Specific trade concerns
Since its first meeting, members have used the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee as a forum to discuss issues related to specific measures (such as technical regulations, standards and other requirements) maintained by other members. These “specific trade concerns” (or, simply, “STCs”) take up most of the Committee's agenda. Essentially, members raise STCs to find out more about the scope and implementation of each other's regulations in light of the core TBT obligations (for example, regulating health without unnecessarily disrupting trade). The discussion is mostly about measures in the pipeline, but can also be about the implementation of existing measures.
This multilateral review of measures is an example of how the WTO's regular work can have a positive, and sometimes relatively quick, impact on everyday life. Members often express their concerns based on the impact that a proposed regulation by another member may have on their consumers and companies. And it is not uncommon for such concerns to be heard and taken into consideration. STCs are, in a sense, a bridge between the WTO and the “real world”.
Many such “real world” discussions were highlighted during last week's TBT Committee meeting. For example, nutrition labelling, present in the everyday life of consumers, was in focus - in particular, various proposals relating to health claims such as “traffic-light” nutrition labelling, consisting of adding a label with a red or green “traffic light” according to the healthiness of the content of food products. Tobacco was also high on the agenda, with a record number of four measures on so-called plain packaging being discussed. Discussions also addressed a wider range of products, including electronics, automotive parts, chemicals, food and beverages, alcohol, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and toys. Of the 53 concerns raised in this meeting, 18 were new, with the others recurring from previous meetings. Full list below.
Number of trade concerns raised per year in the TBT Committee
Note: The number of “new concerns” is the total number of distinct STCs raised for the first time during the year. “Old concerns” is the total number of distinct concerns that have been raised in previous years and reverted to during the year.
The TBT Committee meetings are also an important opportunity for cooperation between WTO members' regulatory counterparts on approaches to address shared policy objectives, including the protection of health and the environment (to name two of the most frequent types of measures dealt with by the Committee). Discussions help members consult and align standards and regulations before they become entrenched in legislation. Members also use the Committee to raise the “heat” on certain matters, to seek alliances or otherwise simply to provide an early warning that a measure currently being envisaged is likely to be problematic. The subject matter is detailed and technical in nature and driven by capital-based experts. Hence, the approach is rather more practical than legal. Engagement is wide — particularly by developing countries. Out of the 85 measures addressed in the 2014 discussion, developing countries expressed concern with respect to 63 of them (around 75 per cent). Although STCs are resolved in the TBT discussions, there is no formal procedure for the reporting on settlements, unlike in the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Committee.
Currently, TBT Committee meetings span almost a full week, including bilateral consultations, thematic sessions on specific subjects (see below) and the formal meeting itself. Members have three regular meetings per year, and, interspersed between these, at least three informal preparatory meetings — usually about a month before the formal meeting.
Good practices in regulation
In this meeting, although they came closer to finalizing a voluntary list of steps and mechanisms that may be used in developing and applying regulations — known as “good regulatory practices” — WTO members could not resolve the difference that emerged in June 2014 about whether a detailed disclaimer is needed to ensure countries are shielded from legal challenge in the WTO’s dispute settlement system.
More details here.
Information sharing via thematic session
Information is a vital part of dealing with technical barriers to trade. This latest in a series of “thematic” discussions (document G/TBT/GEN/174) included presentations on practices in conformity assessment — the various measures taken by manufacturers, customers, regulatory authorities and independent third parties to assess that a product or service meets standards or technical regulations.
An EU representative noted that in the European Union, conformity assessment and market surveillance — activities and measures taken by public authorities to ensure that products comply with the requirements set out in the relevant legislation for the protection of health, safety or other public interests — functions are strictly separated and the manufacturer or importer holds responsibility for the product liability.
A representative from South Africa reported on recent developments in Africa in the field of quality infrastructure, including the Pan-African Quality Infrastructure, which coordinates regional efforts on metrology, standardization and accreditation of conformity assessment services.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) presented the Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas launched by the Organization of American States (OAS) to ease access for OAS member states to internationally recognized quality infrastructure services.
The Bureau International des Poids et des Mesures (BIPM) presented the role of metrology in conformity assessment procedures as the “science and practice of measurement” and the importance for international trade of a common understanding and application of metrology worldwide.
Presentations were also made on regional and international initiatives to underline the importance of working together in various fora to promote good practice in regulatory cooperation and technical assistance.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) reported on advancements in e-rulemaking, particularly the APEC Leaders' 2011 call for strengthening the implementation of good regulatory practices by conducting public consultations, ensuring internal coordination of regulatory work and assessing the impact of regulations.
A representative from New Zealand presented APEC's efforts to improve regulatory coherence, thus facilitating trade in wine across APEC countries, including a joint initiative by the WWTG and the APEC WRF.
The WTO Secretariat made a presentation on the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), a global initiative to help developing countries establish and implement SPS standards towards health protection and increase their ability to gain or maintain access to international markets.
Committee welcomes new Observer
The Committee granted ad hoc observer status to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO).
The full list of observer organizations working with the TBT Committee is here.
Current chairperson: Filipe Ramalheira of Portugal.
Next meeting
Specific trade concerns: full list
New concerns Show details 
|
Specific Trade Concern |
Notification number/brief description of measure |
Member(s) raising |
1 |
United States — Tire Identification and Recordkeeping |
G/TBT/N/USA/916 |
Thailand |
2 |
Russian Federation — Measure affecting imports of Ukrainian juice products |
— |
Ukraine |
3 |
Russian Federation — Measure affecting imports of Ukrainian beer products |
— |
Ukraine |
4 |
France — Proposal to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products |
— |
Malawi, Ukraine |
5 |
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — Decree of the Saudi Arabian Ministerial Council on the sale and marketing of energy drinks of 4 March 2014 |
G/TBT/N/SAU/669 |
European Union, Switzerland |
6 |
Brazil — Draft Technical Resolution nº 69, 9 September 2014, Regarding the Requirement of Describing the Chemical Composition, in Portuguese, in the Label of Personal Hygiene Products, Cosmetics and Perfumes |
G/TBT/N/BRA/608 |
Mexico |
7 |
China — National Standard of the P.R.C., Safety Technical Specifications for Children's Footwear |
G/TBT/N/CHN/983 |
European Union |
8 |
Mexico — Draft Mexican Official Standard PROY NOM 142 SSA1/SCFI 2013: Alcoholic beverages. Health specifications. Health and commercial labelling |
G/TBT/N/MEX/254
|
European Union |
9 |
South Africa — Labelling and advertising of pre-packaged foodstuff |
G/TBT/N/ZAF/66/Rev.1 |
European Union |
10 |
Israel — Resistance to ignition of mattresses, mattress pads, divans and bed bases |
G/TBT/N/ISR/666
G/TBT/N/ISR/666/Add.1 |
European Union |
11 |
European Union — Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (Common Criteria) certification in the EU |
— |
China |
12 |
European Union — Limits for hexavalent chromium in toys (2009/48/EC) |
— |
China |
13 |
European Union — Standard on safety of household and similar electrical appliances (EN60335-1:2012) |
— |
China |
14 |
European Union — Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC. 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 |
G/TBT/N/EU/143
|
Indonesia |
15 |
Russia — Draft of the Eurasian Economic Commission Collegium decision on amendments to Common sanitary-epidemiological and hygienic requirements for products, subjected to sanitary-epidemiological supervision (control) |
G/SPS/N/RUS/50
|
Indonesia
|
16 |
Ecuador — Draft Technical Regulation of the Ecuadorian Standardization Institute (RTE INEN) No. 047: “Metal cable tray, electrical conduit and trunking systems”) |
G/TBT/N/ECU/53
G/TBT/N/ECU/53/Add.1 G/TBT/N/ECU/53/Add.2 G/TBT/N/ECU/53/Add.3 |
Mexico
|
17 |
Ecuador — Equivalence Agreement N° 14 241 with the European Union regulations |
— |
Mexico |
18 |
Ecuador — (PRTE INEN) No. 111: Energy efficiency. Clothes dryers. Labelling |
G/TBT/N/ECU/152 G/TBT/N/ECU/185 |
Mexico |
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Concerns previously raised Show details
(IMS ID numbers are “specific trade concerns” numbers in the TBT Information Management System database. Notifications and other documents can also be found in WTO docs online)
|
Specific Trade Concern |
Notification number/brief description of measure |
Member(s) raising |
IMS ID |
1 |
India — Pneumatic tyres and tubes for automotive vehicles |
G/TBT/N/IND/20 G/TBT/N/IND/20/Add.1 G/TBT/N/IND/40, G/TBT/N/IND/40/Rev.1 |
Japan, Rep. Korea, European Union |
133 |
2 |
India — Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 2007 |
G/TBT/N/IND/33 |
European Union |
167 |
3 |
China — Provisions for the Administration of Cosmetics Application Acceptance, Cosmetics Label Instructions Regulations and Guidance for the Cosmetics Label Instructions |
G/TBT/N/CHN/821, G/TBT/N/CHN/937 |
Canada, European Union, Japan, Rep. Korea |
296 |
4 |
India — New Telecommunications related Rules (Department of Telecommunications, No. 842-725/2005-VAS/Vol.III (3 December 2009); No. 10-15/2009-AS-III/193 (18 March 2010); and Nos. 10-15/2009-AS.III/Vol.II/(Pt.)/(25-29) (28 July 2010); Department of Telecommunications, No. 10-15/2009-AS.III/Vol.II/(Pt.)/(30) (28 July 2010) and accompanying template, “Security and Business Continuity Agreement”) |
— |
European Union, United States |
274 |
5 |
China — Requirements for information security products, including, inter alia, the Office of State Commercial Cryptography Administration (OSCCA) 1999 Regulation on commercial encryption products and its on-going revision and the Multi-Level Protection Scheme (MLPS) |
— |
European Union |
294 |
6 |
Russian Federation — Draft on Technical Regulation of Alcohol Drinks Safety (published on 24 October) |
G/TBT/N/RUS/2 |
European Union, Mexico |
332 |
7 |
Korea — Regulation on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Material |
G/TBT/N/KOR/305 |
United States |
305 |
8 |
Indonesia — Technical Guidelines for the Implementation of the Adoption and Supervision of Indonesian National Standards for Obligatory Toy Safety |
G/TBT/N/IDN/64 |
European Union, United States |
328 |
9 |
EU — Draft Implementing Regulations amending Regulation (EC) No. 607/2009 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards protected designations of origin and geographical indications, traditional terms, labelling and presentation of certain wine sector products |
G/TBT/N/EEC/264, G/TBT/N/EEC/264/Add.1 |
Argentina, United States |
345 |
10 |
India — Food Safety and Standards Regulation — Food labelling requirements |
— |
European Union |
298 |
11 |
Chile — Proposed amendment to the Food Health Regulations, Supreme Decree No. 977/96 |
G/TBT/N/CHL/219, G/TBT/N/CHL/219/Add.1, G/TBT/N/CHL/221 G/TBT/N/CHL/282 |
Canada, Mexico, European Union, United States |
370 |
12 |
India — Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012 |
G/TBT/N/IND/44, G/TBT/N/IND/44/Add.1, G/TBT/N/IND/44/Add.2, G/TBT/N/IND/44/Add.3 |
European Union, United States |
367 |
13 |
Peru — Act to Promote Healthy Eating Among Children and Adolescents |
— |
Canada |
383 |
14 |
Indonesia — Ministry of Health Regulation 30/2013 on the inclusion of sugar, salt and fat content information, as well as health messages on the label of processed foods |
G/TBT/N/IDN/84 |
Canada, European Union, United States |
389 |
15 |
EU — Revised Proposal for the Categorization of Compounds as Endocrine Disruptors of 19 February 2013 by DG Environment |
— |
United States |
393 |
16 |
Ecuador — Resolution establishing the “General conformity assessment framework for Ecuador” and the “Handbook of procedures” to be observed prior to all stages of the customs clearance, marketing and market surveillance of manufactured, imported and marketed goods subject to Ecuadorian technical regulations |
G/TBT/N/ECU/44, G/TBT/N/ECU/44/Add.1, G/TBT/N/ECU/44/Add.2, G/TBT/N/ECU/44/Add.3 |
United States |
398 |
17 |
Russian Federation — Measure affecting import of Ukrainian confectionary products |
— |
Ukraine |
399 |
18 |
Ecuador — Resolution No. 116 of the Foreign Trade Committee of Ecuador of 19 November 2013 and Technical Regulation of the Ecuadorian Standardization Institute RTE INEN 022 on the labelling of processed and packaged food products |
G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.3, G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.5, G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.6, G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.8 |
Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico |
411 |
19 |
France — Recycling Triman Mark: “Draft Decree on a common set of symbols informing the consumer about recyclable products subject to a system of extended producer responsibility associated with waste sorting instructions” |
G/TBT/N/FRA/153 |
United States |
420 |
20 |
Russian Federation — Safety of products for children and adolescents |
G/TBT/N/RUS/29 |
European Union |
418 |
21 |
China — Regulations for the Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices (Order No. 650 of the State Council) |
G/TBT/N/CHN/1022, G/TBT/N/CHN/1023, G/TBT/N/CHN/1024, G/TBT/N/CHN/1025, G/TBT/N/CHN/1026, G/TBT/N/CHN/1029 |
Canada, European Union, United States |
428 |
22 |
Egypt — Bottled water |
— |
Turkey |
421 |
23 |
India — Labelling Regulations for Canola Oil |
— |
Canada |
413 |
24 |
Thailand — Draft Notification of the Alcoholic Beverages Control, Re: Rules, Procedure and condition for Labels of Alcoholic Beverages, issued under B.E |
G/TBT/N/THA/437 |
Canada, Mexico, European Union, United States |
427 |
25 |
Indonesia — Regulation of Minister of Trade No. 10/M-DAG/PER/1/2014 concerning Amendment of Regulation of Minister of Trade No. 67/M-DAG/PER/11/2013 concerning Affixed Mandatory Label in Indonesian Language for Goods |
G/TBT/N/IDN/85 |
European Union, United States |
436 |
26 |
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — Certificate of Conformity (not notified) and GSO marking requirements for toys |
— |
European Union, United States |
435 |
27 |
China — Safety Requirement for Lithium Ion Cells and Batteries used in Portable Electronic Equipment |
G/TBT/N/CHN/1016 |
Korea |
425 |
28 |
Russian Federation — Measure affecting import of Ukrainian dairy products. |
— |
Ukraine |
426 |
29 |
Ecuador — Draft Technical Regulation of the Ecuadorian Standardization Institute (PRTE INEN) No. 189: “Labelling of alcoholic beverages” |
— |
Canada, Mexico |
433 |
30 |
EU — Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic (COM(2013) 195 final) |
G/TBT/N/EU/109 |
United States |
434 |
31 |
Ireland — Proposal to introduce standardised/plain packaging of tobacco products in Ireland |
G/TBT/N/IRL/1 G/TBT/N/IRL/1/Add.1 |
Malawi |
380 |
32 |
United Kingdom — Proposal to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products |
G/TBT/N/GBR/24 |
Dominican Republic, Malawi |
424 |
33 |
Australia — Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 |
G/TBT/N/AUS/67
G/TBT/N/AUS/67/Add.1 G/TBT/N/AUS/67/Add.2 |
Ukraine |
304 |
34 |
Ecuador — Proposed Motor Vehicle Safety Regulatory Requirements (RTE INEN 034) |
G/TBT/N/ECU/32 G/TBT/N/ECU/32/Add.1
G/TBT/N/ECU/32/Add.2
G/TBT/N/ECU/32/Add.3
G/TBT/N/ECU/32/Add.4
G/TBT/N/ECU/32/Add.5
G/TBT/N/ECU/32/Add.6 |
Mexico |
409 |
35 |
Ecuador — Resolution No. SENAE-DGN-2013-0300-RE relating to post entry control of imported alcoholic beverages |
G/TBT/N/ECU/19
G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.1
G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.2
G/TBT/N/ECU/19/Add.3 |
Mexico |
394 |
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