Certification and testing

Of the 57 specific trade concerns raised at the latest meeting of the TBT Committee, 34 related to conformity assessment procedures applied by WTO members. These procedures are used by regulators to ensure that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled, such as certification, testing and inspection.

According to the WTO’s TBT Agreement, WTO members can assess conformity of products to ensure compliance with consumer safety, health and environmental requirements, but they need to do so in a way that does not unnecessarily restrict trade and without discriminating against other WTO members. Discussions of trade concerns in the Committee can help to avoid trade frictions escalating into disputes brought to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body.

In addition, members and observer organizations shared experiences on how they use conformity assessment procedures (see below).

New specific trade concerns  

WTO members raised nine new specific trade concerns (STCs) regarding labelling of food and alcoholic beverages, new energy vehicles, chemicals, cyber security, steel and IT equipment.

Brazil's exports of Maté to the European Union

Brazil asked why its Maté producers who export to the European Union market are unable to receive the EU organic label even though these producers follow relevant organic standards. The EU explained that Maté is outside the scope of the EU organic legislation. The EU added that its organic products labelling is being reviewed and that Maté may be included in future legislation.

Italy's labelling requirements for grains used to prepare pasta

Mexico, the United States and Canada expressed concern that an Italian proposal on country-of-origin labelling for grains used in the preparation of dried pasta could potentially discriminate against wheat exported to Italy. Concerned members said the measure may be inconsistent with the TBT Agreement, and should be notified to the TBT Committee.

The European Union replied that under the provisions of EU law a member state may introduce measures concerning the mandatory indication of the country of origin or place of provenance for certain categories of foods, as long as this was justified and notified to the European Commission and other member states. The European Union confirmed that Italy had not, to date, notified any draft on the indication of origin of grains used in the preparation of dried pasta to the European Commission.

Dominican Republic's requirements for importing steel rebar

The Dominican Republican's technical regulation RTD 458 specifies standards and conformity assessment procedures for steel rebar and other building materials. The United States raised concerns regarding differences in conformity assessment procedures for domestically produced rebar and imported rebar, and unpublicized requirements. The Dominican Republic noted that the regulation was based on international ASTM standards, and that efforts were underway to address the US concerns in a timely fashion.

EU requirements on radio equipment

China expressed concerns that the standards and guidelines related to a new directive by the EU on radio equipment have not been published yet. China added that this delay would create ambiguity and uncertainty for Chinese exporters.

China noted that the EU Radio Equipment Directive establishes essential requirements for various products, including mobile phones, wireless local area networks, tablets, desktop computers as well as Bluetooth, WiFi, and audio and video products. The EU responded that this delay had equally affected EU and non EU producers and that some of these standards were published already. 

Chinese law on cyber security

The United States, Japan, the European Union and Australia raised concerns about a new Chinese law on cyber security. Concerned members said there is a possibility for discrimination against foreign technologies and IT firms, and that there are uncertainties on the scope of the law and the meaning of certain terms. They also questioned its interaction with other existing Chinese cyber security regulations that have been raised previously in the TBT Committee (such as the Multi-Level Protection Scheme, those on commercial encryption products, and sectoral guidelines for banking and insurance).

China explained that the new law creates a new comprehensive framework for cyber security in light of the rapid development of the IT sector. China says existing cyber security regulations will be revised in line with the new law, and that WTO members' concerns will be taken into consideration.

ePing: accessing information on standards and regulations

WTO members heard an update on ePing, an online alert system designed to help government agencies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to receive advance information about the latest regulatory requirements for international trade before they come into force. Four months after its launch, the system has close to 2,000 users from around the world covering 142 WTO members. The top five members in terms of subscribers are Uganda (255), Australia (177), Turkey (144), the United States (92) and Japan (72).

ePing is a joint initiative between the WTO, ITC and UNDESA.

TBT Committee work in 2016

During 2016, a total of 2,336 notifications related to standards and regulations were submitted by 79 WTO members — the highest number of notifications submitted in one year in the Committee's history. The majority of these notifications (76%) were submitted by developing countries and least developed countries.

The Committee discussed 173 new and previously raised specific trade concerns. Among these, the Committee addressed its 500th specific trade concern, marking a milestone in the discussions about product regulations and standards.

The Committee held seven thematic sessions and launched a new stream of work on regulatory cooperation between WTO members, including discussions on energy efficiency and food labelling

More information is available in G/TBT/39.

Thematic sessions

On 28 March, WTO members held "thematic sessions" on conformity assessment procedures as well as on good regulatory practices. These sessions, which are part of the Committee's 2016-2018 work plan, are a forum for members to exchange information and expertise on topics covered by the TBT Agreement.

The session on conformity assessment procedures featured presentations by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Standards Organization (ISO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Trade Centre (ITC). They stressed the importance of common international standards, guidelines and recommendations as the basis for conformity assessment procedures. They presented the role of conformity assessment in facilitating access to global markets while also acting as a risk assessment tool.

The ITC presented the results of a business survey on non-tariff measures and conformity assessment procedures, which showed that certification and testing were some of the main barriers facing exporters worldwide. The EU and Canada presented the bilateral protocol on the mutual acceptance of conformity assessment which is part of the Canada EU Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). Australia's presentation explored whether existing global conformity assessment systems were fit for purpose, given that conformity assessment activity has increased due to the complexity of global value chains.

The session on good regulatory practices featured presentations by Philippines, Canada, Korea and the EU. The presentations addressed various aspects of good regulatory practices such as a holistic government approach to ensuring the quality of regulations, and regulatory impact assessment.  Korea shared information on its efforts to review and rationalize technical regulations in force. The EU and Canada presented their policy frameworks for implementing good regulatory practice: the EU Better Regulation Agenda and Canada's Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management. The Philippines outlined various national and regional initiates (APEC and ASEAN) ongood regulatory practice, and suggested that a capacity building facility be established in the TBT area that could help institutionalize good regulatory practice in developing countries.

Updates from observers

The African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO), the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, the International Organization of Legal Metrology,   the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the CODEX Alimentarius and the World Health Organization (WHO)  updated the Committee on recent activities.

Specific trade concerns: full list