WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
15 September 2009 
 (09-4332) 
Negotiating Group on Market Access Original:   English 
  
 
MARKET ACCESS FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 
 
Negotiating Text on Non-Tariff Barriers Pertaining to the
 
Electrical Safety and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) of Electronic Goods  
 
Communication from the United States 
 
Revision  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 10 September 2009, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the United States. 
 
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Agreement on Non-Tariff Barriers Pertaining to the 
Electrical Safety and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) of Electronic Goods 
 Members,  
 
Recalling that pursuant to paragraph 16 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, Members agreed 
to negotiations aimed at reducing or as appropria te eliminating tariffs and non-tariff barriers on 
non-agricultural goods; 
 
Recognizing the important contribution of electroni c goods to global economic growth and 
development;   
Desiring to ensure that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment 
procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade  in electronic goods;  
 
Affirming their existing rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement, including the 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement); 
 Recognizing  that no Member should be prevented fro m taking measures that are necessary for 
the protection of human, animal or plant life or hea lth, of the environment, at the levels it considers 
appropriate, subject to the requirement that they are not applied in a manner which would constitute a 
means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimina tion between countries where the same conditions 
prevail or a disguised restriction on internationa l trade, and are otherwise in accordance with the 
provisions of this Agreement, or that are necessar y for the protection of its essential security interest; 
 
Recognizing  that a Member’s selection of an appropriate conformity assessment procedure 
may involve the consideration of a number of factors, such as the risks associated with 
non-conformity or the product for wh ich conformity is sought;     
 TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
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  Seeking  to supplement and elaborate on the TBT Ag reement with respect to standards, 
technical regulations, and conformity assessment  procedures affecting electronic goods; and 
 
With a view to expanding the products liste d in Members' schedules to Annex I, II, III, and IV 
to this Agreement in the future. 
 
Agree as follows:  
 
I. DEFINITIONS 
 For purposes of this Agreement: 
 
 Central government body means a central government body as defined in Annex 1 of the 
TBT Agreement;   Electronic good  means any information technology, telecommunications, audio-visual, or 
other electronic or electrical product, whether for bus iness or personal use, listed in Annex I of this 
Agreement; [Note: Annex I would cover a range of pr oducts falling under Chapter 84, 85, or 90 of 
the World Customs Organization's Harmonized Co mmodity Description and Coding System and 
apply to all Members] ; 
  Supplier  means any party that supplies the product and may include a manufacturer, 
distributor, or importer; 
  Supplier's declaration of conformity (SDoC) means  a declaration by a supplier based on an 
evaluation of the results of conformity assessment  procedures that a product meets a specified 
standard or technical regulation or other specification;  
 
 Standard, technical regulation, or  conformity assessment procedure  means respectively a 
standard, technical regulation, or conformity assess ment procedure as defined in Annex 1 of the TBT 
Agreement that pertains to the electrical safety or electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of an electronic good; and  
 Third-party certification  means a declaration by a body, which the Member accepting the 
declaration has determined is independent of suppl iers and users, that a product meets a specified 
standard or technical regulation or other specifi cation based on an evaluation of the results of 
conformity assessment procedures.  II. SCOPE AND COVERAGE    
A. This Agreement shall apply to any standard, technical regul ation, or conformity assessment 
procedure, as defined in paragraph I.    B. This Agreement shall impose obligations on  Members only with respect to standards, 
technical regulations, and conformity assessme nt procedures of central government bodies. 
 
C. This Agreement shall not apply to purchasing specifications prepared by governmental bodies 
for production or consumption re quirements of governmental bodies.  TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
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  D. Any reference in this Agreement to standard s, technical regulations, or conformity assessment 
procedures shall be construed to include any amen dment thereto and any additions to the rules or 
product coverage thereof, except am endments and additions of an in significant nature, to the extent 
such amendment or addition pertains to electrical safety or EMC for electronic goods.  III. STANDARDS, TECHNICAL REGULATIONS, AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT 
PROCEDURES 
Assessing Costs  
 
A. Where a Member proposes to prepare or adopt a technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure, it shall take into account, inter alia , costs of complying with the proposed 
technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure.  
 
International Standards 
 B. In determining whether an international standard, guide or recommendation within the 
meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and Annex 3 of the TB T Agreement exists pertaining to electrical safety 
or EMC of an electronic good, each Member shall base its determination on the principles set out in Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the Committee since 1 January 1995 , G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 
23 May 2002, Section IX (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 ) (Committee Decision ) issued by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade 
(TBT Committee).   
   
Transparency   
 C. Further to Articles 2.9 and 5.6 of the TBT Agreement, where a Member proposes to prepare 
or adopt a technical regulation or conformity assessme nt procedure that may have a significant effect 
on trade of other Members, the Member shall, with a view to providing meaningful opportunity for comment:   (1) publish, in print or electronically, the propo sed technical regulation or conformity assessment 
procedure at the earliest appropriate stage, in su ch a manner as to enable interested parties to 
become acquainted with it and to submit wr itten comments before the Member finalizes it;
1  
 
(2) to the extent applicable, identify in any notifi cation it makes pursuant to Article 2.9.2 or 5.6.2 
of the TBT Agreement any provisions of the proposed technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure that deviate in substance from relevant international standards, guides, 
or recommendations;  
(3) upon request from another Member, provide particulars concerning how it took or plans to 
take into account the costs of complying with the proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedures in accordance with paragraph A;  
 
(4) normally allow not less than 60 days for Members to comment in writing on the proposed 
technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure; 
 
                                                     
 
1 When a Member publishes a proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure in 
accordance with this subparagra ph, it shall be deemed to ha ve satisfied the obligation in  Article 2.9.1 or 5.6.1 of 
the TBT Agreement, as the case may be, to publish a no tice of the proposed technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure. TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
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  (5)  (i)  allow reasonable time for interested  parties to comment in writing on the proposed 
technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure, which normally shall not be less than 60 days;
2 and (ii) take into account any such comments the Member receives in 
finalizing the technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure; and 
 
(6) publish, in print or electronically, any written comments it receives from Members or 
interested parties on the proposed technical re gulation or conformity assessment procedure. 
  Members shall comply with the obligations set out in this paragraph and Articles 2.9 and 5.6 
of the TBT Agreement regardless of whether re levant international standards, guides, or 
recommendations exist or the technical content of the proposed technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure is in accordance with rele vant international standards, guides, or 
recommendations.    D. Where urgent problems of safety, health, envi ronmental protection, or national security arise 
or threaten to arise for a Member, the Member ma y omit such steps enumerated in paragraph C as it 
finds necessary, provided that the Member, upon fina lizing the technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure, shall:  (1) to the extent applicable, identify in any no tification it makes pursuant to Article 2.10.1 or 
5.7.1 of the TBT Agreement any provisions of  the technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure that deviate in substance from relevant international standards, guides, 
or recommendations; 
 (2) upon request, provide other Members particulars concerning how it took or plans to take into 
account the costs of complying with the technical regulation or conformity assessment 
procedure in accordance with paragraph A; and 
 (3) (i) allow interested parties to submit comments in writing on the technical regulation or 
conformity assessment procedure; and (ii) take these comments into account in deciding whether to modify the technical regula tion or conformity assessment procedure. 
 
E. Further to Article 4.1 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement, where a Member proposes to 
prepare or adopt a standard, it shall with a view to providing meaningful opportunity for comment:   (1) publish, in print or electronically, the proposed standard at the earliest appropriate stage, in 
such a manner as to enable interested parti es to become acquainted with it and to submit 
written comments before the Member finalizes it; 
 (2) notify other Members through the Secretaria t of the proposed standard at the earliest 
appropriate stage, including the products the pr oposed standard covers, together with a brief 
indication of its objective and rationale and, to the extent applicable, any provisions of the 
standard that deviate in substance from rele vant international standards, guides, or 
recommendations; 
 (3) upon request from another Member, provide pa rticulars concerning the proposed standard; 
 
(4) upon request, discuss written comments it receives from Members and take the results of 
those discussions into account in finalizing the proposed standard; and 
                                                     
 
2 Each Member shall publish a notice, in print or electronically, specifying the comment period and 
give favourable consideration to reasonable re quests from interested parties to extend it.   TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
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(5) publish, in print or electronically, an y written comments it received from Members or 
interested parties on the proposed standard. 
   Each Member shall provide for standardizing bodi es within its territory to apply paragraphs L 
and M of Annex 3 to other Members as well as to inte rested parties within the territory of a Member 
of the WTO.   F. When publishing a standard, technical regulation,  or conformity assessment procedure, or if 
paragraph D applies, as soon as possible after publicati on of the final standard, technical regulation, or 
conformity assessment procedure, each Member shall publish, in print or electronically: 
 (1) its responses to any significant and relevant issues raised in comments it received from 
Members or interested parties during the comment period;
3 and 
 
(2) the objective and rationale for preparing or  adopting the particular standard, technical 
regulation, or conformity assessment procedure. 
 
Treatment of Conformity Assessment Bodies 
 
G. Each Member shall accord to conformity assessment bodies in the territory of any other 
Member treatment no less favourable than that it accords to conformity assessment bodies in its own 
territory with respect to the procedures, criteri a, and other conditions with which conformity 
assessment bodies must comply in order for the Memb er to accredit or otherwise approve them as 
competent to test or certify that a product confor ms with the Member's standard or technical 
regulation.  This paragraph shall apply only with respect to products listed for electrical safety, EMC 
or both in the Member's schedule to Annex II.  
 
Test Results  
 
H. If a Member requires test results (alone or in conjunction with other assurances of 
conformity) or other assurances of conformity that are based on test results as an assurance that a 
electronic good conforms with a standard or technical regulation, it shall not require the testing to be 
performed in a testing facility within its territory an d shall accept the test results if they are performed 
by a facility that the Member deems competent, or otherwise approves, for that purpose.  If the 
Member requires the testing facility to comply with requirements concerning the testing of electronic goods for conformity with the standard or technical regulations or requires the body that accredits the 
testing facility to comply with requirements concer ning that accreditation, it shall ensure that such 
requirements are based on:  (1) a relevant international standard, guide or  recommendation that has been developed in 
accordance with the TBT Agreement and the Committee Decision; or  
 
(2) a conformity assessment procedure establis hed by the Member in accordance with the 
procedures set out in paragraphs III.C and III.F.  
 
                                                     
 
3 For greater certainty, if a Member or an interested party submits comments during the comment 
period that raise questions or concerns regarding why the standard, technical regulation or conformity 
assessment procedure deviates from relevant internatio nal standards, guides, or recommendations or how the 
Member took into account th e costs of complying with the technical  regulation or conformity assessment 
procedure, the Member shall publish its responses to such comments.  TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
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  SDoC 
 
I. If a Member requires a positive assurance that a product listed for electrical safety, EMC or 
both in its schedule to Annex III conforms with a sta ndard or technical regulation, it shall accept as 
such assurance a supplier's declaration of conf ormity (SDoC).  The Member shall base any 
requirements for an SDoC on a relevant interna tional standard, guide or recommendation that has 
been developed in accordance w ith the TBT Agreement and the Committee Decision , and may refuse 
to accept a declaration from any supplier if, upon request from the Member's regulatory or enforcement authorities, the supplier does not provi de to those authorities documentation necessary to 
demonstrate the basis for a declaration or declarations (e.g., relevant test results) within a reasonable period after the date of the request. 
 
Third-Party Certification 
 
J. If a Member requires third-party certification as positive assurance that a product listed for 
electrical safety, EMC, or both, in its schedule to  Annex IV, conforms with a standard, technical 
regulation, or conformity assessment procedure, it shall not require the body performing the third-
party certification to be within its territory and shall accept the third party certification if it is 
performed by a body that the Member deems competent,  or otherwise approves, for that purpose.  The 
Member shall ensure that it bases any requirements that the body must meet to be deemed competent 
or otherwise approved on:  
 
(1) a relevant international standard, guide or  recommendation that has been developed in 
accordance with the TBT Agreement and the Committee Decision; or 
 (2) a conformity assessment procedure establis hed by the Member in accordance with the 
procedures set out in paragraphs III.C and III.F.  
 
 Members shall give positive consideration to allowing certification bodies to base 
certifications, where such certifications are required, on test results from any testing facility that the 
certification body deems competent or otherwise approves.  
 
Procedures for Review  
 
K.  
 
(1) Each Member shall establish or maintain judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative tribunals 
and procedures for the purpose of the review of its administrative actions relating to technical 
regulations and conformity assessment procedures.  Each Member shall ensure that such tribunals are impartial and indepe ndent of the office or authorit y entrusted with administrative 
enforcement and not have any substantial inte rest in the outcome of the matter and that 
proceedings before such tribunals comply with due process of law. 
 (2) Each Member shall also establish or maintain procedures for it to review, at 
regularly-scheduled intervals, its technical re gulations and conformity assessment procedures 
to determine whether such measures should be mo dified or eliminated so as to make the 
Member’s regulatory program more effective in  achieving the legitimate objective(s) pursued. 
 
IV. INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE 
 Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Member to furnish or allow access 
to confidential information the disclosure of whic h would impede law enforcement or otherwise be 
contrary to the public interest or which woul d prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of 
particular enterprises, public or private.  TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
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 [We may want to include other provisions under this heading along the lines of those in TBT 
Articles 10 and 11 ] 
 
V. MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT 
 A Subcommittee on Electronic Goods (Subc ommittee) is hereby established as a 
subcommittee to the TBT Committee to oversee the operation and implementation of this Agreement 
and further its objectives and to provide a foru m for discussions on any matter related to this 
Agreement.  The Subcommittee shall: 
 
(1) comprise representatives of each Member; 
 (2) elect its own Chairman and apply the TBT Committee working procedures;  (3) meet 12 months after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, and at the end of each 
one-year period thereafter, or earlier as necessary, to: 
  (a) review the implementati on and operation of this Agreem ent, and where appropriate, 
consider proposals for amending it; and  
 (b) review Annexes I, II, III, and IV and co nsider whether they should be modified; and 
 
(4) report to the TBT Committee and the Committee of  Participants on the Expansion of Trade in 
Information Technology Products established pursuant to the Communication to the 
Chairman of the Council on Trade in Goods: Im plementation of the Ministerial Declaration 
on Trade in Informati on Technology Products G/L/160 (March 26, 1997) (ITA Committee) 
with a view to complementing and not duplicati ng the work of those committees, and to this 
end, communicate to the TBT and ITA Committees the results of its review conducted pursuant to subparagraph (3) and, as appropr iate, any proposed amendments to this 
Agreement or recommendations to modify Annex I, II, III, or IV. 
 
VI. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 
 Article 14 of the TBT Agreement shall apply mutatis mutandis to this Agreement. 
 
[Note:  Need to further consider relations hip with Dispute Settlement Understanding]  
 VII. FINAL PROVISIONS 
Annexes 
 
 Annexes I, II, III, and IV shall constitute an inte gral part of this Agreement.  To the extent a 
Member seeks to modify its schedule to Annex II, III, or IV and the modification would expand the 
products subject to this Agreement, the Member  may do so by notifying other Members through the 
Secretariat of the Member's modified schedule.  Th e Secretariat shall modify Annex II, III, or IV, as 
necessary, to include the Member's modified schedule. A Member may modify its schedule to 
Annex II, III, or IV in a manner that would re duce the products subject to this Agreement in 
accordance with Article [ ] (Modification of Schedules) of this Agreement.  
 
[Note: Need to consider additional "final provisions" to be included in this Agreement, such as entry 
into force, withdrawal, amendment, modificati ons of schedules,  WTO Secretariat to service 
Agreement, deposit etc. - items included, for example, in the various UR WTO agreements]  TN/MA/W/105/Rev.2 
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Annex I - Electronic Goods 
 
 [ Add positive list of electronic goods subject to the Agreement.  This list would apply to all 
Members.]  
 
Annex II -Treatment of Conformity Assessment Bodies 
 
 [Add positive list of electronic goods covered for each agency of the Member with respect to 
the obligations in III.F. Each agency and its covere d products may be listed separately with respect to 
EMC and electrical safety.]  
 
Annex III - Acceptance of SDoC 
  [Add positive list of electronic goods covered for each agency of the Member with respect to 
the obligations in III.H. Each agency and its affect ed products may be listed separately with respect 
to EMC and electrical safety.  For example, SDoC  accepted for x product with respect to EMC and 
for y product with respect to electrical safety.] 
 
Annex IV – Acceptance of Third-Party Certification 
 
 [Add positive list of electronic goods covered for each agency of the Member with respect to 
the obligations in III.I. Each agency and its affected  products may be listed separately with respect to 
EMC and electrical safety.  For example, Third- Party Certification accepted for x product with 
respect to EMC and for y product with respect to electrical safety.]  
 
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