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Issues covered by the WTO’s committees and agreements

TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE: PROGRAMME AND PRESENTATIONS

TBT workshop on supplier's declaration of conformity (SDoC)

(Geneva, 21 March 2005)

A TBT Workshop on Supplier's Declaration of Conformity was held on 21 March 2005, back-to-back with the next regular meeting of the TBT Committee, as part of the TBT Committee's work programme on conformity assessment, which aims to improve Members' implementation of Articles 5-9 of the TBT Agreement and, in particular, to promote a better understanding of conformity assessment systems. This workshop was an opportunity for Members to discuss, inter alia, Members' own experiences in using SDoC as one type of conformity assessment procedure. The Workshop aimed at giving particular emphasis to the developing country perspective.

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Morning Session

08:30

Registration

10:00–10:30

General

A. Overview of the TBT Committee's work on SDoC.

  • WTO Secretariat (Mrs. Ludivine Tamiotti)
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 645Ko

B. International standards, guides and recommendations

  • ISO (Mr. Alan Bryden): The new ISO/IEC Standard on Supplier's Declaration of Conformity   (ISO/IEC 17050).
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 2630Ko

10:30–12:30

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members' experiences

A. The Government's Perspective

The speakers were asked to address, inter alia, the following questions:  
(i) what reasons and factors (such as risk) should be taken into account when deciding to apply SDoC in a particular sector (and not in others);  
(ii) whether SDoC should be used alone or in combination with third party assessment;  
(iii) how, in applying SDoC, international standards are taken into account;  
(iv) what basic institutional and legislative infrastructure needs to be in place to use SDoC (for example in respect of product liability law and consumer redress);  
(v) how compliance is ensured and what experience exists with respect to surveillance and enforcement (incentives that could be used to encourage compliance and experiences with penalties for non-compliance);  
(vi) how the use of SDoC in developed country Members can facilitate imports from developing country Members.

  • New Zealand (Mr. Peter Morfee): Experience in regard to electrical equipment.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 554Ko

  • Chinese Taipei (Mr. Bing-Yuan Liou): Market surveillance mechanism for industrial products.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 89Ko

  • Brazil (Mr. Alfredo Lobo): The case of disposable lighters.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 134Ko

  • Canada (Mr. Claude Beaudoin): Experience in regard to telecom equipment.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 121Ko

  • Korea (Mr. Woo Jin Jung): Implementation of SDoC in Korea's automobile sector.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 5376Ko

  • European Communities (Mr. Georg Hilpert): Experience with respect to the electrical and mechanical sectors.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 307Ko

12:30–13:00

Discussion

  

Afternoon Session

15:00–16:00

 

 

 

B. The Manufacturer's / Supplier's Perspective

The speakers were asked to address, inter alia:
(i) the reasons why manufacturers may prefer SDoC;  
(ii) the main problems encountered by the manufacturer in implementing SDoC;  
(iii) any specific problems relevant to SMEs.

  • European Communities (Mr. Per Döfnäs, LM Ericsson AB): Transition to SDoC in the IT/telecom sector in the European Communities.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 152Ko 

  • United States (Mr. David Ling, Hewlett-Packard):   Supplier's Declaration of Conformity for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Regulations.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 1728Ko 

  • Mexico (Mr. Rafael Nava Uribe): The view of the conformity assessment bodies in developing countries.
    > Download: PowerPoint presentation 852Ko

16:00-16:30

Discussion

16:30– 17:00

Conclusion
Identification of key horizontal issues with particular emphasis on the developing country perspective.