WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
16 March 2009 
 (09-1267) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  
  
 
TBT COMMITTEE WORKSHOP ON THE ROLE  
OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS  
IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 
 
16-17 March 2009
 
 
Programme  
 
Revision  
 
 
 Standards development contributes to improving efficiency of production. As well, the use of international standards and conformity assessment sy stems facilitates the conduct of international trade. 
Since early days, the Committee has explored ways and means of enhancing Members' awareness of, and participation in, the work of internati onal standardizing bodies, thereby improving the 
implementation of the TBT Agreement (Articles 2.6, 5.5, 11.2, 12.5 and paragraph G of the Code of 
Good Practice in particular).  To build on this work the Committee decided, at its meeting of 
5-6 November 2008, to organize a workshop on the Role of International Standards in Economic 
Development.  The workshop will be divided into four sessions over one and a half days.  The first 
session will focus on the economics of standardizati on, the second on case studies, the third on efforts 
to build capacity for standardization in developing  countries, and the fourth will conclude with an 
identification of key remaining challenges.  The bi ographies of the Workshop m oderators and panellists 
are contained in an Annex to this document.  Ab stracts and presentations, where available, will be 
provided separately.   All Members should communicate the names of their capital-based participants (other than 
funded participants from developing country Member s whose names have already been communicated 
to the WTO), by e-mail or fax.  These names should be sent to Mrs. Una Flanagan  
(E-mail: una.flanagan@wto.org;  Fax:  +41 22 739 5620) with a copy to:  BCI@wto.org. 
   
_______________ 
 G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
Page 2  
 
  16 MARCH 2009 
 
Registration (08h30 – 10h00) 
 10h00    Opening Remarks  
  WTO Deputy Director-General, Mr. Harsha V. Singh 
 
Session 1:  The economics of standardization (Panel) 
  
The aim of this panel is to provide an over view and perspective of current work on the 
topic of standards, trade and economic growth .  Expert interventions have been sought 
from Member governments, standardizing b odies and relevant international bodies.  
Panellists will be asked to address the following questions in particular: 
 
• The difficulty of quantifying welfare effe cts of standardizati on is known; given 
this, what can be said today about th e importance of standardization to 
economic development and trade? 
• How do standards contribute to innovation and technical progress? 
• What is the current state of research on quantifying the economic impacts of 
standards?  Is there a harmonized assessment methodology? 
• Is there sufficient appreciation of the importance of standards development 
work, particularly in developing countries? 
   Moderator: Mr. John Tucker , Australia 
 
  Panellists:    
• Prof. Dr. Knut Blind and Mr. Heinz Gaub , European Communities: Studies 
on the economic impact of standards in Europe 
• Mr. Rengang Huang , China: Standards and Technology Diffusion 
• Mr. Stephen Head , Canada:  The value of standards to the Canadian economy 
• Prof. Dr.  Manabu Eto , Japan: The value of standardization for innovation 
• Mr. Eho-Cheng Lo , Chinese Taipei: Quantitative assessment 
• Dr. Hyang Sun , Republic of Korea: Analytic Tools Development on the 
Economic Impact Assessment of Standards/Standardization Projects in the 
Republic of Korea  
 
Session 2:  Case studies on the use of international standards  (Presentations) 
 
The focus of this session is on cases / expe riences illustrating how the use of standards 
has contributed to economic development.  The selection of cases is intended to reflect 
topics of interest to developing countries.   The following brief presentations will be 
made (10 minutes each):  
  Moderator: Mr. Michel Jeanson,  European Communities 
 
  Presentations (10 minutes each): 
 
• Coffee and Asparagus  (two cases): impact of standardization  
(Mr. Augusto Mello , Peru) 
• Textiles :  the use of standards in the tex tiles sector and challenges to SMEs 
(Mr. Muhammad Muzzammil Hussain  and Mrs.  Aisha Humera Moriani , 
Pakistan)  G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  • Biofuels :  the use of standards in the biofuels sector ( Mr. Jorge Cruz , Brazil;  
and the United States) 
• Building Codes and Construction :  The use of international standards in the 
area of public safety ( Mr. Manuel Lascarro , Colombia) 
• Lamps and Refrigerators :  The use of standards for energy efficiency  
(Mr. Jorge Muñoz Canave , Chile)  
• Impact of Harmonization of national st andards with international standards:  
(Ms Samia El Azazy , Egypt) 
• Standards in the area of electrotechnology : The Kenyan experience  
(Mrs.  Evah Oduor , Kenya) 
 
17 MARCH 2009 
 
Session 3:  Building capacity (Panel) 
(10h00)  
The purpose of this panel is to discuss ongoi ng efforts to address developing country 
capacity constraints in respect of the use of international standards.  Panellists will be 
asked to address the following issues in particular: 
• The efficacy of existing efforts to promote and enhance participation of 
developing countries in international st andard-setting activities, for instance 
through schemes such as "twinning" (in the ISO) or other forms of participation (such as the IEC's "Affiliate Programme"). 
 
• Work done at the international or region al level to build capacity, particularly 
with respect to conformity assessment  infrastructure (e.g. metrology, 
laboratories, certification capacity and accreditation). 
 
• Relevant work on aid-for-trade in the WTO and the activities of the SPS 
Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF). 
   Moderator: Ms Ileana Márquez Martinez, United States  
  Panellists:   
• Mr. Fabio Tobón , Colombia: "Twinning" 
• Mr. Gary Kushnier, U.S.:  Technical infrastructure development in APEC 
• Mr. Carlos Rodriguez , Costa Rica:  Benefits for Costa Rica from 
participating in the IEC Affiliate Country Programme 
• Ms Rula Madanat , Jordan: Capacity Building of  the Quality Infrastructure 
through Technical Cooperation Projects in  the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership 
-The experience of Jordan 
•  Mr. Gerardo Patacconi , UNIDO:  Quality infrastructure capacity building 
•  Mr. Michael Roberts , WTO Secretariat:  Aid for Trade and the Standards 
Compliance Needs of Developing Countries 
•  Mr. John S. Wilson , World Bank:  Global best practice and strategies in 
standards 
 
Session 4:  Identification of key challenges 
 
The final session will draw from the previous  discussions to identify key challenges for 
developing countries, and discuss ways of addressing them.   
_______________ G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
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  ANNEX 
 
Session 1:  The economics of standardization (Panel) 
John Tucker (Australia)
 
Mr. Tucker joined Standards Australia as Chief Exec utive Officer in 2004, following a diverse career 
path traversing public and private sectors, and pol itical advising.  Established in 1922, Standards 
Australia is a company recognised by the Australian Government as the peak non-government standards 
development and approval body in Australia.  Mr. Tucker's bac kground is in health surveillance, 
occupational hygiene and industrial relations.  An experienced company director and Member of the 
Australian Institute of Company Directors, he former ly held statutory appointments in the fields of 
health and safety and workers’ compensation.  He has held CEO positions in the fields of injury and 
risk management and industry association management .  Mr. Tucker's qualifications include a Bachelor 
of Applied Science in Environmental Health.  
Knut Blind (Germany)  
Prof. Blind has been a Senior Researcher at th e Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation 
Research at Karlsruhe since 1996.  In 2006 he was appointed Professor of Innovation Economics at the 
Faculty of Economics and Management, Berlin Univers ity of Technology, and Head of the Competence 
Center "Regulation and Innovation" of the Fraunhofer Institute.  He has held the endowed Chair of 
Standardisation at the Rotterdam School of Manageme nt, Erasmus University, since 2008.  Prof. Blind, 
a graduate of Brock University (Canada) and Frei berg University, has published numerous articles on 
standardisation and intellectual property rights. 
Heinz Gaub (Germany)  
Mr. Gaub joined the Management Board of DIN, the German Institute for Standardization with 
responsibility for standardization process management, in 2007.  He has some 17 years of industrial 
experience, most recently with Willy Vogel AG, the world's leading supplier of centralized lubrication 
technology for machinery, systems, commercial and railway vehicles, where he was a member of the 
Management Board for over six years.  Mr. Gaub studied mechanical engineering at the Technical 
University of Berlin, specializing in production technology, and also studi ed at the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge (USA),  where he obtained a Master of Science.   
Rengang Huang (China)  
Mr. Rengang Huang is Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of China to the World Trade 
Organization, Geneva.  He has years of experience  in international trade negotiations, including the 
ongoing WTO Doha Round.  His current responsib ilities cover mainly the areas of trade in goods, 
including agriculture, market access,  sanitary and phytosanitary measur es, technical barriers to trade, 
import licensing measures, and trade-related investme nt measures.  He has experience in attending 
standards and trade-related seminars and has exte nsive contacts with a variety of stakeholders,  
including some NGOs on open standa rds to promote economic and trade development.  Before 2002, he 
worked for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Eco nomic Cooperation of China, and took part in the 
development of some foreign investment and trade policies of China.  He holds an M.A. degree from 
the University of International Business and Econ omics, Beijing, China and an MBA from Cardiff 
Business School, University of Wales, UK.  G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Stephen Head (Canada)  
Mr. Head is a Senior Policy Analyst in the Inte rgovernmental Affairs and Trade Branch of the 
Standards Council of Canada.  His current responsibil ities for the Standards Council include monitoring 
the files of  the WTO Technical Barriers to Tr ade Committee, the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards 
and Conformance, as well as a number of other trade policy issues in the field of standardization.  
He provides policy advice and analysis on the intern ational, national and regi onal implications of a 
broad range of regulatory, trade a nd standardization policies, initiatives, programs and practices.   His 
research interests are international tr ade policy and regulatory cooperation. 
Manabu Eto (Japan)  
Dr. Eto is a Professor at the Institute of Innovati on Research, Hitotsubashi University and Consulting 
Fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade a nd Industry.  He joined the Ministry of Economy, 
Trade and Industry after gaining his M.E.  Dr. Eto has worked for the Science and Technology Agency, 
the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Sc ience and Technology and the OEC and for over 20 
years has predominantly been engaged in the field of technology transfer, management of technology, and standardization at these organizations.  Dr. Et o is author and co-author of several books and 
articles, including: "Strategic Use of Consensus- based Standards" and "Business Strategy in the 
Standardization of Semiconductor Equipment and Op tical Connectors".  He organized the study group 
on the economic and social effects of standardizati on, which analyzed the va lue of standardization 
through examining case studies (e.g., DVD-associa ted equipment, electronic components, raw 
materials).  Dr. Eto gained his B.E. in Engineering Science at Osaka University, a M.E. in Engineering 
Science at Osaka University, and a Ph. D in  Engineering Science at Tohoku University. 
Eho-Cheng Lo (Chinese Taipei)
 
Mr. Lo is Deputy CEO of a technology policy research think-tank in Chinese Taipei.  Over a period of 
ten years in the field of standardization, he  has served in various capacities, including on the 
Technology & Standards Function Team as Commissioner.   At the technical level, Mr. Lo initiated and 
established Chinese Taipei’s first online collaborati on platform for standards development, and the 
registry and repository for XML-based standards. In the policy domain, he is the main drafter and the 
Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Taipei’s strategy for st andards development, as well as the Blueprint for 
Standardization Education.  Mr. Lo has several degrees, including an MS in Management Science & 
Engineering at Stanford University (USA), and an  MPhil in Technology Policy at the University of 
Cambridge (UK) as a Chevening Scholar awarded by  the British Council.  Mr. Lo is author and co-
author of several books, including: "Asia PKI In teroperability Guidelines, The Fundamentals of 
Standardization" and "The Winning Standardization Strategy for Enterprises". His areas of interest and 
research include technology foresi ght applied to standardization,  standards in a sustainable 
infrastructure, and the synergy between R&D,  standardization and commercialization.  
Hyang Sun (Republic of Korea)  
Dr. Sun is the Deputy Director of the Standards Poli cy Division of the Korean Agency for Technology 
and Standards (KATS), which represents the Republic of  Korea in the ISO and IEC.  His career began 
as a Governmental Officer in 1993 and he has been working in the international standardization and 
policy field since 1999.  He has served as the KATS Liaison Officer to ISO and other international bodies for several years and was Secretary of the ISO Technical Committee 224 Working Group for 
two years.  Dr. Sun received his Philosophy Degr ees (Engineering Major) from Inha University and 
completed his post-Doctoral studies at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA.  
 G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
Page 6  
 
  Session 2:  Case studies on the use of standards 
Michel Jeanson (European Communities)
 
Mr. Jeanson, who joined the European Commission in 20 04, is in charge of horizontal policy issues in 
the Standardisation Unit of DG Enterprise and Industr y.  His duties involve the representation of the 
Commission’s services on the Administrative Boards of CEN1, as well as in the General Assemblies of 
CEN and CENELEC.2  Mr. Jeanson was involved in the preparation of the Commission 
Communication published in March 2008 entitled "Towar ds a greater contribution of standardisation to 
innovation in Europe".  He is currently heavil y involved in the reform process of European 
standardisation, and manages the study on "Access to  Standardisation".  He is also responsible for 
international standardisation cooperation, especially  with Russia and the United States, as well as 
international organisations.  His 20 years’ experience in standard isation was acquired in various 
positions, beginning with the French Standards Institute (AFNOR) as Technical Officer, becoming 
secretary of national, European and international t echnical committees dealing with food standards.  He 
joined the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) in 1991, where he was responsible for food 
and environmental protection sta ndardisation and further occupied  various functions.  In 2002 Mr. 
Jeanson joined Eurometaux, the industrial trade federation of the European non-ferrous metals 
industries, as Health and Safety Manager, taking up  the challenge of the creation of the European 
Environmental Citizens Organisation for Standard isation (ECOS).  Mr. Jeanson was chosen by 
Environmental NGOs as the first Secretary General of ECOS, representing environmental protection organisations within the standardisa tion organisations for two years.  
Augusto Mello (Peru)
 
Mr. Mello is the Director of the Peruvian Sta ndardization and Accreditation Body (INDECOPI), a 
position he has held for the past 12 years, and Head  of the National Accreditation Service.  From 2000 
to 2004 he served as Vice President of the Inte r-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) and in 
2008 was Chairman of the APEC Sub-Committee of St andards and Conformance.  Mr. Mello graduated 
from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and gained his Master of Arts in Economics from 
Ilades-Georgetown University, Santiago. 
Aisha Humera Moriani (Pakistan)  
Mrs. Moriani is the WTO Economic Counsellor at th e Permanent Mission of Pakistan, Geneva, who is 
responsible for Agriculture, Trade and Development, Safeguards, SPS and TBT rela ted matters.  Before 
joining this Mission she was the Director of the Economic, Trade and Investment wing of the 
Agriculture Ministry.  Mrs. Moriani has a MSc. in Development Management from the London School 
of Economics and is an experienced civil servant with  a diverse experience. She started her carrier with 
Economic Affairs Division in the Ministry of Finan ce where she worked with various organizations on 
issues related to effective utilization of foreign assist ance.  She has also served as a Director in the 
Trade Promotion Authority, as well as in the Mini stry of Commerce, and participated in several 
bilateral and regional trade negotiations. 
Muhammad Muzzammil Hussain (Pakistan)  
Mr. Muzzammil Hussain is a progressive businessman w ho has been associated with the textile industry 
for the past 20 years.  He has, among other things, served as Chairman of the Towel Manufacturers 
Association (TMA) of Pakistan and Advisor to th e Minister of Transport, Government of Sindh 
(Provincial Government).  He currently holds the pos t of Chairman in several organizations, including 
                                                      
1 European Committee for Standardisation. 
2 European Committee for Electro -technical standardisation.  G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
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  the Managing Committee of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI).  As well, he is the 
Senior Director of the SMA Rizvi Textile Institu te, Karachi and the Execu tive Director of Shahi 
Textiles, Karachi.  He has a keen  interest in corporate social responsibility, skill development and 
quality control systems. 
Jorge Cruz (Brazil)  
Mr. Cruz is the General Coordinato r of International Affairs at the National Institute of Metrology, 
Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO).  His responsibility is for International Relations 
(bilateral and multilateral) and he  is predominantly involved in Scientific and Technological 
Cooperation Agreements, Memora nda of Understanding, Inten tion Protocols, Regional and 
International Negotiations and Tec hnological Innovation. Mr. Cruz is an INMETRO representative in 
fora and organizations such as th e WTO and Mercosur.  He has degrees in Mechanical Manufacturing 
Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Santa Ursula University, and a Masters in Technology 
from the Federal Technological Education Center, Rio de Janeiro.  
Manuel A. Lascarro (Colombia)  
Mr. Lascarro is the Director of Special Projects at the Colombian Ready Mixed Concrete Producers 
Association (ASOCRETO).  He manages activities re lated to competitiveness, environmental issues, 
and legal  affairs and is also responsible for the ASOCRETO concrete housing promotion program.  Mr. 
Lascarro has broad experience in international st andardisation issues, from active involvement in 
technical standards committees to membership on th e board of directors of ASTM International, a 
leading standards development organization.  In a ddition, he serves as Executive Secretary of the 
Iberoamerican Federation for Ready Mixed Concrete  (FIHP), an organization of concrete trade 
associations in Latin America whose membership  includes partner organizations from Spain and 
Portugal.  In this role, Mr. Lascarro encourages international cooperation among national and regional 
trade associations in Europe and the Americas to ra ise awareness of the ready mixed concrete industry 
and improve its effectiveness.  He also serves on the editorial boards of two construction industry 
magazines in Colombia , Noticreto  and Mineria Colombia .  Mr. Lascarro gained his Industrial 
Engineering Degree from Pontificia Universidad Javeria na, Bogota.  He also holds a Master's Degree in 
Private Development and Project Finance from the Fundación Antonio Camuñas, Universidad San Pablo CEU, Madrid. 
Jorge Nestor Muñoz Canave (Chile)
 
Mr. Muñoz is Project Manager for the Innova pr oject "Support for the Electrical Product and Fuel 
Certification System" of the Chilean Production Deve lopment Corporation (Corporación de Fomento de 
la Producción – CORFO).  CORFO's aim is to devel op standards and protocols for electrical, gas and 
kerosene products for regulatory certification.  He is responsible for the preparation, drafting and 
approval of technical standards in the area of inform ation technologies, such as the security and privacy 
of electronic documents, for incorporation in the Re gulations to the Law on Electronic Signatures, and 
for the development of other standards for CO RFO and Inter-American Development Bank (BID) 
projects on traceability and photovoltaic energy.  His previous work experience was with NEC Chile 
SA, Under-Secretariat of Telecommunications, Ma nquehue Telephone Company, National Petroleum 
Company and Telefónica CTC, Chile.  Mr. Muñoz graduated as an Electronics Engineer from the Federico Santa Maria Technical University of Valparaíso, Chile. 
Samia El Azazy (Egypt)
 
Eng. El Azazy is the Manager of the Standards Ha rmonization Project in the Egyptian Organization for 
Standardization and Quality (EOS) and a Member in Egyptian Enquiry point  and the Egyptian TBT 
Committee in EOS. She holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical  Engineering and a diploma in quality, and has G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
Page 8  
 
  more than 30 years experience in the fields of  standards, technical regulations and conformity 
assessment activities. She served as General Manager of the Quality Department in the Ministry of 
Trade and Industry, and as Technical Director in Egyptian Accreditation Council for about 10 years. 
She has represented Egypt in many international, European and regional conferences and workshops on 
issues concerning standardization and accreditation. Mo reover, Eng. El Azazy is an Advisor and lead 
Examiner in the Egyptian National Quality Award for Excellence for both the governmental service 
institutions and the in dustrial organizations. 
Evah Adega Oduor (Kenya)
 
Ms Oduor is the Director of Standards & Internationa l Trade with the Kenya Bureau of Standards.  She 
has almost 30 years experience in standardisation, conformity assessment and metrology.  Ms Oduor 
has participated in several trade negotiations and is active in the East Africa Community (EAC) and 
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) regions on issues of standardisation and conformity assessment.  She is the Vice Presiden t of the Africa Electrotechnical Standardization 
Commission (AFSEC) on Conformity Assessment and is  the IEC Affiliate Coordinator for Africa.  
Ms Oduor gained her Master of Science Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Nairobi.   
Session 3:  Building capacity 
Ileana Márquez Martínez (United States)
  
Ms Martinez is Acting Group Leader of the Global Standards and Information Group at the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) a nd serves as International Affairs Advisor to the 
National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (N VLAP) at NIST and is Vice Chair of the Inter 
American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC).  Her expe rtise focuses on the US approach to standards, 
regulations, certification, laboratory accreditation and WTO trade obligations. From 1996 through 2000, 
she served as the NIST Regional Standards Attach é in South America, with standards-related 
responsibilities for the region.  She has worked as a Standards Engineer in industrial sectors for both 
U.S. and overseas organizations, spending eight years at AFNOR, the French national standards body.  
Ms. Martinez earned a bachelor degree in Mech anical Engineering, did graduate work in 
Science/Technology Policy and is a recipient of a 2001 Bronze Medal from the Department of 
Commerce for contributing to NIST efforts in standa rds and conformity assessment outreach and of a 
2004 ANSI Meritorious Service Award. 
Fabio Tobón (Colombia)  
Mr. Tobón is the Executive Director of the National Standards and Certification Body of Colombia 
(ICONTEC).  With more than 16 years experien ce in Standards and Conformity Assessment, 
Mr. Tobón has been a member of the Board of Directors and the Technical Management Board (TMB) 
of the International Organization for Standardizati on (ISO).  He is also a member of the Board of 
Directors of the Pan-American Standards Organization (COPANT) and a former member of the BoD of ASTM International.  An Agronomist from the Univ ersidad Nacional in Bogota, Colombia, he received 
his Masters Degree in Agricultural Engineering and Ad ministration at the University of Minnesota.   
Gary Kushnier (United States)
 
Mr. Kushnier has held the post of Vice-President of International Policy at the American National 
Standards Institute (ANSI) since 1995.  His primar y responsibility is for overall liaison and policy 
coordination of ANSI’s activities with internationa l and regional organizati ons, as well as national 
member bodies.  ANSI is a not-for-profit membership organization that brings together organizations 
from both the private and public sectors dedicated to furthering US and international voluntary 
consensus standards and conformity assessments.  ANSI accredits national standards developing  G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
 Page 9 
 
 
  organizations and approves American  National Standards and is the sole US representative to the 
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the US National Committee, the 
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).  Pr ior to his current appointment he served as Vice 
President of ANSI’s Brussels Office, where he wo rked closely with various European standards 
organizations during the early years of the formation of the European Union.  Currently he serves as 
Chair of the PASC Executive Committee and as st aff liaison to the ANSI International Policy 
Committee.  Mr. Kushnier received his Bachelor of Science degree from Kean College, New Jersey.   
Carlos E. Rodríguez  (Colombia)  
Carlos E. Rodríguez has been the Executive Director of the Costa Ri can Technical Standards Institute 
(INTECO) since 1996.  He is currently also the IS O Regional Liaison Officer for Central America and 
the Caribbean and the Leader of the IEC Affiliate Country Programme.  As well, Mr. Rodríguez is a 
member of the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Accreditation Authority (ECA) and the Director-General of the Inter American Develo pment Bank (IDB)/Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) 
project on "SME Competitiveness through Techni cal Standardization".  From 2003 to 2005, 
Mr. Rodríguez was President of the Pan American  Standards Commission (COPANT).  Mr. Rodríguez 
graduated from the University of Costa Rica an d obtained a Masters in Policy Development and 
Evaluation from the Getulio Vargas Foundation.  He is  also professor at the Faculty of Economics of 
the University of Costa Rica. 
Rula Madanat (Jordan)
 
Ms Madanat is Assistant Director General for Techni cal Affairs at the Jordan  Institution for Standards 
and Metrology (JISM).  She has held several technical  and managerial positions with JISM for the past 
21 years.  She was Team Leader for the "Europ ean-Jordan Twinning Project for Strengthening JISM" 
and twice headed JISM's team for the King A bdullah II Award for Government Performance and 
Transparency.  In addition to her knowledge of the WTO TBT and SPS Agreements, Ms Madanat 
possesses substantive practical experience in the ar eas of standards, technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures.  She has represente d Jordan in many international, European and 
regional meetings, conferences, and workshops on issu es concerning trade and technical barriers.  For 
instance, she was a member of the Jordanian nego tiation delegation of the Free Trade Agreement with 
the USA and Canada.  Ms Madanat is a certified Ma nagement Development Expert under the Certified 
Trade Advisors Program of the International Tr ade Centre (ITC), European Quality Auditor and 
European Quality Systems Manager, certified by the European Organization for Quality (EOQ).  
Ms Madanat holds a B.S. in Chemical Engi neering from the University of Jordan. 
Gerardo Patacconi (UNIDO)  
Mr. Patacconi is Chief, Quality , Productivity and Enterprises Upgr ading, UNIDO Trade Capacity 
Building Branch, and focal point for cooperation with  ISO and the WTO/TBT.  Holder of a high-level 
degree in Statistics and Management Science, he was awarded European  Young Scientist in Operational 
Research in 1984. He has contributed to the de velopment and implementation of the UNIDO Trade 
Capacity Building Approach.  Over recent years he  has focussed on the implementation of large-scale 
national and regional industrial restructuring a nd upgrading programmes and food traceability.  After 
joining UNIDO in 1987, he has carried out research work  and directly extended technical assistance and 
training to industries and quality-rela ted institutions to over 80 developing countries.  Mr. Patacconi  is 
an ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Lead Auditor and a tr ained Total Quality Management Specialist. G/TBT/GEN/80/Rev.1 
Page 10  
 
  Michael Roberts (WTO)
 
Mr. Roberts is a Counsellor in the Development Divi sion.  He was appointed Aid for Trade Coordinator 
at the WTO Secretariat in January 2009.  Prior to joining the Development Division, Mr. Roberts spent 
seven years with the Agriculture Division, the majority as Secretary of the Standards and Trade 
Development Facility (STDF).  During this time, he oversaw the evolution of the STDF into a multi-
donor Trust Fund with 16 donors and annual resources of approximately US$5 million.  The STDF is a 
funding and co-ordination mechan ism which assists developing count ries comply with sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures. 
John S. Wilson (World Bank)  
Mr. Wilson is a Lead Economist in the Developm ent Economics Research Group of the World Bank, 
directing policy research on trade facilitation, standa rds, regulatory reform, and economic development.  
Providing expertise in lending operations and particip ating in Bank projects, he has provided leadership 
for the World Bank establishment of the inter-agenc y Standards and Trade Development Facility.  A 
member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Trade Facilitation, he is co-author of 
numerous publications, including "Help or Hindrance?  The Impact of Harmonized Standards on African 
Exports", "Trade, Transparency, and Welfare in the Asia Pacific" and  "Standards and Export Decisions: 
Firm-level Evidence from Developing Countries. "  Work in progress includes "Aid for Trade 
Facilitation: Does it Matter?"  Previously Vice Presi dent for Technology Policy at the Information 
Technology Industry Council in W ashington, D.C. and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for 
International Economics, he was also a Senior Staff Officer at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences 
and National Research Council and Adjunct Professo r of International Affairs at Georgetown 
University.  He holds degrees from Wooster Colle ge and Columbia University in New York. 
__________