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The Fifth Triennial Review
The main purpose of the TBT Agreement is to ensure
that regulatory measures (e.g. labelling requirements, technical specifications,
methods of certification) do not constitute unnecessary barriers to
international trade. Every three years, delegations in the TBT Committee review
how the Agreement has been working and consider what should be done next.
Essentially, they set out the Committee's future work programme. This process,
mandated in Article 15.4 of the Agreement, states:
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“Not later than the end of the third year from the
date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement and at the end of each
three-year period thereafter, the Committee shall review the operation and
implementation of this Agreement, including the provisions relating to
transparency, with a view to recommending an adjustment of the rights and
obligations of this Agreement where necessary to ensure mutual economic
advantage and balance of rights and obligations, without prejudice to the
provisions of Article 12. Having regard, inter alia, to the experience gained
in the implementation of the Agreement, the Committee shall, where
appropriate, submit proposals for amendments to the text of this Agreement to
the Council for Trade in Goods.”
At this meeting, most of the Committee's discussion
was structured around 13 proposals from Members (see the
Agenda for references to the text of the submissions). In particular,
delegations discussed transparency: Members continue to seek ways to refine
existing procedures for both the notification of draft measures and the
potential trade effects of these. The increasing number of notifications and
specific trade concerns raised in the TBT Committee has prompted a more
streamlined procedure for the handling of TBT-related specific trade concerns in
the Committee. It is therefore no surprise that some proposals on the table put
emphasis on various regulatory cooperation initiatives between Members; such
mechanisms are generally aimed at achieving “regulatory convergence” between
countries as a means, inter alia, of avoiding the use of unnecessary barriers to
trade that may cause trade tensions between WTO Members.
The issue of private standards was raised for
discussion. Some Members would like this issue discussed in the Committee, and
the terminology clarified — others are more hesitant, questioning both the role
of the Committee and the scope of the TBT Agreement with respect to “private
standards”.
The number of “Specific Trade Concerns” raised in
the TBT Committee is growing
The wide range of issues discussed in the TBT
Committee reflects the broad scope of the Agreement which covers trade in
industrial as well as agricultural goods. Hence, many different types of issues
are discussed in the Committee. At this particular meeting 48 trade concerns
were discussed; 17 of these were new. One of the new concerns is about China's
“Green Dam” software.
Green Dam: The United States, European
Communities and Japan expressed concern about China's “Green Dam” software. This
is a software application which China intends to make mandatory on all personal
computers sold in China; the software is expected to work as an internet content
filter. While the complainants do not dispute the stated objective of the
measure — preventing children from exposure to inappropriate content on the
internet — concern was expressed about issues relating to transparency (WTO
notification, stakeholder consultations); reliability and compatibility of the
software, and network security.
The full list of issues raised at the meeting — old
and new — is contained in the
Agenda.
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