WORLD TRADE G/TBT/Notif.96.152
3June1996
ORGANIZATION
(96-2070)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification isbeing circulated inaccordance withArticle 10.6.
1. Member toAgreement notifying: CANADA
Ifapplicable, name oflocalgovernment involved (Articles 3.2and7.2):
2. Agency responsible: Department ofTransport
Agency orauthority designated tohandle comments regarding thenotification canbe
indicated ifdifferent from above:
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X],2.10.1 [],5.6.2 [],5.7.1 [],other:
4. Products covered (HSorCCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICSnumbers maybeprovided inaddition, where applicable): Passenger carbrake
systems
5. Title, number ofpages andlanguage(s) ofthenotified document: Proposed amendment
totheMotor Vehicle Safety Regulations (pages 1432-1446)
6. Description ofcontent: Formany years, thegovernments ofmajor vehicle-producing
countries haverecognized theneedtoharmonize theirregulatory requirements inorder
toreduce unnecessary non-tariff barriers toautomotive trade. Inpartial response tothis
need, theUnited States hasdeveloped anewpassenger carbrake standard whose
requirements harmonize with those ofproposed equivalent regulation, 13-H, ofthe
United Nations Economic Commission forEurope (theECE). While theECE's
Regulation 13-H hasnotyetbeen implemented, theUnited States hasissued its
harmonized Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, entitled
"Passenger CarBrake Systems", which came intoeffect on6March 1995.
Atpresent, Canada 'srequirements governing thebraking performance of
passenger carsarecontained inSection 105oftheMotor Vehicle Safety Regulations.
Entitled "Hydraulic Brake Systems", thisSection alsosetsoutstandards thatapply tothe
hydraulic brake systems ofmulti-purpose passenger vehicles, trucks andbuses. Inorder
toharmonize Canada 'srequirements governing passenger carbrake systems withthose
oftheUnited States andtheECE, thisamendment would addSection 135tothe
Regulations andincorporate byreference Technical Standards Document, No.135,
Passenger CarBrake Systems, which reproduces thetechnical requirements ofFMVSS
No.135.
./.G/TBT/Notif.96.152
Page2
6. Description ofcontent: (cont'd)
Inaccordance withtheimplementation schedule oftheUnited States, compliance
withproposed Section 135would notbemandatory until1September 2000. After this
date, Section 105would cease toapply topassenger cars,butwould remain applicable to
other vehicles equipped with hydraulic brakes. Inthemeantime, motor vehicle
manufacturers would havethechoice ofcomplying witheither thenewrequirements of
Section 135ortheexisting provisions ofSection 105. Theeffective dateofthis
proposed amendment would bethedateofitsregistration betheClerk ofthePrivy
Council.
7. Objective andrationale: Protection ofhuman safety
8. Relevant documents: Canada Gazette, PartI,11May1996
9. Proposed dateofadoption:
Proposed dateofentry intoforce:Notstated
10. Final dateforcomments: 9June1996
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X]oraddress andtelefax number ofother
body: