. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/DEU/4 
18 January 2008 
 (08-0273) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   GERMANY
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:         
Name and address (including telephone 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:    
Agency of the Market Surveillance Working Group at the 
Bavarian State Ministry of the Environmen t, Public Health and Consumer Protection 
Rosenkavalierplatz 2 D - 81925 München Germany 
 
Phone: +(49) 89 9214 2534 Fax: +(49) 89 9214 2355 E-mail: aamue@stmugv.bayern.de 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [    ], 2.10.1 [ X ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):   Toys containing magnets
5. Title, number of pages and langua ge(s) of the notified document:   Information from the 
Market Surveillance Working Group for ma rketers of magnetic toys – additional 
requirements pertaining to magnetic  toys –(1 page in German) 
6. Description of content:   The draft calls on parties responsible for placing toys on the 
market for the first time to apply a special la bel to toys containing magnets attached such 
that they could be swallowed, warning of  the dangers presented by the magnets if 
swallowed by children.  This regulation is inte nded to enter into force on 1 January 2008. 
In view of the fact that the festivals towards the end of the year mean that more toys are 
bought at this time of year, the draft also requires that, as of 1 December 2007, notices should be posted in sales outlets near to the toys in question, informing customers of these 
dangers. G/TBT/N/DEU/4 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the natu re of urgent problems where applicable:   A 
number of reports of serious injuries caused to children who swallowed several magnets 
from toys demonstrate that the regulations curren tly applicable to toys are inadequate.  The 
European Commission therefore asked the Eur opean Committee for Standardisation, on 25 
May 2007, to add to these regula tions within two years.  In the meantime, measures need to 
be taken to prevent further accidents.  As no such measures have yet been adopted for the 
entire common market, the German authoriti es have decided to introduce the above-
described measure.  They will, of course, withdraw it when a Community measure is 
adopted. 
8. Relevant documents:   Information from the Market Surveillance Working Group for 
marketers of magnetic toys 
9. Proposed date of adoption:  The measure has been adopted by a decision of the  
“Arbeitsausschuss Marktüberwachung” (M arket Surveillance Working Group) on the 29th 
November 2007 
Proposed date of entry into force:  1 January 2008 
10. Final date for comments:   Not applicable 
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:   
Agency of the Market Surveillance Working Group at the 
Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment Public Health and Consumer Protection Rosenkavalierplatz 2 D - 81925 München 
Germany 
or from the EC’s TRIS Website: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tris /pisa/app/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=
 
pisa_notif_overview&iYear=2007& inum=632&lang=EN&sNLang=EN  
and 
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2008/tbt/DEU/08_0154_00_x.pdf