WTO Members Adopt Timeline for Review of TBT
Agreement, Discuss Environmental Concerns
At the meeting of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
(TBT) on 28—30 October, WTO members adopted a timeline for the 9th review of the
TBT Agreement under the “triennial review process”. This process aims at improving
the implementation of the TBT Agreement and setting out new areas of work for the
Committee. Members discussed 77 specific trade concerns, 24 of which are new. Several
of the new concerns address issues related to the environment, such as waste management,
energy efficiency, water consumption and chemical products.
The adopted
timeline lays
out the schedule of discussions over the coming 12 months to determine the Committee's
workplan in 2022-2024. The review process is driven by
substantive proposals from members, with a view to making the TBT Agreement more
effective and looking at new areas of work. Previous triennial reviews addressed
issues such as transparency and improving the submission of notifications, good
regulatory practices and conformity assessment procedures.
The Chair
of the TBT Committee, Mr Laurence Sandral
(Australia), said: "The Triennial Review process is a gift of improved efficiency
that members give to themselves every three years. Having an agreed timeframe ensures
we can harness the input and energy of all members in deciding together what improvements
to make."
WTO members
raised 24 new trade concerns through eAgenda, an online
platform. The full list of the 77 concerns raised overall is available here. Discussions
focused on topics ranging from cosmetics
to halal feedstuff, cryptography, nutrition, chemicals and wines. Several members
cited the impact of COVID-19 on their work in the area of standards and regulations,
which in some cases caused delays and required additional time for manufacturers
to comply.
Ensuring
that manufacturers can comply with proposed environmental protection measures was
a common theme among the new trade concerns.
For instance,
the Republic of Korea asked Zimbabwe to clarify the applicable standards and conformity
assessment process for energy efficiency of household refrigerators and air conditioners.
Zimbabwe said its standard derives from the standard used by the American Society
for Testing and Materials (F2834) and that implementation may be delayed due to
COVID-19 restrictions.
On water
use, China asked the United States for clarification regarding California's appliance
efficiency standards for sprinklers. The US said it will
discuss China's questions with the Californian authorities.
Another
energy and water efficiency concern was raised by the Republic of Korea, which asked
Chile to revise its approach for assessing washing machines' environmental performance
to avoid blocking efficient models from the market. Chile said it would convey Korea's
comments to the responsible ministry.
Concerning
chemicals, China, India the United States and Canada raised concerns with the short
timeframe (by January 2021) for importers and suppliers to comply with EU reporting
requirements on chemical substances in products. The EU said this was part of promoting
a circular economy, supporting waste management and recycling.
Also
on the circular economy, China asked France to delay new requirements for electronic
and electric equipment to display a reparability index (a scoring system giving
information on the ease of repairing a product), citing the lack of supporting guidance
and testing methods for electronic and electrical equipment, and compliance difficulties
due to COVID-19. The EU, on behalf of France, said that the checks and penalties
for failure to comply will only apply from 1 January 2022, giving additional time
for manufacturers to adapt.
Members
held two thematic sessions on 27 October, with the aim of exchanging experiences
and sharing best practices on topics related to the TBT Agreement.
The first
session looked at technical assistance provided to developing countries regarding
implementation of the TBT Agreement in areas such as quality infrastructure, standards,
metrology, compliance and harmonization. Australia, the European Union and the United
States shared examples of technical assistance and capacity building programmes they provide. The role of TBT technical assistance
in supporting the response to COVID-19 and economic recovery was discussed.
The second
session looked at how to facilitate compliance with mandatory marking and labelling
requirements on products. The European Union and the United States presented case
studies related to this topic. The EU proposed that the Committee develop recommendations
or other guidance on marking and labelling to support members in implementing the
TBT Agreement.