. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/151
7 November 2000
(00-4698)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
BRAZILIAN PROPOSAL ON TECHICAL COOPERATION FOR THE SECOND
TRIENNIAL REVIEW OF THE WTO AGREEMENT ON
TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
Communication from Brazil
1. Brazil considers productive at this moment to add further details to its proposal on technical
cooperation and assistance recently submitted in document G/TBT/W/140.
2. In this field, the experience of developing and least-developed countries has been restricted to
technical assistance.  Notwithstanding its importance and usefulness, that assistance seems to be
insufficient to fulfill their needs.
3. According to the TBT Agreement context, where one of the most important goals is the
achievement of mutual recognition of systems and activities in order to eliminate technical barriers to
trade, Brazil considers it is necessary to use a wider approach, which can be called
technical cooperation , in the corresponding technical areas (metrology, standardization, technical
regulation and conformity assessment).
4. Among many kinds of activities that can be included under this approach, the following must
be highlighted:
(a) Technical assistance:  transfer of technical and managerial specialized knowledge, in
order to permit the establishment, reinforcement and/or improvement of a given
technical structure;
(b) Technical missions:  from one country to another, in order to promote mutual
knowledge and understanding of the their technical structures and practices;
(c) Training and human resources development:  including short, medium and long term
activities, such as laboratory auditors courses, implementation of quality systems in
labs, uncertainty measurement calculation, etc;
(d) Technical Consultation:  that would allow experts from one country to help to
develop and improve specific areas in other countries;
(e) On the job training:  specially designed training programmes to allow technicians
from one country to work, during a established period, in other countries’ technical
structures;
(f) Joint technical activities:  technical activities performed by two or more experts from
different countries aiming at achieving mutual confidence (peer evaluation,
inter-comparison activities in laboratories, etc.)
(g) Meetings such as, seminars, workshops, lectures, etc., in order to present and discuss
technical themes.G/TBT/W/151
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5. It is important to emphasize that direct cooperation among bodies, both governmental and
non-governmental, from different technical countries’ structures shall be very important for a
progressive increase of technical confidence among them.  This confidence is a necessary condition
for the appropriate relationship needed for mutual recognition initiatives.
6. Brazil considers the above-mentioned activities as part of a Technical Cooperation
Programme, with a general scope to be defined as soon as possible and that must be deployed on a
yearly basis.  Such a Programme should include, as important players, several international technical
entities, as well as funding agencies (international and regional).  Funding should come from
alternative sources:  special lines, non-reimbursable financial support, scholarships, grants, etc.
7. Special periodic workshops should be organized aiming at assessing, evaluating and
analysing the Programme implementation and the achieved results.  These workshops may also
include in their agenda the difficulties faced by Members Countries during TBT implementation.
8. Brazil recommends that the Committee approves, as  an important task for 2001, the designing
and implementation of this Programme.
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