WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/2/Add.101 
22 June 2009 
 
 (09-3045) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   Spanish 
  
 
IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT 
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE 
 
Communication by Ecuador
 
 
Addendum  
   The following statement, submitted under Article 15.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, has been received from the delegation of Ecuador. 
 
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 1. This notification is made in accordance with Article 15.2 of the Agreement on Technical 
Barriers to Trade and with the decision adopted by the Committee on Technical  Barriers to Trade, 
contained in document G/TBT/1/Rev.9 of 8 September 2008. 
2. The Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and the Agreement on Technical 
Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), which is an inte gral part thereof, came into force as law of the 
Republic after Ecuador's Protocol of Accession to the Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization had been ratified by the Nationa l Congress and published in the Supplement to 
Official Journal No. 853 on 2 January 1996. 
3. Law No. 2007-76, published in the Supplement to Official Journal No. 26 on 
22 February 2007, establishes the Ecuadorian Quality  System.  The Law on the Ecuadorian Quality 
System establishes the requirements and procedur es for the preparation, adoption and implementation 
of standards, technical regulations and conformity  assessment procedures and ensures that they are 
adapted to the international conventions and treaties to which the country is a signatory.  In addition, 
the Law is the framework for organizing and de fining the institutional responsibilities that are 
consistent with the proper and timely provision of notification and information internally and 
externally. 
4. The Ecuadorian Quality System consists of: 
(a) The National Quality Council (CONCAL); 
(b) the Ecuadorian Institute of  Standardization (INEN); 
(c) the Ecuadorian Accreditation Agency (OAE);  and 
(d) the public entities and institutions which, de pending on their authority, have the 
ability to issue standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment 
procedures. G/TBT/2/Add.101 
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  5. The National Quality Council (CONCAL) is th e highest body of the Ecuadorian quality 
system.  The Ecuadorian Institute of Standardi zation (INEN) serves as the national technical body 
with authority in the areas of regulation, standardi zation and metrology, as established by the laws of 
the Republic and by international treaties, agreements and convent ions.  The Ecuadorian 
Accreditation Agency (OAE) is the official bod y responsible for accreditation.  The OAE is 
responsible for certifying, in accordance with intern ational guidelines, the technical competence of the 
bodies operating in the area of conformity assessment. 
6. The Ecuadorian regulatory framework is supplem ented by the following decisions adopted by 
the Andean Community of Nations (CAN):  Decision No. 376 of 4 June 1995 of the Commission of the Andean Community, which created the Andean Syst em of Standardization, Accreditation, Testing, 
Certification, Technical Regulations and Me trology, as amended by Decision No. 419 of 
31 July 1997.  Furthermore, Decision No. 562 of 25 June 2003 of the Commission of the Andean Community established the guidelines for th e preparation, adoption and implementation of 
technical regulations in the member countries of the Andean Community and at Community level. 
7. The Ministry of Industry and Productivity, through the Council of the Ecuadorian Metrology, 
Standardization, Accreditation and Certification System (MNAC), establishes the procedures for the 
preparation, adoption and implementation of Ec uadorian technical regulations pursuant to 
Resolution MNAC-0003 of 10 December 2002, published in Official Journal No. 739 on 
7 January 2003. 
8. The preparation of technical regulations and th eir related conformity assessment procedures is 
entrusted to the INEN, ministries and other governme nt agencies related to the specific area to be 
regulated.  Once adopted, the regulations and conf ormity assessment procedures are published in the 
Official Journal. 
9. The definition of the mechanism for compliance w ith the notification procedures for technical 
regulations and conformity assessment procedures set out in Articles 2.9, 2.10, 3.2, 3.3, 5.6, 5.7, 7.2 and 7.3 of the TBT Agreement is contained in Article 34 of the Law on the Ecuadorian Quality 
System, whereby the CONCAL is responsible for organizing the national service providing 
notification and information on standards, tec hnical regulations and conformity assessment 
procedures with the support of other related governme nt agencies that issue technical regulations.  
These agencies disseminate the technical regulations  that have been adopted through reasonable 
means of information available to them, in order to  ensure that the draft technical regulations and 
conformity assessment procedures are made known to in terested parties and forwarded to the national 
notification and enquiry point for publication. 
10. Decision No. 562, Chapter VI, of 25 June 2003 of the Commission of the Andean Community 
establishes the procedures for compliance with the notification, issuing, registration and review 
requirements of the technical regulations.  The dr aft technical regulations are notified 90 calendar 
days before their official publication.  During this period, any comments which other Members may 
have are received.  These comments,  having been duly substantiated, will be incorporated into the 
final version of the technical regulations.  G/TBT/2/Add.101 
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  11. With regard to the services provided for in Articles 10.1 and 10.3 of the Agreement, the 
notification point and/or information centre is th e Ministry of Industry and Productivity (MIPRO).  
The enquiry point is in charge of the further processi ng required by the notification procedure;  that is, 
it receives comments on notified draft regulations a nd channels replies to these comments.  Contact 
information for the notification point and/or information centre is as follows: 
 Ministerio de Industrias y Productividad (MIPRO) 
 Address:  Av. Eloy Alfaro y Amazonas (esquina), Quito, Ecuador  Tel.: (+593 2) 2546690, Extension 162  Fax: (+593 2) 2504922  E-mail: abarbosa@mic.gov.ec
 
 
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