RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/TBT/M/10
5January 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-0003)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON3OCTOBER 1997
Chairman: Mr.T.H.M.Tong (Hong Kong, China)
1. TheCommittee onTechnical Barriers toTrade helditstenth meeting on3October 1997.
2. Thefollowing agenda, ascontained inWTO/AIR/679 wasadopted:
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I. Request forObserver Status intheCommittee bytheAfrican, Caribbean 2
andPacific Group ofStates (ACP); theEuropean FreeTrade Association
(EFTA); theOffice International delaVigne etduVin(OIV); andthe
Latin American Integration Association (ALADI)
II. Technical Working Group oftheCommittee onISO/IEC Guides relating to 2
Articles 5and6oftheAgreement -Report ontheThird Meeting
III. Preparation fortheFirstTriennial Review oftheOperation and 3
Implementation oftheTBTAgreement under Article 15.4
IV. Statements onImplementation andAdministration oftheAgreement 5
V. Other Business 6G/TBT/M/10
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I. REQUEST FOR OBSERVER STATUS INTHE COMMITTEE BYTHE AFRICAN,
CARIBBEANANDPACIFICGROUPOFSTATES(ACP);THEEUROPEANFREETRADE
ASSOCIATION (EFTA); THE OFFICE INTERNATIONAL DELAVIGNE ETDUVIN
(OIV); AND THE LATIN AMERICAN INTEGRATION ASSOCIATION (ALADI)
3. TheChairman drew attention todocument G/TBT/W/46 containing therequest forobserver
status intheCommittee bytheLatin American Integration Association (ALADI). Herecalled that
atitslastmeeting of20June, theCommittee agreed togrant observer status totheAfrican, Caribbean
andPacific Group ofStates (ACP) andtheEuropean FreeTrade Association (EFTA) onanadhoc
basis, pending further decision. Atthatmeeting, itwasrecognized thatfurther consultations would
beneeded fortherequests forobserver status bytheACP, EFTA, theOffice international delavigne
etduvin(OIV) andtheALADI.
4. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities recalled that,atthelastmeeting shehad
supported therequests forobserver status byACP, EFTA, andtheOIVandstated thatshecould also
accept therequest forobserver status byALADI.
5. Therepresentative ofMexico hadnoobjections tothethreeintergovernmental regional bodies,
butwould liketohavemore information regarding theOIV.
6. Therepresentative ofVenezuela sought clarification oftherules forobserver status.
7. Therepresentative oftheUnited States stated thatduetoongoing discussions inother WTO
bodies, shepreferred towaitbefore adopting aformal decision onobservership. Atthelastmeeting,
shehadagreed togrant observer status toACP andEFTA onanadhoc,meeting-by-meeting basis,
andwould accord thesame treatment toALADI, butwould needmore information before granting
observer status totheOIVevenonanadhocbasis.
8. TheCommittee agreed tocontinue togrant adhocobserver status totheACPandEFTA, and
togrant adhocobserver status toALADI. Further consultations would beneeded fortherequest of
observer status made bytheOIV.
II. TECHNICALWORKINGGROUPOFTHECOMMITTEEONISO/IECGUIDESRELATING
TOARTICLES 5AND 6OFTHEAGREEMENT -REPORT ONTHETHIRD MEETING
9. TheTechnical Working Group oftheCommittee onISO/IEC Guides Relating toArticles 5
and6oftheAgreement helditsthirdmeeting on2October. Atitssecond meeting, heldon18June,
theWorking Group hadagreed thatareport would besubmitted totheCommittee afteritsOctober
meeting, sothatitcould betaken intoaccount bytheCommittee inthecontext oftheTriennial Review
inNovember.
10. TheChairman oftheTechnical Working Group recalled thatthemandate oftheGroup was
toexaminethevariousISO/IECGuidesrelatingtoconformityassessment,andtoevaluatetheirusefulness
inthefurtherance oftheimplementation ofArticles 5and6.Members hadunderlined theusefulness
oftheguides infacilitating trade bycontributing toaproper level ofquality ofconformity reports
andcertificates. They alsohadexchanged information through bothwritten andoralcontributions.
Thecontributions from Members hadshown thattheguides werewidely usedonavoluntary basis.
However, some Members haddifficulties withthepractical implementation ofcertain guides.
11. Hestated thatatthemeeting of2October, theTechnical Working Group hadheard presentations
from therepresentatives ofIAF; IEC; ILAC andISO/CASCO. Thebriefing hadproved useful in
demonstrating notonlytheimportance thattheguides present forthese organizations, butalsohowG/TBT/M/10
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theguidescontributedtotheoperationofinternationalcertificationandothermutualrecognitionsystems,
thereby facilitating thefreecirculation ofproducts throughout theworld. Heinformed theCommittee
thattheoutcome ofthediscussions oftheGroup hadunderlined positive general support fortheguides.
However, ithadnotbeenpossible toreach aconsensus onadraftrecommendation endorsing awider
recourse totheguides, under theaegis oftheAgreement, similar tothatadopted bytheTokyo Round
TBTCommittee, asanumber ofMembers hadreservations ordoubts onitsusefulness oropportuneness.
12. Heconcluded thattheTechnical Working Group feltithadfulfilled itstaskand,atpresent,
itcould notprogress thedebate onarecommendation since theissues discussed fellunder the
Committee 'sresponsibility. IftheCommittee wished tofurther thedebate, ithadatitsdisposal alarge
amount ofmaterial, presented byMembers, which could contribute toconcluding thediscussions.
13. TheCommittee tooknoteoftheReport oftheChairman oftheTechnical Working Group.
III. PREPARATION FOR THE FIRST TRIENNIAL REVIEW OFTHE OPERATION AND
IMPLEMENTATION OFTHE TBTAGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 15.4
14. TheChairmandrewattentiontothefactthatunderArticle15.4oftheAgreement,theCommittee
would carry outitsFirstTriennial Review oftheOperation andImplementation oftheAgreement not
laterthantheendof1997. TheTriennial Review would beconducted attheCommittee meeting of
13November. Hesaidthat11delegations hadsubmitted 12papers forthepurpose oftheTriennial
Review (documents G/TBT/W/36, 39,40,41,44,45,47,48,50,51,53and54).Inorder tofacilitate
discussions, theSecretariat hadprepared anupdated informal catalogue compiling proposals and
comments made byMembers (Job4704/Rev.1). Heinvited Members tomake general statements on
theissue oftheTriennial Review.
15. Therepresentative ofPhilippines drew attention tohisdelegation 'ssubmission contained in
document G/TBT/W/54 andstressed thattheTriennial Review should notleadtoanadjustment of
rights andobligations andprovided agoodopportunity toassess theimplementation oftheAgreement,
including Articles 11and12.Heproposed thattheCommittee focus onthefollowing fiveaspects
asstated inG/TBT/W/54: (i)obligations under Article 15.2; (ii)notification procedures and
transparency; (iii)Code ofGood Practice; (iv)useofinternational standards byMembers; and(v)
conformity assessment procedures.
16. Therepresentative ofAustralia drew attention toherdelegation 'ssubmission contained in
documentG/TBT/W/55andsaidthattheTriennialReviewshouldestablishaframeworkforencouraging
maximum adherence totheprovisions oftheAgreement by:(i)reducing thepromulgation offuture
national technical regulations, when unnecessary, orlimiting them totheirspecific requirements in
alignment withprevailing international standards asfaraspossible; (ii)maximizing adherence tothe
Code ofGood Practice byallstandardizing bodies; (iii)optimizing thelevel ofharmonization of
conformityassessmentsystemsandfacilitatingthenegotiationsofmultilateralratherthanpurelybilateral
mutual recognition agreements (MRAs); and,(iv)bymaking progress towards implementing the
portability concept of"one standard, onetest,onetime, andonecertificate". Astointernational
standards, sherecalled thatsome Members hadexpressed concerns about problems inaligning national
standards tointernational standards. Herdelegation considered thisconcern would bestbefollowed
upintherelevant international standardizing bodies, ofwhich many WTO Members werealsomembers.
17. Therepresentative ofEgypt drewattention tohisdelegation 'ssubmission contained indocument
G/TBT/W/56 andsaidthattheTriennial Review could improve theoperation andimplementation of
theTBTAgreement without amending orchanging itsprovisions, andshould aimatensuring theG/TBT/M/10
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avoidance ofanyimbalance between rights andobligations under theAgreement. Oneofthemost
important objectives forEgypt wastopropose howtoenhance, activate, anddevelop theprovisions
ofArticles 11and12.Hisdelegation hadmade proposals relating tonotification procedures and
transparency, theCode ofGood Practice, international standards, andISO/IEC guides and
recommendations onconformity assessment procedures.
18. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheCommittee should make the
necessary arrangements toestablish, during theTriennial Review, thatallMembers havenotified the
measures taken toensure theimplementation andadministration oftheAgreement andhavesubmitted
thewritten statements under Article 15.2according totherelevant decisions contained indocument
G/TBT/1/Rev.4. TheCommittee would invite Members thathadnotcomplied withtheirobligations
tonotify these measures before theCommittee meeting of12-13 November, andtheChairman should
organize individual andinformal consultations withtheMembers concerned toprovide thenecessary
assistance tofulfil thatobligation. Sheproposed that,during theTriennial Review, theCommittee
should evaluate thecontent ofthewritten statements inthelightoftherelevant decisions.
19. ShealsoproposedthattheCommitteeshouldmakethenecessaryarrangementstobeinaposition
toestablish, during theTriennial Review, asignificant increase inthenumber ofacceptances ofthe
Code ofGood Practice bystandardizing bodies andinvite Members toindicate thestepstheyhadtaken
tofulfil theobligations under Article 4.1,and,where appropriate, thereasons whythebodies within
theirterritories hadnotyetaccepted theCode.
20. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatthebasic objective oftheTriennial Review
wastoassess whether theAgreement washelping governments evaluate whether standards, technical
regulations andconformity assessment procedures were being usedtoprotect domestic producers
arbitrarily from competition orotherwise unfairly restrict trade. Tothatextent, thetransparency
provisions oftheAgreement were aimed atpreventing theestablishment oftechnical trade barriers.
Sherecalled theobligation forMembers tosubmit statements under Article 15.2andstated thatthe
Committee should trytoascertain thereasons forlowcompliance, theproblems faced insubmitting
those statements aswellasonspecific needs fortechnical assistance. Itwould beuseful forMembers
toexchange information ontheadministrative procedures established toensure thattheirdomestic
regulators andagencies comply withtheAgreement. Sheconsidered thisexercise instructive notonly
forMembers whohadnotsubmitted theirstatement, butalsoforthose whohadcomplied andmight
bestriving formore effective andefficient means ofcompliance. Shesupported thepractical and
illustrative guide provided inNewZealand 'ssubmission (G/TBT/W/44), andrecalled thatherdelegation
hadproposed forvoluntary exchange ofinformation ontheprocedures taken byMembers toensure
domestic compliance (G/TBT/W/40). Shesaidthatthere wastheneedforgovernments toinform
authorities andprivate bodies oftheirresponsibilities under theAgreement, andtheneedforinstitutional
mechanisms toaccomplish thisonacontinuous basis.
21. Herdelegation believed thatthedefinition ofproportionality andleasttraderestrictive measures
would notadequately oraccurately capture theobligation under Article 2.2.Withrespect totheCode
ofGood Practice, shestated thatproblems could ariseifbodies emanating standards hadnotadhered
totheCode, orwere otherwise notincompliance withtheTBTAgreement.
22. Therepresentative ofJapan saidthatJapan washighly interested intheissues ofinternational
standards andtechnical regulations, andmore specifically, theeffectiveness andtransparency of
international standardizing bodies 'activities andtheproactive participation ofnational standardizing
bodies ininternational standardization activities. Shesupported harmonization oftechnical regulations
withinternational andnational standards. Withrespect tothesuggestion thatMembers should attach
totheirnotification formthetextoftheirdrafttechnical regulations orconformity assessment procedures
translated intooneoftheofficial WTO languages, shefeared thatsuchanewobligation would create
aburden onMembers within thenotification procedure andwould increase thenumber ofnotificationsG/TBT/M/10
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providing acomment period oflessthan60days. Thiswould beburdensome, especially forthose
Members whose national language wasnotoneoftheWTO working languages.
23. Therepresentative ofCanada shared theviewthatitwasnecessary fortheCommittee toask
itself thereasons forlowcompliance withthebasic obligations ofArticle 15.2. With respect tothe
Code ofGood Practice, heinformed Members thattheStandards Council ofCanada wascurrently
revising itsaccreditation documents toensure thatitsaccredited standardizing bodies wereautomatically
incompliance withtheAgreement andtheCode ofGood Practice. Hesaidthat,oncethisprocess
wascompleted, andthestandardizing bodies werefound tobeincompliance, theStandards Council
ofCanada would notify theacceptance oftheCode ofGood Practice.
24. Therepresentative ofIndianoted theinterest expressed bydelegations ontheobligations under
Article 15.2. Heproposed thatthetreatment given tothatissue should begiven equally tothe
implementation ofArticle 12.
25. Therepresentative ofMexico favoured anapproach toidentify thecompliance problems on
obligations under Article 15.2andtheCode ofGood Practice, andtoassess andevaluate solutions
which would rectify thatsituation. Shedidnotconsider appropriate tochange undertakings atthis
stage, including notification comment period andformats because itwould becounterproductive to
increase theobligations incumbent uponMembers sincetheywerealready unable todischarge existing
obligations.
26. TherepresentativeofPakistandidnotsupporttheEuropeanCommunities'proposalthatMembers
whohadnotfulfilled theirobligations under Article 15.2would submit theirstatement prior tothe
Committee meeting on13November 1997. HesaidthattheAgreement didnotcontain anyreference
toacut-off date. With respect totheEuropean Communities 'suggestion thattheCommittee should
invite Members toindicate thesteps thattheyhadtaken tofulfil theirobligations under Article 4.1
andalsothereasons whythebodies within theirterritories hadnotaccepted theCode, hepointed out
thatArticle 4didnotrequire Members toprovide anysuchinformation. Hestressed theimportance
tounderstand thedifficulties faced bymany Members inimplementing theirobligations under Articles 4
and15.2.
27. Therepresentative ofKorea shared Japan'sview thattheEuropean Communities 'proposal
toattach thetranslated textstoTBTnotifications would betooburdensome forthose Members whose
official languages were notWTO official languages. Astotheproposal tonotify eco-labelling
programmes, hestressed thatnonproduct-related processes andproduction methods were excluded
from thecoverage oftheTBTAgreement.
28. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
IV. STATEMENTSONIMPLEMENTATIONANDADMINISTRATIONOFTHEAGREEMENT
29. Therepresentative ofCanada recalled that,attheCommittee meeting of20June, hehadraised
theissue ofnon-notification bytheEuropean Communities ofitstechnical regulation on
genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). TheEuropean Communities hadreplied thatthisregulation
hadalready beennotified on12November 1992(TBT/Notif.92.355) andthatasecond draftregulation
inthesame fieldhadbeennotified on21April 1997 (G/TBT/Notif.97.151). Healsonoted thatthe
European Communities hadsubsequently notified on6August 1997, following hisdelegation 'swritten
request, thelabelling-related amendment toDirective 90/220/EEC ontheDeliberate Release ofGMOs
intotheEnvironment (G/TBT/Notif.97.382). Hehoped thatinthefuture suchregulations would be
notified prior totheirproposed dateofentry intoforce.G/TBT/M/10
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30. Furthermore, hethanked thedelegation ofJapan forhaving notified on7August 1997through
theISO/IEC Information Centre theacceptance oftheCode ofGood Practice bytheEco-mark
eco-labelling programme (G/TBT/CS/N/73). Heinterpreted thisnotification, aswellasthose ofother
Members, asnoprejudice clause toparagraph 185oftheReport oftheCommittee onTrade and
Environment totheSingapore Ministerial Conference. Finally, henoted thataWTO Member had
notified on24June1997 itsparticipation inregional eco-labelling programmes, andsubsequently
withdrawn thisnotification. Heconsidered thisanovel approach totransparency without prejudice.
Helooked forward tofurther notifications ofeco-labelling programmes under theterms ofparagraph
185oftheCTE Report.
31. TherepresentativeoftheEuropeanCommunitiesthankedtheThaidelegationforhavingsupplied
thetranslation ofitsMinisterial Rule(B.E. 2540) onthedisclosure ofingredients usedinmanufacturing
cigarettes andcigars, promulgated pursuant totheTobacco Products 'Control ActB.E.2535. This
regulationhadbeenpublishedon3August1997andwouldcomeintoforce180daysafteritspublication.
However, ithadnotyetbeennotified totheWTO. Sheasked thedelegation ofThailand when and
under which agreement thisRulewould benotified. Moreover, sheexpressed similar concerns on
another regulation onlabelling ofcigarette packets.
32. Therepresentative ofThailand saidhewould contact hisauthorities onthisissue.
33. Therepresentative ofUnited States expressed interest inThailand 'sreply ontheissue of
cigarettes andcigars. Sheemphasized theimportance under theTBTAgreement ofproviding WTO
Members withtheopportunity tomake comments onproposed regulations andpointed outthatmany
notifications concerned regulations thathadalready entered intoforce.
34. Shedrewattention totwoU.S.publications available directly fromtheUnited States 'Enquiry
Point aswellasthrough itshome pageontheInternet. Thefirst,entitled "Profiles ofNational Standards
Related Activities", identified themetrology, standardization, testing andquality activities ofmore
than70countries. Aspecific entry wasprovided foreachcountry onitsagencies andinstitutions
responsible formetrology andcalibration, standards 'development, testing, product certification, quality
andenvironmental systems registration andkeyinformation sources, mainly theTBTEnquiry Points.
Thesecond, entitled "TheABCoftheU.S.Conformity Assessment System", wasdesigned topromote
awider understanding ofthepurpose andnature ofvarious aspects ofconformity assessment, aswell
astherelationship among therelated activities intheUnites States. Shehoped thatinterested delegations
would getcopies ofthese publications.
35. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
V. OTHER BUSINESS
36. Therepresentative ofCanada requested therepresentative ofUNCTAD toprovide anupdate
ontheUNCTAD Expert Meeting onISO14000 andtherepresentative fromtheITCtogiveanupdate
orbriefing ontherecent UNIDO Survey ontheTrade Impact ofISO9000 and14000. Hesuggested
thattheUNIDO/ITC Report, oncefinalized, would beauseful document tobecirculated asanon-paper
orasacontribution forMembers oftheTBTCommittee.
37. Therepresentative ofUNCTAD saidthattheUNCTAD Commission onTrade andGoods,
Services andCommodities decided toconvene anexpert meeting toexamine theoperation andthe
possible trade andinvestment impact ofenvironmental management standards, particularly theISO
14000 series, ondeveloping countries andtoidentify possible opportunities andneeds inthiscontext.
TheExpert Meeting wasintended toenhance theunderstanding oftheissues under discussion andto
elucidate thepolicy choices thatgovernments andbusiness sectors, particularly indeveloping countries,G/TBT/M/10
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are,orwillbefacing, inthecontext ofenvironmental management standards inrelation to
implementation issues having animpact oninternational trade.
38. Therepresentative ofISOsaidthattheannual ISOGeneral Assembly, marking the50th
Anniversary oftheestablishment oftheISO, hadbeenheldon23-24 September 1997 inGeneva.
Atthatmeeting,manyISOmembers,especiallythedevelopingcountries,hademphasizedtheimportance
offruitful cooperation between ISOandWTO, asbothorganizations hadthecommon objective of
facilitating trade. Itwasfeltthatthecooperation between international trade negotiators andnational
standards bodies could beimproved inmany countries. Heinformed theCommittee thattheISOhad
cooperated withvarious governments, national organizations, aswellasinternational organizations
inorganizing regional training seminars ontheissues ofTrade andInternational Standardization, and
onQuality andEnvironmental Management.
39. TheChairman informed Members thathehadreceived acommunication fromtheChairman
oftheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment (CTE), drawing hisattention toarequest received at
theCTEmeeting heldon22-24 September, inthecontext oftheCTEdiscussions ontheexports of
domestically-prohibited goods (DPGs). Atthatmeeting, several delegations hadraised theissue of
technical assistance toincrease developing countries 'capacity todealwithdomestically-prohibited goods
exported tothem.
40. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
41. TheCommittee agreed toholditsnextmeeting on12-13 November atwhich theCommittee
would carry outitsFirstTriennial Review.