The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

The TBT was first established in 1978 under the Tokyo Round GATT negotiations. This agreement covered technical requirements affecting food safety and animal and plant health measures, including pesticide residue limits, inspection requirements and labeling. However, pertinant food safety and animal and plant health measures being easily manipulated to restrict trade, under the 1994 Uruguay Round these measures were separated from TBT and placed under the Agreement on SPS Measures. Separating SPS from TBT allowed WTO to make guidelines clearer and regulations more transparent for both TBT and SPS. Therefore, TBT's role today, has been reduced to cover specifically Consumer Measures and Trade Measures.

What kinds of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) exist?

Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS)	protect human animal and plant life and health, specifically regulations which address microbial contamination of food, or set allowable levels of pesticide or veterinary drug residues, or identify permitted food additives. Some packaging and labeling requirements, if directly related to the safety of the food.
Consumer measures	regulations that impact labeling and packaging, rules pertaining to pesticide residues, nutritional content and contamination
Trade measures	shipping and financial documents, standards of product identity and standards of measurements

Examples of TBT use

National security requirements, prevention of deceptive trade practices, protection of human health or safety and animal or plant life or health, or the environment.

Main difference between SPS and TBT

Under SPS, the only justification a member may use for not using international standards are scientific arguments resulting from an assessment of potential health risks. However, Agreement on TBT allows governments to decide which international standards are appropriate for their reasons, include fundamental technological problems, geographical factors or which may be other specific and unique considerations in the member country

An outline of key points in the agreement

Article I General Provisions: covers all products, including industrial and agricultural products

Article 2 Preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations by central government bodies: Imported goods must face the same standards as domestic goods. Restrictions should not restrict trade in any way. Justification for the regulation shall be provided upon request from other Members whose trade may be significantly affected by the regulation. Equivalent regulations must be based on performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics.

Article 3 Preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations by local government bodies and non-government bodies: Central governments must notify local governments and visa versa. Central governments will be the only group directly notified from international bodies.

Article 4 Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards: If a member does not accept a code, then the member must still ensure that they will comply with the Code irrespective of their willingness to accept the Code.

Article 5 Procedures for Assessment of Conformity (CAPs) by Central Government: Provisions to put on foreign goods by central governments procedures to be followed are prepared, adopted and applied to grant foreign suppliers no less favorable conditions than domestic suppliers and Conformity Assessment Procedures (CAP) are to be unnecessary obstacles to international trade.

Article 6 Recognition of Conformity Assessment by Central Government Bodies: In case of, technical competence of assessment bodies, verification procedures, accreditation and other relevant information prove that members display conformity of procedures. Members must accept this as equivalence.

Article 7 Procedures for Assessment of Conformity by Local Government Bodies: Local Government bodies shall comply with the agreement. Communications and contacts made related to conformity assessment should be made to the central governments.

Article 8 Procedures for Assessment of conformity by Non-government bodies: Non-government bodies shall comply with the agreement. Governments shall ensure that they only rely on results of assessments carried out by non-government bodies that are in compliance with the agreement.

Article 9 Information about Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Procedure: Each member must establish Enquiry Points. The Enquiry Point must provide: technical regulations; standards, conformity assessment procedures; location of published notices; and answer to other type questions, including information related to international standards setting bodies for which the Member is a member or participant.

Article 10 Technical Assistance to other Members: Assistance, by Developed countries to help Developing countries conform to international standards, is strongly encouraged.

Article 11 Special and Differential Treatment of Developing Country Members: Members are to provide differential and more favorable treatment to developing country Members by recognizing that these countries have special development, financial and trade needs and these needs should be taken into account in the operation of the Agreement. Developing countries are no expected to use international standards as a basis for their technical regulations or standards which are not appropriate to their development, financial or trade needs.

Article 12 The Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade: The authorities and procedures of the operating committee are found in this article.

Article 13 Consultation and Dispute Settlement: Dispute settlement procedures are established in Article XXII and XXIII of GAT 1994. In a dispute the panel may establish a technical expert group to assist in issues. This group is then governed under Annex 2 to the Agreement.

Article 15 Final Provisions: Members must notify the TBT Committee of existing measures as well as any reservations. Review of the operation and implementation of the agreement is at least every three years.

Annex I - Terms and their Definitions for the Purpose of this Agreement

Technical Regulation - Documents which lays down product characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory.

Standard - Document approved by a recognized body, which provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products and processes, with which compliance is not mandatory.

Conformity Assessment Procedures - Any procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled.

International body or system - Body or system whose membership is open to the relevant bodies of at least all members.

Regional body or system - Body or system whose membership is open to the relevant bodies of only some of the Members.

Central Government body - Central government, its ministries and departments or any body subject to the control of the central government in respect of the activity in question.

Local Government body- Government other than a central government, its ministries or departments or any body subject to the control of such a government in respect of the activity in question.

Non-governmental body - Body other than a central government body or a local government body, including a non-governmental body, which has legal power to enforce a technical regulation.

Annex II - Technical Expert Group

Explains the role of the technical experts group and the rights of those parties to the dispute in relation to the activities of the technical expert group.

Annex III - Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards

Provisions in the section summarize requirements which express the intent and spirit of the Agreement to prevent and ensure that technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade, do not discriminate, and , are harmonized, transparent, and based on performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics

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