WTO NEWS: SPEECHES — DG PASCAL LAMY

13 September 2006

Lamy underlines the importance of developing—country participation in standard-setting

Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a video address to the 29 th ISO General Assembly on 13 September 2006, urged the ISO to continue pursuing steps “to facilitate the integration of developing countries in the world of standardization”. He added that the relationship between ISO and the WTO “is critical for international trade”.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my pleasure today to address the Twenty-Ninth ISO General Assembly. The relationship between ISO and the WTO, and indeed between the WTO and international standardizing bodies more generally, is critical for international trade. For the absence of international standards can be a serious impediment to trade. In a world without such standards, exporters must comply with the myriad of different norms that exist in each of their export destinations. These norms can sometimes be conflictling. They must also comply with the myriad of different testing, inspection, and other requirements, that their trading partners impose to demonstrate compliance with standards. What the process of harmonization has brought to international trade is in fact a “facilitation” of trade on a massive scale. It has also brought cost-saving for exporters, who do not have to maintain separate production lines for each of their export destinations; allowing for the birth of economies of scale. I would like to congratulate ISO on this occasion on the impressive portfolio of standards that it has succeeded in building over the years, and which has now come to incorporate some 15,000 norms.

Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, the WTO is not itself a “standard-setter”. Rather, the WTO limits itself to what it can most competently do, which is to foster an open, equitable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading regime. Standard-setting is an activity which the Contracting Parties to GATT, and subsequently WTO Members, have chosen to delegate. In the WTO Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures , WTO Members are explicitly urged to base themselves on the international norms that other more specialized international institutions create. Moreover, they are strongly encouraged to participate in the work of these institutions, in particular with respect to the products that are heavily traded. Through these provisions, the WTO seeks not only to facilitate trade, but also to tackle head-on the problem of non-tariff barriers to trade. A Member's compliance with international norms is one of the important ways in which the WTO can gage the legitimacy of new technical specifications, and conformity assessment procedures, that countries impose.

While the process of international harmonization has the potential to deliver enormous benefits for trade, I would nevertheless like to use this occasion to sensitize the standard-setting community to some of the concerns of WTO delegations. For international standards to truly deliver the benefits that they promise, such standards must be designed through a transparent and inclusive process; one that involves all relevant stakeholders.

Poorly designed international standards, or ones that are developed only on the basis of a narrow set of interests, can end up hurting trade. First, they may not be successful in meeting their stated objectives. Second, they could end up discriminating against certain products, or processes of production, even when designed without any explicit protectionist intent. Third, they could erode confidence in the international standardization. Therefore, the process through which international standards are created, is key to attaining standards that are truly beneficial for trade. It is also key to preserving the integrity of the of harmonization.

Developing countries in particular in the WTO have expressed concern about their insufficient participation in international standardizing bodies. Whereas it is natural for countries to be “standard-takers”, rather than “standard-setters”, for products that are not of key economic interest to them, it is not natural they be “takers” for the ones that are. In this connection, I am pleased that ISO has taken steps to facilitate the integration of developing countries into the world of standardization. DEVCO, the policy committee that you have established to deal with these issues, has done useful work in identifying the needs of developing countries in the field of standardization, and in monitoring the ISO Plan Action. Harmonization also represents an opportunity for technology transfer to the developing world, and hence the need for their effective integration. It is critical that the efforts that ISO has deployed towards this goal be continued.

Ladies and gentlemen, with these few words, I hope to have stimulated your discussions on the importance of international standards for trade, and that the WTO and ISO will continue their fruitful collaboration. I thank you for your attention.

Lamy underlines the importance of developing—country participation in standard-setting
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