WTO Members Discuss
Product Safety in E-commerce, Use of Digital Tools, Air 65 Trade Concerns
·
Online-purchased
goods conform with safety and quality standards.
·
Labelling
of various products, such as alcoholic beverages, packaged food and personal computers.
·
Blockchain
was also cited as a tool used to help increase trust by enhancing transparency and
accuracy of the conformity assessment process.
·
A recent
EU regulation which sets conditions for placing products potentially associated
with deforestation and forest degradation on the EU market, or before exporting
products from the EU market.
·
EU responded
that this measure had not been notified to the TBT Committee because it was outside
the scope of the TBT Agreement.
·
Members
review the operation and implementation of the TBT Agreement, taking into consideration
changes and new challenges in the area of standards and regulations.
At
meetings of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) on 6 to 10 November,
WTO members discussed challenges in ensuring online-purchased goods conform with
safety and quality standards. Members also discussed how digital technologies and
tools can improve regulatory practices. Members raised concerns related to labelling
of various products, such as alcoholic beverages, packaged food and personal computers,
and the treatment of products potentially associated with deforestation, among other
topics. Members adopted guidelines to enhance regulatory transparency.
Thematic
session on conformity assessment and e-commerce
The
session discussed various practices that can ensure the safety and quality of online-purchased
products. The session highlighted the challenges related to the conformity assessment
of goods in e-commerce due to the borderless nature of the internet, which can result
in consumers being exposed to counterfeit and substandard products that pose serious
safety, health and privacy risks.
The
session also looked at the various ways members regulate to address safety of online
products as well as tools and approaches that can enhance trust in e-commerce, such
as e-labelling and accreditation. Blockchain was also cited as a tool used to help
increase trust by enhancing transparency and accuracy of the conformity assessment
process of these products.
Thematic
session on the use of digital technologies and tools in good regulatory practices
The
session underlined the way in which digital tools are increasingly used for managing
regulatory processes and improving public awareness and accessibility to regulations.
Digitization has increased stakeholder engagement with the regulatory process through
web portals and sometimes even AI technologies. At the same time, sifting through
huge volumes of digitally generated feedback and the evolving nature of these digital
technologies were highlighted as challenges for regulators. Another challenge is
the need for regulators to consistently develop the technical skills necessary to
benefit from these digital tools.
Specific
trade concerns
Members
raised 11 new trade concerns and 54 previous ones.
Three
of the new trade concerns focused on alcoholic beverages, covering their labelling,
standards, safety, definition and advertising. Other topics were the mandatory labelling
of packaged food for human consumption, washing machines, personal computers and
products that include lasers. Reference was made to the voluntary use of e-labelling
instead of physical labelling. Other new trade concerns related to standards for
medical textiles and testing requirement for motor pumps and pharmaceutical products.
Members
discussed a recent EU regulation which sets conditions for placing products potentially
associated with deforestation and forest degradation on the EU market, or before
exporting products from the EU market. The concern was raised by the United States,
India, Colombia and Paraguay and supported by others.
While
members support the overall objective of addressing deforestation at a global level,
several members considered that the cumbersome implementation requirements provided
in the regulation do not address the desired policy objectives. Others noted that
the regulation would add billions in costs for a variety of industries and result
in barriers to trade.
The
EU responded that this measure had not been notified to the TBT Committee because
it was outside the scope of the TBT Agreement. Underlining its commitment to transparency,
the EU also noted that regular updates were being provided to the Committee on Trade
and Environment, most recently during its meeting in June 2023.
Transparency
A
revised set of guidelines was adopted to improve regulatory transparency. They aim
to enhance information contained in members' notifications and were developed by
the Transparency Working Group in response to the Committee's work programme.
An
ePing "walk in session" gave delegates the opportunity
to share feedback on the digital platform, which allows users to track and manage
information on product requirements.
Tenth
Triennial Review
Every
three years, members review the operation and implementation of the TBT Agreement,
taking into consideration changes and new challenges in the area of standards and
regulations. Members launched the discussion of the Tenth Triennial Review, which
is scheduled to be completed in November 2024. On 6 November, the WTO Secretariat
organized a dedicated briefing for delegates on how to participate in the Triennial
Review process. Brazil and the United States shared their experiences on preparing
proposals for past reviews.
Technical
assistance
The
Secretariat provided an update on the technical assistance provided to members in
the TBT area. This includes an upcoming regional workshop in Asia with the participation
of 14 developing economies, including Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Thailand
and Viet Nam. An update on the Transparency Champions Programme for Africa was also
provided.
In
2023, the WTO TBT team has organised 12 in-person national workshops (Bahrain, Cambodia,
Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana (upcoming), India, Kenya
Morocco, Nigeria and Peru).
Other
matters
China
provided an update on its proposal for a declaration on TBT at the 13th Ministerial
Conference to be held in February 2024: “Draft Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening
Regulatory Cooperation to Reduce Technical Barriers to Trade" (G/TBT/GEN/353).
Several members spoke in support of the proposal and encouraged China to continue
discussions with interested members.
Brazil
presented its document entitled “Enhancing food security through the reform in agriculture
and the use of current flexibilities”.
Observer
organizations also updated the TBT Committee on activities related to standards
and regulations.
Next
meeting
The
next regular meeting of the Committee will take place from 13 to 15 March 2024