WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/274
27 July 1999
(99-3153)
General Council Original:  English
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
EC Approach to the TBT Agreement
Communication from the European Communities
The following communication, dated 21 July 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Delegation of the European Commission.
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1. Experience shows that enterprises are confronted with a wide range of barriers in terms of
technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, when supplying products to
overseas markets.  These barriers are of growing concern.  Some of the most obvious problems resultfrom the non-alignment of domestic standards and technical regulations with relevant international
standards and the non-harmonization of conformity assessment procedures.  The discriminatory and
non-transparent formulation and implementation of  technical regulations, the scope of products
subject to mandatory certification, as well as labelling issues, are also significant.
2. In 1997, the WTO TBT Committee, in the triennial review of the Agreement, identified a
number of problems which are far from being resolved.  There are interests for many WTO Members
in making real further improvements.  The new round can provide the strong political commitmentneeded to make such substantive progress.  It is an ideal opportunity to strengthen existing provisions,
clarify a number of outstanding issues and expand the scope of certain provisions in the
TBT Agreement.
Strengthening existing provisions
3. The TBT Agreement has only had a limited role in addressing the underlying cause of trade
disputes.  To date, regulatory issues have mainly b een addressed from the view point of their potential
to constitute disguised trade restrictions.  Little has been done to tackle the negative trade effects of
legitimate regulation, particularly at a multilateral level.  The new round provides an opportunity to
promote regulatory cooperation to a greater extent within the TBT Agreement and to include moreexplicit guidance on good regulatory practice, taking into account ongoing work in other fora.  This
guidance should promote deregulation, while encouraging manufacturers to use international
standards as a means to demonstrate compliance with requirements.  A more widespread exchange of
information among regulators should also be promoted.
4. The standardization bodies of some Members have not accepted or complied with the
Agreement's Code of Good Practice.  More effectiv e incentives are needed to promote the uptake of
the Code.WT/GC/W/274
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5. WTO Members, especially developed ones, in conjunction with relevant international bodies,
should provide greater technical assistance for capacity building to strengthen the ability of
developing countries to upgrade their infrastructure so that they are better able to fulfil their
obligations under the TBT Agreement and participate in the preparation of international standards.
Clarification of existing definitions and provisions
6. The promotion of international standards is a key issue in the TBT Agreement.  WTO
Members, as signatories to the Agreement, have made a commitment to use international standards in
their technical regulations.  However, there is a difference of understanding on this issue.  To ensure
consistency in the application of the Agreement, a number of provisions and definitions should be
clarified.  First of all, the status of international standards, and the linkage between the Agreement and
international guides for conformity assessment, need to be strengthened.  It is important to make a
clear distinction between international and other standards.  Incentives to take up international
standards should be reinforced.
7. The role of international standardization bodies is  crucial in facilitating trade.  However, the
TBT Agreement's Code of Good Practice relating to standards does not apply to international
standardization bodies.  Some form of principles, covering issues such as transparency, balance ofinterest, impartiality and accountability, could be drawn up for guidance to international
standardization bodies.  The respective roles of standardization bodies at different levels (regional,
national, local, etc.) should be defined.
8. To ensure consistency in the application of the Agreement, a number of issues and terms
should be clarified, including proportionality of measures and "less-trade-restrictive measures".
9. Health, consumer safety, and environmental issues also need to be addressed, in a manner that
ensures  an appropriate balance between the right to take action to achieve those objectives, and the
obligation to avoid  disproportionate restrictions.
Expansion of the scope of certain provisions of the Agreement
10. The number of players involved in conformity assessment procedures, be it at a global,
regional or national level, is very large.  There appears considerable potential for duplication of
efforts, a failure to share information and the establishment of excessively complicated procedures.
Greater coordination and cooperation appears a prior ity.  In addition, there are significant differences
in conformity assessment procedures among WTO Members.  The international harmonization of
conformity assessment procedures should be furt her promoted, including the harmonization of criteria
for third party certification.  Self-certification should be actively promoted as, in principle, the leasttrade restrictive conformity assessment procedure, provided that:  (1) it takes sufficient account of
health, consumer safety, and environmental issues;  and (2) consideration is given to market
surveillance and product liability issues.  Accreditat ion procedures should also be harmonised where
appropriate.
11. Labelling has become a trade policy issue in a number of different fields, such as textiles and
food.  The appreciation of the level of information, necessary for the consumer and imparted by the
labelling for the product varies considerably from country to country.  As a possible means to reduce
suspicions and the risk of trade restrictive or subjective regulation, further consideration should be
given to the development of multilateral guidelines on labelling.
12. As part of this undertaking and as referred to in the document "EC approach to trade and
environment", consideration should be given to the establishment of clear and non-discriminatory
rules for the creation and administration of eco-labelling schemes  based on a life-cycle approach,WT/GC/W/274
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whilst safeguarding the integrity of this approach.  This should enable environmental objectives to be
met using market based, non-discriminatory and non-protectionist instruments.
13. Finally, the TBT Agreement should be further developed to include provisions on trade
facilitation, as detailed in the document "EC Approach to Trade Facilitation".
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