Technical barriers to trade
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Trade, Testing and Toasters
Even if traders adapt to technical regulations and standards in an export market they still must prove compliance by undergoing conformity assessment procedures (CAPs) such as testing inspection or certification. Duplication delays or discrimination in CAPs can significantly increase trade costs and this risk is reflected in the growing importance of CAPs in WTO discussions and bilateral and regional free trade agreements. This paper conducts an empirical study of the trade issues that WTO Members encounter with CAPs as described in specific trade concerns (STCs) raised in the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) during 2010-2014. We observe that CAPs raise proportionally more concern among WTO Members than technical regulations do and that testing and certification are the procedures that most frequently give rise to trade problems. Within the framework of the TBT Agreement we find that questions around transparency and whether CAPs create unnecessary barriers to trade are the two most prominent issues highlighted by Members.
TBT and Trade Facilitation Agreements
The average international trade transaction is subject to numerous procedural and documentation requirements which add to the costs of doing business as an importer or exporter and also use up scarce government resources. While these requirements can be necessary to fulfil policy objectives questions are often raised about why and how they are implemented. The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) adopted by WTO Members in 2014 seeks to expedite the movement release and clearance of goods across borders and reduce these trade transaction costs - by an average of 14.3 per cent as estimated by the 2015 World Trade Report. At the same time many WTO Agreements already contain provisions aimed at facilitating trade procedures and avoiding unnecessary costs. The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the TBT Agreement) is one of these: its provisions on transparency and conformity assessment procedures some of which are applied at the border are of particular relevance in this context. The TFA and TBT Agreements are in fact complementary with the TFA introducing some new requirements/recommendations which are likely to apply to certain TBT measures. This paper maps out the linkages between these two Agreements. It does so with a view to informing TBT officials of the requirements and best practices emerging in the trade facilitation area as well as raising awareness amongst trade/customs officials of existing rules and evolving practices in the TBT area. The 2015 World Trade Report refers to “border agency cooperation” as the main TFA implementation challenge identified by developing countries and also points to the importance of cooperation and coordination between ministries as one of the main success factors. Considering that a significant share of import/export procedures and controls arise from the implementation of TBT measures a better understanding of the linkages between the TFA and the TBT Agreement (as well as other relevant WTO Agreements such as the SPS Agreement) will be crucial for effective implementation. It will also contribute to more streamlined technical assistance activities and raise awareness among TBT officials of the opportunities generated by trade facilitation projects. The procedures and practices of the WTO TBT Committee especially with regards to transparency and specific trade concerns could also be of interest to the future TFA Committee as it embarks on its task of furthering the implementation of the TFA. All these in turn will help reap the expected benefits of the new Trade Facilitation Agreement.
TBT Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements
This paper investigates whether TBT provisions included in RTAs differ from those under the WTO TBT Agreement and if they do whether they entail broader commitments. Our analysis covers 238 RTAs of which 171 include at least one provision and focuses on the provisions on technical regulations conformity assessment procedures transparency dispute settlement marking and labelling and sector-specific commitments. We find that all RTAs signed since 2010 systematically include TBT provisions and that the most frequent provisions are those referring to the TBT Agreement and transparency. Moreover even if there are RTAs that include new or broader commitments than the TBT Agreement our study shows that their number remains very limited. For instance relatively few RTAs have included provisions to better implement WTO provisions in the area of transparency or provisions requiring the equivalence or harmonization of technical regulations among the parties or even the recognition of conformity assessment results. RTAs with a dispute settlement provision that applies exclusively to TBT issues are also very few. These RTAs give in general exclusive jurisdiction to the WTO DSM over TBT related disputes. Finally also only a minority of RTAs include provisions on new issues such as marking and labelling or sector-specific provisions typically for electric and electronic products pharmaceuticals or vehicles.
United States - Measures Concerning the Importation, Marketing and Sale of Tuna and Tuna Products - Recourse 1
On 24 October 2008 Mexico requested consultations with the United States with respect to the following measures: (i) the United States Code Title 16 Section 1385 (“Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act”) (ii) the Code of Federal Regulations Title 50 Section 216.91 (“Dolphin‑safe labeling standards”) and Section 216.92 (“Dolphin‑safe requirements for tuna harvested in the ETP [Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean] by large purse seine vessels”) and (iii) the ruling in Earth Island Institute v. Hogarth 494 F.3d 757 (9th Cir. 2007).
Technical Barriers to Trade
WTO members have notified over 25000 draft regulatory measures to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee over the past 20 years covering imports ranging from food to medical devices. Over 470 of these measures have undergone detailed scrutiny by WTO members in the TBT Committee. But only a handful of these issues have resulted in formal disputes proving the effectiveness of the committee process. This brochure produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary looks into the TBT Agreement and the work of the TBT committee.
Trade Policy Uncertainty as Barrier to Trade
This paper studies the effects of trade policy uncertainty on the extensive and the intensive margins of trade for a sample of 149 exporters at the HS6 digit level. We measure trade policy uncertainty as the gap between binding tariff commitments under trade agreements (multilateral and regional agreements) and applied tariffs- what is also known as tariffs’ water. Our results show that trade policy uncertainty is an important barrier to export. On average the elimination of water increases the probability of exporting by 12 percent. A one percent decrease of water also increases export volumes by one percent. We also find that the negative impact of trade policy uncertainty is higher for countries with low quality of institutions and in the presence of global value chains. Finally our findings show that on average trade policy uncertainty is equivalent to a level of tariffs between 1.7 and 8.7 percentage points.
United States - Measures Concerning the Importation, Marketing and Sale of Tuna and Tuna Products - Recourse 1
On 24 October 2008 Mexico requested consultations with the United States with respect to the following measures: (i) the United States Code Title 16 Section 1385 (“Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act”) (ii) the Code of Federal Regulations Title 50 Section 216.91 (“Dolphin‑safe labeling standards”) and Section 216.92 (“Dolphin‑safe requirements for tuna harvested in the ETP [Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean] by large purse seine vessels”) and (iii) the ruling in Earth Island Institute v. Hogarth 494 F.3d 757 (9th Cir. 2007).
Introduction
The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the “TBT Agreement”) entered into force with the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 1 January 1995. It aims to ensure that regulations standards testing and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.
Decisions and recommendations adopted by the TBT committee since 1 January 1995
The present document (G/TBT/1/Rev.11) published on 16 December 2013 contains the eleventh revision of the compilation of the TBT Committee’s Decisions and Recommendations. This revision which supersedes all previous G/TBT/1 documents is in two parts. Part 1 contains the Committee’s decisions and recommendations adopted since 1 January 1995. Part 2 contains the Committee’s Rules of Procedure including Guidelines for Observer Status for Governments and International Intergovernmental Organizations.
The basic structure of WTO agreements
Broadly speaking the WTO agreements for the two largest areas of trade — goods and services — share a common three part outline even though the details are sometimes different.
Technical Barriers to Trade
This fully revised and expanded second edition provides an overview of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and the types of measures it covers. It also contains the full text of the Agreement and the decisions and recommendations adopted by the TBT Committee since 1 January 1995.
The TBT agreement
The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the “TBT Agreement”) entered into force on 1 January 1995 as one of the WTO agreements under Annex 1A of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. The TBT Agreement strengthened and clarified the provisions of the "Standards Code" – the original plurilateral 1979 Tokyo Round Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade governing regulations and standards.
European Communities - Measures Prohibiting the Importation and Marketing of Seal Products
On 2 November 2009 Canada requested consultations with the European Communities concerning Regulation (EC) No. 1007/2009 of the European Parliament and of the EC Council of 16 September 2009 on trade in seal products and subsequent related measures. According to Canada the regulation in question prohibits the importation and the placing on the EC market of all seal products.
International Standards and the WTO TBT Agreement
The WTO TBT Agreement obliges governments to use international standards as a basis for regulation yet leaves a degree of flexibility with respect to the choice of standard and the manner of its use. This interplay between obligation and flexibility has given rise to tension in various fora of the WTO. This paper brings together these three distinct strands of WTO work to illustrate core aspects of the international standards debate at the WTO. In our analysis we first briefly outline the nature of the discipline in the TBT Agreement itself; next we describe where and how the discussion arises in the WTO; and finally explore some implications of governance of international standard setting. We propose that greater regulatory alignment could be achieved through a renewed focus on the procedures of setting international standards (the how) and greater emphasis on robust technical/scientific underpinnings of such standards (the what).
Foreword by the WTO Director-General
This year’s World Trade Report takes a fresh look at an old issue. Non-tariff measures (NTMs) have been with us since nations have traded and they have certainly constituted a key element of the work of the GATT and the WTO over the years. I offer seven reasons why it is a good time for the WTO to be thinking about NTMs.
Conclusions
This report has sought to deepen understanding of the role incidence and effects of non-tariff measures and services measures in the multilateral trading system of the 21st century. Against a background of profound changes in the nature of trade flows and trade patterns institutions social and environmental realities and consumer preferences the Report has identified the challenges that NTMs and services measures raise for international cooperation and more specifically for the World Trade Organization.