  The authority or agency designated to handle comments regarding the specific notification shall be indicated if different from above. 
 
3.  Notified under 102 Relevant provision of the Agreement:  
 
Article 2.9.2: proposed technical regulation by 
central government body;  Article 2.10.1: technical regulation adopted for urgent problems by central government body; 
 
Article 3.2:  proposed technical regulation or technical regulation adopted for urgent problems by local government (on the level directly below that of the central government);  
Article 5.6.2: proposed procedures for assessment 
of conformity by central government body;  Article 5.7.1: conformity assessment  procedure adopted for urgent problems by central 
government body; 
 Article 7.2: proposed procedure for  assessment of conformity  or conformity assessment procedure adopted for urgent problems by local government 
(on the level directly below that of the central 
government); 
                                                      
102 Notifiers are requested to check the relevant bo x or indicate relevant information under "other".  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 41 
 
 
  Item Description 
 Other Articles under which notification can arise 
in cases of urgency set out in those Articles are:    Article 8.1: adopted procedures for assessment of conformity by non-governmental body, 
 
Article 9.2: adopted procedures for assessment of conformity by international or regional organization.  
4.  Products covered HS or CCCN (chapter or heading and number) 
where applicable.  National tariff heading if different from HS or CCCN.  ICS numbers may 
be provided in addition, where applicable.  A 
clear description is impor tant for an understanding 
of the notification by delegations and translators. Abbreviations should be avoided.  
5.  Title and number of pages  Title of the proposed or adopted technical 
regulation or procedure for the assessment of conformity that is notified.  Number of pages in the notified document.  The language(s) in which 
notified documents are available. If a translation 
of the document is planned, this should be indicated.  If a translated summary is available, this too should be indicated.  
6.  Description of content  An abstract of the proposed or adopted technical 
regulation or procedures for assessment of conformity clearly indicating its content.  A clear 
comprehensible description stating the main 
features of the proposed or adopted technical regulation or procedures for assessment of conformity is important for an understanding of the notification by delegations and translators. 
Abbreviations should be avoided. 
 
7.  Objective and rationale, including the 
nature of urgent problems where applicable For instance:  health, safety, national security, ... 
etc. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 42  
 
  Item Description 
8.  Relevant documents  (1) Publication where notice appears,  including 
date and reference number;  (2) Proposal and 
basic document (with specific reference number 
or other identification) to which proposal refers; (3)  Publication in which proposal will appear when adopted; (4) Whenever practicable, give 
reference to relevant international standard.  If it 
is necessary to charge for documents supplied, this fact should be indicated. 
9.  Proposed dates of adoption and entry into force The date when the technical regulation or 
procedures for assessment of conformity is expected to be adopted, and the date from which the requirements in the technical regulation or procedures for assessment of conformity are 
proposed or decided to enter into force, taking 
into consideration the provisions of Article 2.12.  
10.  Final date for comments The date by which Members may submit 
comments in accordance with Articles 2.9.4, 2.10.3, 3.1 (in relation to 2.9.4 and 2.10.3), 5.6.4, 5.7.3 and 7.1 (in relation to 5.6.4 and 5.7.3) of the Agreement.  A specific date should be indicated. 
The Committee has recommended a normal time 
limit for comments on notifications of 60 days. Any Member which is able to provide a time limit 
beyond 60 days is encouraged to do so.  Members 
are encouraged to advise of any extension to the 
final date for comments. 
 
11.  Texts available from 103 If available from national enquiry point, put a 
cross in the box provided.  If available from 
another body, give its address, e-mail, telex and telefax number.  If availabl e in a web-site, provide 
the web-site address.   Such indications should not in any way discharge the relevant enquiry point of 
its responsibilities under the provisions of 
Article 10 of the Agreement.  
  
_______________ 
 
                                                     
 
103 Notifiers are requested to check the relevant bo x or indicate relevant information under "other".  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 43 
 
 
   
 
 WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/ 
 
 (00-0000) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  
  
NOTIFICATION 
104 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
 
1. 
 Member to Agreement notifying:        
If applicable, name of local government i nvolved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):       
2. 
 Agency responsible:        
Name and address (including tele phone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if 
available) of agency or authority designated  to handle comments regarding the notification 
shall be indicated if different from above:       
3. 
 Notified under Article 2.9.2 [   ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [  ], other:        
4. 
  Products covered (HS or CCCN where appli cable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):         
5.  Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:        
6. 
 Description of content:        
7. 
 Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:        
8. 
 Relevant documents:        
9. 
 Proposed date of adoption: 
Proposed date of entry into force:      
  
10.  Final date for comments:        
11. 
 Texts available from:  National enquiry point [    ] or address, telephone and fax numbers, 
e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:        
 
 
_______________ 
 
                                                      
104 Where boxes appear under Items 3 and 11 of the fo rmat, notifiers are requested to check the relevant 
box or indicate relevant information under "other". G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 44  
 
  D. N
OTIFICATION FORMAT UNDER ARTICLE 10.7 
AGREEMENT REACHED BY A MEMBER WITH ANOTHER COUNTRY OR COUNTRIES 
ON ISSUES RELATED TO TECHNICAL REGULATIONS, STANDARDS 
OR CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES 
 Notification 
  Under Article 10.7 of the Agreement "Whenever a Member has reached an agreement with any other country or countries on issues related to  technical regulations, standards or conformity 
assessment procedures which may have a significant effect on trade, at least one Member party to the 
agreement shall notify other Members through the Secr etariat of the products to be covered by the 
agreement and include a brief description of the ag reement."  The following notification under Article  
10.7 has been received.   
1. Member notifying: 
 
2. Title of the bilateral or plurilateral Agreement:   
3. Parties to the Agreement:    
4. Date of entry into force of the Agreement:  
5. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading): 
 
 
6. Subject matter covered by the Agreement  (technical regulations, standards or 
conformity assessment procedures): 
  
7. Brief description of the Agreement:     
8. Further information available from:    
  
_______________ 
  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 45 
 
 
   
E. UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS (NOTIFICATION FORMAT ) 
 WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  G/TBT/N/MEMBER/#/Suppl.# 
xxx December 2007 
 (07-0000) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade 
Comité des obstacles techniques au commerce 
Comité de Obstáculos Técnicos al Comercio  
 
AVAILABILITY OF TRANSLATIONS 
 
Note by the Secretariat  
Supplement  
 
 The Secretariat has been info rmed that an unofficial translation into [language] of the 
document referenced in this notifica tion is available for consultation at: 
   http://www. .. ...................... ................... 
 or can be requested from: ………………………………………….. __________________________________________________________________________________ 
TRADUCTIONS DISPONIBLES 
 
Note du Secrétariat
4 
Supplément  
 
 Le Secrétariat a été informé qu'une traducti on non officielle en [l angue] du document auquel 
renvoie la présente notification pouvait êt re consultée à l'adresse suivante: 
   http://www. ...................... .............. 
 ou peut être obtenue à l'adresse suivante:  …………………………………… __________________________________________________________________________________ 
ACCESO A TRADUCCIONES 
 
Nota de la Secretaría
4 
Suplemento  
 
 Se ha comunicado a la Secretaría que en la dirección: 
   http://www. .. ...................... ................... 
se puede consultar una traducción no oficial al [idi oma] del documento a que se hace referencia en la 
presente notificación.  o puede solicitarse a:  ........................................................... 
 
_______________ 
   G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 46  
 
   
F. B
OOKLETS ON ENQUIRY POINTS  
All booklets issued by Members should contain the elements and, as far as possible, follow 
the layout set out below:  
1. Objective, name, address, telephone numb er, fax number, and e-mail and Internet 
addresses, if available, of WTO TBT enquiry point(s) 
(a) Refer to the provisions of Articles 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3 of the Agreement on Technical 
Barriers to Trade. 
(b) Date established, and name  of responsible officer. 
2. Who can use the enquiry point(s):   
(a) Refer to the provisions of Articles 2.9.3 a nd 2.10.2;  3.1 (in relation to 2.9.3 and 
2.10.2);  5.6.3 and 5.7.2;  7.1, 8.1 and 9.2 (in relation to 5.6.3 and 5.7.2);  10.1 and 
10.3;  paragraphs M and P of  Annex 3 of the Agreement. 
3. Information available from enquiry point(s). 
(a) Documentation 
(i) Refer to the provisions of Articles 2.9.3 and 2.10.2;  3.1 (in relation to 2.9.3 
and 2.10.2);  5.6.3 and 5.7.2;  7.1, 8.1 and 9.2 (in relation to 5.6.3 and 5.7.2); 
10.4, 10.8.1 and 10.8.2;  paragraphs M and P of Annex 3 of the Agreement.  
Documentation that can be obtained from the enquiry point(s):  Procedures for handling documentation on proposed or adopted domestic regulations and 
standards and procedures for assessment of conformity 
(b) Notifications:  content, format, comment period  
(i) Refer to the provisions of Articles 2.9.2, 2. 10.1, 3.2, 5.6.2, 5.7.1, 7.2, 8.1, 9.2 
and paragraphs C and J of Annex 3 of th e Agreement, and to the decisions of 
the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade regarding format and comment 
period).   
(ii) Procedures for handling notifications issued by other Members of the 
Agreement, for issuing notifications from domestic sources, and for handling comments on notifications received or issued. 
(c) Publication:   
(i) Refer to the provisions of Articles 2.9.1 and 2.11;  3.1(in relation to 2.9.1 and 
2.11);  5.6.1 and 5.8;  7.1, 8.1 and 9.2 (in relation to 5.6.1 and 5.8);  10.1.5;  
and paragraphs J, L and O of Annex 3 of the Agreement.   
(ii) Procedures for ensuring compliance with  these provisions of the Agreement, 
including any publications by the enquiry point(s).  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 47 
 
 
  4. Facilities offered (including charges, if any). 
(a) Data bank (content and form of documents, e. g. paper, microfilm, computer, etc.). 
(b) Access to data (retrieval system:  manua l, tape, on-line;  software used). 
(c) Languages used. 
(d) Translation, if any. 
(e) Brief description of the Agreement:  objectives, date of entry into force, date joined, 
status in domestic law. 
(f) List of Members of the Agreement. 
(g) List of enquiry points of other Members. 
 G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 48  
 
  G. F
ORMAT FOR THE VOLUNTARY NOTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE NEEDS 
AND RESPONSES  
 
 WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  [G/TBT/TA#/[R/]MEM] 
[Date of distribution] 
 
 (xx-xxxx) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original 
  
VOLUNTARY NOTIFICATION  
OF SPECIFIC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
NEEDS OR RESPONSES 
 
  
1. 
 Member notifying (including, if applicable, an indication of relevant bodies)  
 
............................................................................................................................... . 
2. The technical assistance activity needed or provided may be relevant to the following 
Article(s) of the TBT Agreement:105 
[ ... ]  Articles 2 and 3 on technical regulations 
[ ... ]  Article 4 and Annex 3 on standard s and the Code of Good Practice 
[ ... ]  Articles 5,  7 and 8 on developmen t of conformity assessment procedures 
[ ... ]  Article 6 on recognition of  conformity assessment 
[ ... ]  Article 9 on internationa l and regional systems for conformity assessment 
[ ... ]  Articles 2, 5 and 10 on information exch ange (e.g. notifications, enquiry point) 
[ ... ]  Article 11 on technical assistance to other Members  
[ ... ]  Article 12 on special and differential tr eatment of developing country Members 
[ ... ]  Article 13 on the TBT Committee (participation in work of TBT Committee) 
[ ... ]  Other:  ............................................................................................................ 
 
 
3. Brief description of objective and rationale of the technical assistance activity, including, 
if possible, an estimation of the resources ne eded or on offer (e.g., financial or man-
hours):106 
 
 ............................................................................................................................... ..... 
                                                      
105 For needs:  if there is difficulty in establishi ng which Articles of the TBT Agreement are relevant, it 
is recommended that the "Needs assessment" and/or "Awareness raising" box be crossed under Point 4.  Under 
Point 2 it may then be sufficient to cross the "Other" box and indicate "General".  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 49 
 
 
  4. 
   Nature and timing of technical assistance ac tivity needed or on offer (key words): 
Type of assistance 
[ ... ]    Awareness raising  
[ ... ]    Needs assessment 
[ ... ]    Skills training 
[ ... ]    Infrastructure development 
[ ... ]    Other:   ................................................................................................................  
 
Policy area covered 
[ ... ]    Technical regulations  
[ ... ]    Conformity assessment procedures  
[ ... ]    Standardization 
[ ... ]    Information exchange 
[ ... ]    Other:   ................................................................................................................  
 
Mode of delivery  [ ... ]    Workshop, seminar or other event 
[ ... ]    Project-based activity 
[ ... ]    Other:   ............................................................................................................... 
 Dates  
[ ... ]   Envisaged start date for activity:  ...................................................................... 
[ ... ]   Estimated duration:  .......................................................................................... 
 
5.   Further information available from: 
[ ... ]    National enquiry point. 
[ ... ]    Other contact point:
 107  ...................................................................................... 
[ ... ]    Other reference: 108 ............................................................................................. 
 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                     
106 This description should explain how this activity is intended to enhance implementation of specific 
provision(s) of the TBT Agreement listed in Point 2. 
107 Name of a contact person with  telephone and e-mail address. 
108 For example an Internet address, or the address of a body other than that of the Enquiry Point.  For 
response notifications, this space could be used to ma ke reference to previous relevant submissions or 
statements made in the TBT Committee (or other body). G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 50  
 
  PART 2:   
RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE MEETINGS OF THE WTO COMMITTEE ON 
TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE AND GUIDELINES FOR OBSERVER STATUS FOR 
GOVERNMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 
Decision
 
(a) The Committee adopted the following Rules of Procedure, including Guidelines for 
Observer Status for Governments (A nnex 1, below) and International 
Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO (Annex 2, below): 109   
 
 
CHAPTER I - Meetings  
 Rule 1
 
 
 The Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (hereinafter the Committee) shall meet as 
necessary, but not less than once a year.  Rule 2
 
 
 Meetings of the Committee shall be convened by the Director-General by a notice issued, 
preferably three weeks, and in any event not less th an ten calendar days, prior to the date set for the 
meeting.  In the event that the tenth day falls on a weekend or a holiday, the notice shall be issued no 
later than the preceding WTO working day.  Mee tings may be convened with shorter notice for 
matters of significant importance or urgency at the re quest of a Member concurred in by the majority 
of the Members. 
 
CHAPTER II - Agenda  
 Rule 3
 
 
 A list of the items proposed for the agenda of  the meeting shall be communicated to Members 
together with the convening notice for the meeting.  It shall be open to any Member to suggest items 
for inclusion in the proposed agenda up to, and not including, the day on which the notice of the meeting is to be issued.  
Rule 4
 
  Requests for items to be placed on the agenda of a forthcoming meeting shall be communicated to the Secretariat in writing, toge ther with the accompanying documentation to be 
issued in connection with that item.  Documentation for consideration at a meeting shall be circulated 
not later than the day on which the notice of the meeting is to be issued. 
 
Rule 5
 
  (Will not apply) 
                                                     
 
109 G/TBT/M/1, 28 June 1995, para. 13.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 51 
 
 
   
Rule 6  
  The first item of business at each meeting sh all be the consideration and approval of the 
agenda.  Representatives may suggest amendments to the proposed agenda, or additions to the agenda 
under "Other Business".  Representatives shall provid e the Chairperson or the Secretariat, and the 
other Members directly concerned, whenever possibl e, advance notice of items intended to be raised 
under "Other Business".  Rule 7
 
 
 The Committee may amend the agenda or give pr iority to certain items at any time in the 
course of the meeting.  
CHAPTER III - Representation
 
 
Rule 8  
  Each Member shall be represented by an accredited representative.  Rule 9
 
 
 Each representative may be accompanied by su ch alternates and advisers as the representative 
may require.  
CHAPTER IV - Observers
 
 
Rule 10  
  Representatives of States or separate customs te rritories may attend the meetings as observers 
on the invitation of the Committee in accordance with the guidelin es in Annex 1 to these Rules. 
 
Rule 11
 
  Representatives of international intergovernmen tal organizations may attend the meetings as 
observers on the invitation of the Committee in a ccordance with the guidelines in Annex 2 to these 
Rules. 
 
CHAPTER V - Officers
 
 Rule 12
 
  The Committee shall elect a Chairperson
110  and may elect a Vice-Chairperson from among 
the representatives of Members.  The election shall take  place at the first meeting of the year and shall 
take effect at the end of the meeting.  The Ch airperson and Vice-Chairpe rson shall hold office until 
the end of the first meeting of the following year. 
                                                      
110 The Committee shall apply the relevant guidelines contained in the "Guidelines for Appointment of 
Officers to WTO Bodies" (WT/L/31 dated 7 February 1995). G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 52  
 
   
Rule 13
 
  If the Chairperson is absent from any meeting or part thereof, the Vice-Chairperson shall 
perform the functions of the Chairperson.  If no Vice-Chairperson was elected or if the 
Vice-Chairperson is not present, the Committee shall el ect an interim Chairperson for that meeting or 
that part of the meeting.  Rule 14
 
 
 If the Chairperson can no longer perform the functions of the office, the Committee shall 
designate the Vice-Chairperson referred to in Rule  12 or, if no Vice-Chairperson was elected it shall 
elect an interim Chairperson to perform those f unctions pending the election of a new Chairperson. 
 Rule 15
 
 
 The Chairperson shall normally participate in the proceedings as such and not as the 
representative of a Member.  The Chairperson may, however, at any time request permission to act in either capacity.  
CHAPTER VI - Conduct of Business
 
 
Rule 16  
  The Chairperson may consider postponing a mee ting in the event that he or she feels that 
doing so may result in a more representative level of participation by WTO Members. 
 
Rule 17
 
  In addition to exercising the powers conferred elsewhere by these rules, the Chairperson shall 
declare the opening and closing of each meeting, sha ll direct the discussion, accord the right to speak, 
submit questions for decision, announce decisions, rule on points of order and, subject to these rules, 
have complete control of the proceedings.  The Chairperson may also call a speaker to order if the 
remarks of the speaker are not relevant.  Rule 18
 
 
 During the discussion of any matter, a representativ e may raise a point of order.  In this case 
the Chairperson shall immediately st ate the ruling.  If the ruling is challenged, the Chairperson shall 
immediately submit it for decision and it shall stand unless overruled.  Rule 19
 
 
 During the discussion of any matter, a repre sentative may move the adjournment of the 
debate.  Any such motion shall have priority.  In addition to the proponent of the motion, one 
representative may be allowed to speak in favour of , and two representatives against, the motion, after 
which the motion shall be submitted for decision immediately.  
Rule 20
 
  A representative may at any time move the closur e of the debate.  In addition to the proponent 
of the motion, not more than one representative ma y be granted permission to speak in favour of the  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 53 
 
 
  motion and not more than two representatives may be  granted permission to speak against the motion, 
after which the motion shall be submitted for decision immediately.  Rule 21
 
 
 During the course of the debate, the Chairper son may announce the list of speakers and, with 
the consent of the meeting, declare the list closed.  The Chairperson may, however, accord the right of 
reply to any representative if a speech delivered afte r the list has been declar ed closed makes this 
desirable.  
Rule 22
 
  The Chairperson, with the consent of the me eting, may limit the time allowed to each speaker. 
 Rule 23
 
 
 Representatives shall endeavour, to the extent th at a situation permits, to keep their oral 
statements brief.  Representatives wishing to deve lop their position on a particular matter in fuller 
detail may circulate a written statement for distribu tion to Members, the summary of which, at the 
representative's request, may be reflected  in the records of the Committee. 
 
Rule 24  
  In order to expedite the conduct of business,  the Chairperson may invite representatives that 
wish to express their support for a given proposal to s how their hands, in order to be duly recorded in 
the records of the Committee as supporting statemen ts;  thus, only representatives with dissenting 
views or wishing to make explicit points or proposal s would actually be invited to make a statement.  
This procedure shall only be applied in order to avoid undue repetition of points already made, and 
will not preclude any representative who so wishes from taking the floor.  Rule 25
 
 
 Representatives should avoid unduly long deba tes under "Other Business".  Discussions on 
substantive issues under "Other Business" shall be avoided, and the Committee shall limit itself to 
taking note of the announcement by the sponsoring delegation, as well as any reactions to such an 
announcement by other delegations directly concerned.   
Rule 26
 
  While the Committee is not expected to take ac tion in respect of an ite m introduced as "Other 
Business", nothing shall prevent the Committee, if it so  decides, to take action in respect of any such 
item at a particular meeting, or in respect of an y item for which documentation was not circulated at 
least ten calendar days in advance. 
 
Rule 27
 
  Representatives should make every effort to avoid the repetition of a full debate at each meeting on any issue that has already been fully de bated in the past and on which there appears to 
have been no change in Members' positions already on record. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 54  
 
   
Rule 28
 
  Proposals and amendments to proposals shall normally be introduced in writing and circulated to all representatives not later than tw elve hours before the commencement of the meeting 
at which they are to be discussed. 
 Rule 29
 
  If two or more proposals are moved relating to  the same question, the meeting shall first 
decide on the most far-reaching proposal and then on the next most far-reaching proposal and so on. 
  Rule 30
 
 
 When an amendment is moved to a proposal , the amendment shall be submitted for decision 
first and, if it is adopted, the amended propo sal shall then be submitted for decision. 
 Rule 31
 
  When two or more amendments are moved to a proposal, the meeting shall decide first on the 
amendment farthest removed in substance from the original proposal, then, if necessary, on the 
amendment next farthest removed, and so on unt il all the amendments ha ve been submitted for 
decision.  Rule 32
 
 
 Parts of a proposal may be decided on separately if a representative requests that the proposal be divided.  
CHAPTER VII - Decision-Making
 
 
Rule 33  
  Where a decision cannot be arrived at by consensu s, the matter at issue shall be referred to the 
Council for Trade in Goods.  
Rule 34 
 
  (Will not apply)  
CHAPTER VIII - Languages
 
 
Rule 35  
  English, French and Spanish shall be the working languages.  G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
 Page 55 
 
 
   
CHAPTER IX - Records  
 Rule 36
 
 
 Records of the discussions of the Comm ittee shall be in the form of minutes.111 
 
CHAPTER X - Publicity of Meetings  
 Rule 37
 
 
 The meetings of the Committee shall ordinarily be  held in private.  It may be decided that a 
particular meeting or meeti ngs should be held in public. 
  
Rule 38
 
  After a private meeting has been held, the Ch airperson may issue a communiqué to the Press. 
 
CHAPTER XI - Revision
 
 
Rule 39  
  The Committee may decide at any time to revise these rules or any part of them. 
  
 
Annex 1 
 
Guidelines for Observer Status for Governments in the WTO
 
  The purpose of observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies is to allow a 
government to better acquaint itself with the WTO and its activities, and to prepare and initiate 
negotiations for accession to the WTO Agreement.   Observer governments shall have access to th e main WTO document series.  They may also 
request technical assistance from the Secretariat in  relation to the operation of the WTO system in 
general, as well as to negotiations on accession to the WTO Agreement.  
  Representatives of governments accorded observer st atus may be invited to speak at meetings 
of the bodies to which they are observers normally after Members of that body have spoken.  The 
right to speak does not include the right to make proposals, unless a government is specifically invited 
to do so, nor to participate in decision-making.  
                                                     
 
111 The customary practice under the GATT 1947, whereby representatives may, upon their request, 
verify those portions of the draft records containing their statements, prior to the issuan ce of such records, shall 
be continued. G/TBT/1/Rev.9 
Page 56  
 
  Annex 2 
 
Guidelines for Observer Status for International
 
Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO112 
 
1. The purpose of observer status for international intergovernmental organizations (hereinafter 
referred to as "organizations") in the WTO is to enable these organizations to follow discussions 
therein on matters of direct interest to them.   
2. Requests for observer status shall accordingly be  considered from organizations which have 
competence and a direct interest in trade policy matt ers, or which, pursuant to paragraph V:1 of the 
WTO Agreement, have responsibilities related to those of the WTO. 
3. Requests for observer status shall be made in wr iting to the WTO body in which such status is 
sought, and shall indicate the nature of the work of the organization and the reasons for its interest in 
being accorded such status.   
4. Requests for observer status shall be cons idered on a case-by-case basis by each WTO body 
to which such a request is addressed, taking into acc ount such factors as the nature of work of the 
organization concerned, the nature of its me mbership, the number of WTO Members in the 
organization, reciprocity with respect to access to proceedings, documents and other aspects of observership, and whether the organization has been  associated in the past with the work of the 
CONTRACTING PARTIES to GATT 1947. 
5. In addition to organizations that request, and ar e granted, observer status, other organizations 
may attend meetings of the Ministerial Conference,  the General Council or subsidiary bodies on the 
specific invitation of the Ministerial Conferen ce, the General Council or the subsidiary body 
concerned, as the case may be.  Invitations may al so be extended, as appropriate and on a case-by-
case basis, to specific organizations to follow partic ular issues within a body in an observer capacity.  
6. Organizations with which the WTO has entere d into a formal arrangement for cooperation 
and consultation shall be accorded observer status in such bodies as may be determined by that 
arrangement.   
7. Organizations accorded observer status in a pa rticular WTO body shall not automatically be 
accorded such status in other WTO bodies.  
8. Representatives of organizations accorded observer st atus may be invited to speak at meetings 
of the bodies to which they are observers normally after Members of that body have spoken.  The 
right to speak does not include th e right to circulate papers or to make proposals, unless an 
organization is specifically invited to do so, nor to participate in decision-making. 
9. Observer organizations shall receive copies of the main WTO documents series and of other 
documents series relating to the work of the subsid iary bodies which they attend as observers.  They 
may receive such additional documents as may be speci fied by the terms of any formal arrangements 
for cooperation between them and the WTO. 
10. If for any one-year period after the date of th e grant of observer status, there has been no 
attendance by the observer organization, such status shall cease. 
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112 These guidelines shall apply also to other organiza tions referred to by name in the WTO Agreement.