Technical barriers to trade
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Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement
The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement aims to ensure that regulations standards testing and certification procedures followed by WTO members do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. Annual Review of TBT Agreement The WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade collects data on an annual basis on the implementation of the TBT Agreement. The information in this brochure is based on the 2023 review. About the WTO The World Trade Organization is the international body dealing with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly predictably and freely as possible with a level playing field for all its members.
Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement
The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement aims to ensure that regulations standards testing and certification procedures followed by WTO members do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade conducts an annual review of the implementation of the TBT Agreement. The information in this brochure is based on the 2020 review.
Introduction
The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) entered into force with the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 1 January 1995. It aims to ensure that product requirements in regulations and standards (on safety quality health etc.) as well as procedures for assessing product compliance with such requirements (testing inspection accreditation etc.) are not unjustifiably discriminatory and/or do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.
The TBT Agreement
The TBT Agreement entered into force on 1 January 1995. It is one of the various WTO agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement. As indicated above the TBT Agreement belongs to the family of multilateral WTO agreements dealing with trade in goods (the GATT and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) are examples of other “goods” agreements).
The WTO Agreements Series: Technical Barriers to Trade
This fully revised and expanded third edition provides an overview of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and the types of measures it covers.
The basic structure of WTO agreements
Broadly speaking the WTO agreements for the two largest areas of trade – goods and services – share a common threepart outline even though the details are sometimes different (see Figure 1).
Indonesia - Measures Concerning the Importation of Chicken Meat and Chicken Products
On 10 November 2020 the WTO circulated the compliance panel report in the case brought by Brazil in “Indonesia — Measures Concerning the Importation of Chicken Meat and Chicken Products” (DS484).
Australia - Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging
On 9 June 2020 the Appellate Body issued its reports in the cases brought by Honduras and the Dominican Republic in “Australia — Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging” (DS435 and DS441).
Standards, Regulations and COVID-19
Mainly affecting trade in medical products and food such standards and regulatory measures typically account for two-thirds of the notifications members submit to the WTO in line with obligations under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). These agreements set out disciplines for standards and regulatory measures used to protect human animal and plant life and health the environment and product safety. The paper notes that most of the COVID-related notifications were submitted under the emergency/urgent notification provisions in the two agreements in response to the pressing health problems posed by the pandemic. The notifications mainly concern trade in personal protective equipment food live animals medical equipment and medicines. The notified measures fall under four main categories: streamlining certification procedures; ensuring safe medical goods; making food available by relaxing technical regulations; and addressing COVID-19 risks from international trade in live animals.
Russian Federation - Measures affecting the importation of railway equipment and parts thereof
On 4 February 2020 the Appellate Body issued its report in the case brought by Ukraine in “ Russia - Measures affecting the importation of railway equipment and parts thereof” (DS499).
Addressing Tensions and Avoiding Disputes
Most specific trade concerns (STCs) which are raised before the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Committee) disappear from the TBT Committee’s meeting agendas without escalating into formal disputes. At the same time a relatively small number of TBT-related disputes have been subject to the WTO dispute settlement procedures. By examining the practice of raising STCs and the relationship between STCs and disputes the paper emphasises the role of STCs as a trade tension resolution mechanism.
How Regional Trade Agreements Deal with Disputes Concerning their TBT Provisions?
This paper investigates how RTAs treat disputes concerning their TBT provisions in particular whether they treat them differently from other types of dispute and how they deal with any potential overlap with the WTO when the substantive obligations of the RTA and the WTO TBT Agreement are the same (or similar).
Russia - Measures Affecting the Importation of Railway Equipment and Parts thereof
On 30 July 2018 the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Ukraine in “Russia - Measures affecting the importation of railway equipment and parts thereof.
Australia - Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging
On 28 June 2018 the WTO circulated the panel report in the cases brought by Honduras the Dominican Republic Cuba and Indonesia in “Australia — Certain Measures Concerning Trademarks Geographical Indications and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging.
United States - Measures Concerning the Importation, Marketing and Sale of Tuna and Tuna Products
On 25 April 2017 the WTO issued the dispute panel reports in the case "United States - Measures concerning the importation marketing and sale of tuna and tuna products".
United States - Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures on Large Residential Washers from Korea
On 13 April 2017 an Arbitrator issued her Award regarding the “reasonable period of time” for implementing the recommendations and rulings of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in the dispute “United States — Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures on large residential washers from Korea” (WT/DS464). The Arbitrator determined that the “reasonable period of time” for the United States to implement the DSB’s recommendations and rulings in this dispute is 15 months from the adoption of the panel and Appellate Body Reports in this dispute. The reasonable period of time will thus expire on 26 December 2017.
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.
The trade effects of non-tariff measures and services measures
This section discusses the trade effects of non-tariff measures and services measures in general before focusing on technical barriers to trade (TBT) sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and domestic regulation in services. It also examines whether regulatory harmonization and/or mutual recognition help to reduce the trade-hindering effects caused by the diversity of TBT/SPS measures and domestic regulation in services.
World trade in 2011: Introduction
The volume of world merchandise trade rose 5.0 per cent in 2011 accompanied by global output growth of 2.4 per cent. This marked a significant slowdown from 2010 when trade advanced 13.8 per cent and output expanded by 3.8 per cent.
Introduction
Non-tariff measures that can potentially affect trade in goods present the multilateral trading system with a basic policy challenge – how to ensure that these measures meet legitimate policy goals without unduly restricting or distorting trade. The same challenge applies to measures that can affect trade in services. This introduction discusses how the motivations for using non-tariff measures and services measures have evolved complicating the policy panorama but not changing the core challenge of how to manage the tension between public policy goals and trading opportunities.
An inventory of non-tariff measures and services measures
This section reviews available sources of information on non-tariff measures (NTMs) and services measures evaluating their relative strengths and weaknesses. It uses available information to establish a number of “stylized facts” regarding the incidence of NTMs and services measures in general. It looks in particular at technical barriers to trade sanitary and phytosanitary measures and domestic regulation in services.
An economic perspective on the use of non-tariff measures
Governments use non-tariff measures and services measures for a growing number of reasons. This section examines what these are and how they may affect trade. It also analyses the choices available to governments among a variety of policy instruments from a theoretical and an empirical perspective. The section ends with case studies on non-tariff measures in the context of the recent financial crisis climate change and food safety.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2012 was prepared under the general direction of the WTO’s Deputy Director-General Alejandro Jara and supervised by Patrick Low Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division. The writing of this year’s report was coordinated by Marc Bacchetta and Cosimo Beverelli. Work on individual sections was coordinated by Alexander Keck Coleman Nee Roberta Piermartini and Michele Ruta.
International cooperation on non-tariff measures in a globalized world
The focus of this section is international cooperation on non-tariff measures (NTMs) and services measures. The section first reviews the economic rationale for such cooperation in the context of trade agreements. It then looks at the practice of cooperation in the areas of technical barriers to trade (TBT) sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and domestic regulation in services. The third part deals with the legal analysis of the treatment of NTMs in the GATT/WTO system and the interpretation of the rules that has emerged in recent international trade disputes. The section concludes with a discussion of the challenges of adapting the WTO to a world where NTMs are a growing concern.
State of the world economy and trade in 2011
The rate of world output growth fell to 2.4 per cent in 2011 from 3.8 per cent in the previous year weighed down by the on-going sovereign debt crisis in Europe supply chain disruptions from natural disasters in Japan and Thailand and turmoil in Arab countries. This pace of expansion was well below the 3.2 per cent average over the 20 years leading up to the financial crisis in 2008.
Executive summary
This year’s World Trade Report ventures beyond tariffs to examine other policy measures that can affect trade. As tariffs have fallen in the years since the birth of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1948 attention has progressively shifted towards non-tariff measures (NTMs). The range of NTMs is vast complex driven by multiple policy motives and ever-changing. Public policy objectives underlying NTMs have evolved. The drivers of change are many including greater interdependency in a globalizing world increased social awareness and growing concerns regarding health safety and environmental quality. Many of these factors call for a deepening of integration wresting attention away from more traditional and shallower forms of cooperation. Trade in services is a part of this development and has come under greater scrutiny along with the policies that influence services trade.