. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/W/64
2 April 1998
(98-1325)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
TRANSPARENCY IN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT
Contribution from the United States
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In the first Triennial Review of the Operation and Implementation of the Agreement on
Technical Barriers to Trade (G/TBT/5), the Committee reiterated the important contribution that
international standards can make to improve efficiency of production, to facilitate the conduct ofinternational trade, and to the transfer of technology from developed to developing countries
(para. 17).  Among other things, the Committee noted that in order for international standards to make
a maximum contribution to the achievement of the trade facilitating objectives of the Agreement, it
was important that all Members have the opportunity to participate in the discussions, elaboration and
adoption of international standards.  The Committee agreed to continue an exchange of information
on issues associated with participation in the deve lopment of international standards and in the use of
relevant international standards as a basis for technical regulations, standards and conformity
assessment procedures.  The following is intended to provide additional background on U.S. views in
this regard and to offer a proposal for the Committee’s consideration.
II. BACKGROUND2. Members of the World Trade Organization are bound by the obligations in the Agreement on
Technical Barriers to Trade.  These obligations rela te not only to standards, technical regulations and
conformity assessment procedures developed and applied at the central government level, but also to
those of sub-central governments and private bodies.  The disciplines in the Agreement include
detailed provisions to ensure transparency (e.g., the requirements to publish notice of proposed
standards and to allow a reasonable period of time for the submission of comments by interested
parties) in the development and application of standards, technical regulations and conformityassessment procedures.  These same disciplines do not extend directly to the preparation of standards
by international bodies.  And, while Article 9 encourages Members to formulate and adopt
international systems for conformity assessment , it also explicitly acknowledges Members’
responsibilities to ensure that such systems comp ly with the relevant provisions of the agreement
(i.e., Articles 5 and 6).  The Agreement does not contain a corresponding statement of Members’responsibility with respect to participation in international bodies developing standards.
3. Among other things, in its Review the Committee noted that difficulties might be encountered
in relation to the use of certain international standards.  At the same time the Committee noted it was
important to ensure that the international standardization process was representative of the interests
and concerns of all parties concerned.  It would not be difficult to imagine the adverse trade effectsthat might arise from standards emanating from “international bodies” as defined in the
TBT Agreement which had no procedures for soliciting input from a wide range of interests in the
development of its standards.  Some Committee Members also expressed difficulties in participating
in the preparation of international standards.  The United States continues to believe that bodies whichG/TBT/W/64
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operate with open and transparent procedures which afford an opportunity for consensus among all
interested parties will result in standards which are relevant on a global basis and prevent unnecessary
barriers to trade (G/TBT/W/40).
III. RECOMMENDATION
4. Drawing on the obligations now binding for WTO Members under the TBT Agreement
(in particular, Articles 2.9, 5.6, and Annex 3) the Committee could establish its view that international
bodies which develop standards should have established procedures to ensure that all interested
parties have adequate notice, time and opportunity to provide input in the development of standards.
Based on the provisions of, and experience with, the TBT Agreement, the Committee could articulate
a set of principles and procedures it considered desirable for international bodies which developed
standards.  With agreement on a common set of principles and procedures, the Committee could
clarify the responsibility of Members’ participation in international bodies along the lines of that nowcontained in Article 9.3.  With broad endorsement for this approach by the Committee, the United
States would volunteer to develop a draft for further consideration by Members.
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