WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/L/580
24 October 2002
(02-5837)
REPORT (2002) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
1. The Committee held its twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth meetings on
15 March, 20-21 June and 17 October (G/TBT/M/26-28) respectively.  Mr. Joshua Phoho Setipa
(Lesotho) and Ms. Emily Earl (New Zealand) were Chairpersons.  At those meetings, the Committeeheard statements on the implementation and administration of the Agreement.  A number of Members
informed the Committee of measures taken to ensu re the implementation and administration of the
Agreement.  Several measures were brought to the attention of the Committee by Members who
raised concerns about the potential adverse trade effects or inconsistency with the Agreement of those
measures.
2. At its twenty-seventh meeting, the Committee carried out its Seventh Annual Review of the
Implementation and Operation of the Agreement under Article 15.3 as well as its Seventh Annual
Review of the Code of Good Practice for the Pr eparation, Adoption and Application of Standards
(Annex 3 of the Agreement) based on background documents G/TBT/11/Rev.2, WTO TBT StandardsCode Directory (Seventh Edition), G/TBT/CS/1 /Add.6 and G/TBT/CS/2/Rev.8.  It considered a
number of proposals made at the Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange held on
28 June 2001, and agreed to prepare a booklet on transparency provisions of the Agreement.
3. Following the Second Triennial Review of the Operation and Implementation of the
Agreement under Article 15.4 (G/TBT/9), the Committee continued discussions on a number of
elements taken up during that Review.  It continued to develop a demand-driven TechnicalCooperation Programme as confirmed and mandated by Ministers at Doha.  A questionnaire for a
survey to assist developing country Members to identify and prioritize their specific needs in the
TBT-field was prepared.  More than forty developing country Members submitted responses to the
questionnaire for the consideration of the Committee.
4. At its twenty-eight and twenty-ninth meetings , it proceeded to carry out the mandate provided
by Ministers at Doha to address the outstanding implementation issues.  At its twenty-ninth meeting,
it carried out the annual transitional review mandated in the Protocol of Accession of the People's
Republic of China.
5. The OIE, WHO, UNCTAD and the UN/ECE were invited to update the Committee on their
activities and provided information on the ways they sought to ensure effective participation of
Members, and in particular of developing country Members, in their activities.
6. Representatives of the ACP, ALADI, EFTA, FAO, IEC, IMF, ISO, ITC, OECD, OIE, OIML,
UNCTAD, UN/ECE, UNIDO, WHO, WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission and the
World Bank attended meetings of the Committee in an observer capacity.
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