   
  
G/TBT/GEN/269  
 
 
17 September 2019  
(19-5965) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
ACTIVITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL OR GANIZATION FOR STAND ARDIZATION (ISO ) 
RELATED TO THE WORK OF THE WTO TBT COMMI TTEE  
INFORMATION PROVIDED  BY ISO   
This document contains information provided by  ISO at the TBT Committee meeting of 
20-21 June 2019 under Agenda Item 5 (Observers).  
 
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1.  ISO would like to take opportunity of this meeting and provide an update on the revision process 
of ISO/IEC Guide 59 "ISO and IEC recommended practices fo r standardization by national 
bodies ". Whereas the first edition of this Guide in 1994 provided guidance in general, this second 
edition focusses specifically on ISO and IEC recommended practices for standardization by their 
national bodies.   
2.  The ISO Techn ical Management Board decided at its meeting in June 2016 to revise the ISO/IEC 
Guide 59:1994 and to create a joint working group (JWG) between ISO and IEC for this task. The 
revision process began in March 2017 and is expected to be finalized in August 20 19. This Guide is 
intended to be used primarily by the national bodies of ISO and IEC. Other Standards bodies may 
use it, if they wish. This document does not constitute an official interpretation of the WTO TBT 
agreement and will be publicly available aft er it is being published in both English and French.  
3.  Furthermore, in response to the needs expressed by the ISO members in developing countries, 
ISO has prepared a publication that deals with the subject of GSP  in a more comprehensive 
manner to support its  members in strengthening the standardization pillar of their National quality 
infrastructures. This publication is based on the concept of a "value chain " that is often used by 
many organizations to optimize their strategic and operational activities as well it includes collective 
experience from many national standards bodies (NSBs) around the world that have aimed to 
enhance their effectiveness and effici ency.   
4.  Over and above, a diagnostic tool  has been developed as part of the publication to enable 
national standards bodies (NSBs) to review and evaluate their current situation and performance 
and can be utilized to identify the solutions that are appropri ate for an NSB to comply with GSP. This 
publication will be publicly available on the ISO website during September 2019.  
5.  To conclude, this new publication with its broader approach to GSP and the revised ISO/IEC 
Guide 59 are complimentary, and they should be considered together by the national bodies within 
the ISO/IEC system to meet the rapidly changing market conditions and to contribute to the 
achievement of UN  SDGs.  
 
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