This document discusses key principles of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), including transparency requirements. It explains that the TBT Agreement allows countries to adopt technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures as long as they do not act as unnecessary barriers to trade or are discriminatory. Transparency provisions in the TBT Agreement require notifying other WTO members of proposed regulations and conformity assessment procedures, establishing enquiry points to provide information to other members, and allowing time for comments from other members.

1. Chanchal C Sarkar
DY. Director, Trade Policy Division
Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce &
Industry
TBT Agreement : Key Principles

2. Department of Commerce,
Government of India
2
What measures are subject to TBT provisions?
Technical Regulation Standard
Mandatory Measures Voluntary Measures
Conformity Assessment Procedure

3. COVERAGE
• All technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment
procedures that apply to trade in goods i.e. to all agricultural and
industrial products.
• Document which lays down product characteristics or their related
processes and production methods, including the applicable
administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory. It
may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols,
packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a
product, process or production method.
• Document approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common
and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products or
related processes and production methods, with which compliance is
not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with
terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements
as they apply to a product, process or production method.

4. Department of Commerce,
Government of India
4
Salient Features of TBT Agreement
• Non-Discrimination (MFN, NT, Harmonization,
Transparency, Article 2)
• Notifying Local Regulations (Article 3)
• Acceptance and compliance with the Code of Good
Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and application
of Standards in Annex 3.
• Information and Assistance (Article 10)
• Technical Assistance(Article 11)
• S&DT (Article 12)
• Review ( Article 15)

5. Transparency Requirements in TBT
Agreement and How these work
The TBT Agreement allows WTO Members to
adopt any TBT measures including technical
regulations and conformity assessment
procedures, they consider suitable provided
such measures are based on science and do
not act as unnecessary barriers to trade or
are discriminatory.

6. In order to ensure non-discrimination or obviating
unduly trade distortive practice, transparency
provisions have been built into the TBT
Agreement.
Transparency provisions appear in a number of
places of the TBT Agreement. Art. 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9
What is Transparency ?
The notion of transparency is closely linked with
notification requirements and also associated with
the following.

7. 1. Ensuring proposed regulations are published at
an early appropriate stage so that comments of
other Members could be incorporated at the
appropriate time.
2. Notify Technical Regulations and conformity
assessment procedures (CAP) to other WTO
Members in the appropriate WTO format.
3. Establishing Enquiry Point and Providing copies
of proposed regulations/ CAPs on request of
others. – BIS is India’s National Enquiry Point.

8. Who would Notify ?
A single central Government Authority, to be
designated by Members for notification.
Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce
and Industry - for India.
Notifications, were often not made due to a lack of
awareness of TBT Agreement; notifying authority
was not made aware of draft regulations by other
national authorities.
The above problems were also not absent in India

9. Notifications of Measures at the Local
Government Level

10. Under what circumstances to Notify ?
1. A relevant international standard does not
exist;
2. The technical content of a proposed measure
is not in accordance with the technical
content of the standard;
3. The proposed measure may have a significant
effect on the trade of other Members.

11. What are the TBT related international standards ?
Standards set by ISO and IEC are generally treated
as international standards, consistent with the TBT
Agreement, though this can be questioned.
What is Significant Effect on Trade ?

12. When or at what stage to notify ?
Notifications at draft stages when
amendments can still be introduced based on
comments received.
For urgent reasons, notification must be
made immediately upon adoption.

13. How much Time is Allowed for Comments ?
At least 60 days time for other Members to
make comments by other Members in
writing;
Discuss these comments upon request and
take into account of these discussions and
written comments.

14. The Notification Format
Notifications must contain information on
the products covered, together with a brief
indication of the objective and rationale of
the proposed technical regulation or
conformity assessment procedure.
Notifications must be made using a
particular format prepared by WTO:

17. Addenda, corrigenda and revisions
Addenda, corrigenda and revisions
Members, in addition to their original
notifications, can also provide supplementary
information in 3 different forms as mentioned
above.

18. Processing and Circulation by WTO Secretariat
Notifications are made either in English, French
or Spanish and sent to the WTO Secretariat -
(CRN) and takes 2 days to circulate in original
language.
All notifications are placed on WTO website.
E-mail distribution has been set up to facilitate
Members' access to notifications.
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt
_mailing_list_e.htm

19. Documents Online Facility
http://docsonline.wto.org/- access to
all official documentation of the WTO.
The database is important source of
information for all and can be used in
a number of ways. Through the
"simple search" symbol
(G/TBT/N/COUNTRY CODE/Number )

21. Processing of Requests
An enquiry point is mandated to answer all
"reasonable" queries.
Step-1- acknowledge the receipt of the enquiry,
without further request.
Step-2 provide information regarding future
course of the regulations etc for all on the
following
Functioning of Enquiry Points

22. THANK YOU !