REPORT
(2020) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
1. The Committee held its 80th, 81st and 82nd
regular meetings on 26-27 February, 13-14 May[1]
and 28‑30 October 2020, respectively. The 80th and 81st
meetings were chaired by Mr Sung‑Hwa Jang (Korea), and the 82nd
was chaired by Mr Laurence Sandral (Australia).
2. During these meetings[2], the Committee:
a. heard statements from Members regarding measures taken to ensure the
implementation and administration of the TBT Agreement under Article 15.2. In
total, since 1995, 145 Members have submitted at least one such statement;
b.
with respect to
notifications[3]:
i.
received 1638 new notifications from Members;
ii.
received 1129 follow-up notifications (addenda,
corrigenda, revisions) from Members;
c.
with respect to
specific trade concerns:
i.
discussed 57 new specific trade concerns;
ii.
discussed 156 previously raised specific trade concerns;
d.
took note of the
25th Annual Review of the Implementation and Operation of the TBT Agreement
under Article 15.3[4];
e.
held thematic
sessions in February on Good Regulatory Practice[5],
and on Conformity Assessment Procedures[6];
and in October on Technical Assistance[7]
and on Technical Regulations (mandatory marking and labelling)[8];
and,
f.
at the time of writing,
the Committee had also scheduled, for 8 December 2020, a thematic session on
conformity assessment procedures; the sharing of experiences on COVID-19; as
well as a workshop on the role of gender in the development of standards.
3. At the meetings held in 2020, representatives of ARSO, BIPM, the
Codex Alimentarius Commission, CROSQ, IEC, ISO, UNECE, and UNIDO updated the
Committee on their activities relevant to the work of the TBT Committee,
including on technical assistance.
[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 13-14 May meeting of the TBT
Committee was held, on an exceptional basis, by written procedure focusing only
on specific trade concerns. The timeline of the written procedure followed for
the 13-14 May meeting is contained in document _JOB/TBT/365.
[2] The minutes of the meetings are contained in _G/TBT/M/80,
_G/TBT/M/81
and G/TBT/M/82 (forthcoming).
[3] The figures reflect the notifications received as of 31 October
2020.
[4] The Annual Review is contained in _G/TBT/44
and includes a list of standardizing bodies that have accepted the Code of Good
Practice since 1995.
[5] The moderator's report is contained in _G/TBT/GEN/287.
[6] The moderator's report is contained in _G/TBT/GEN/288.
[7] The moderator's report is contained in _G/TBT/GEN/306.
[8] The moderator's report is contained in _G/TBT/GEN/307.