REPORT (2024) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE

1.  The Committee held its 92^nd, 93^rd and 94^th regular meetings on 13-15 March, 5-7 June, and 5‑8 November 2024, respectively. The 92^nd meeting was chaired by Ms Anna Vitie (Finland) and the 93^rd and 94^th meetings were chaired by Ms Daniela García (Ecuador).

2.  During these meetings^[1], the Committee:

a._    with respect to conformity assessment procedures:

i._     adopted the Guidelines for Conformity Assessment Procedures: Non-Prescriptive Practical Guidelines to Support Regulators in the Choice and Design of Appropriate and Proportionate Conformity Assessment Procedures (_G/TBT/54);

b._    with respect to transparency:

i._     adopted the revised Guidelines for New Notifications of Draft Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures (_G/TBT/52);

ii._    adopted the Guidelines for Submitting Article 15.2 Notifications (_G/TBT/55);

iii._   finalized the Good Practice Guide on Commenting on a Notification (_G/TBT/GEN/386);

c._    with respect to notifications[2]:   

i._     received 2,056 new notifications from Members;

ii._    received 1,850 follow-up notifications (addenda, corrigenda, revisions) from Members;

iii._   received 2 notifications under Article 15.2 regarding measures taken to ensure the implementation and administration of the TBT Agreement. In total, since 1995, 145 Members have submitted at least one such statement;

iv._   received 1 notification under Article 10.7 regarding agreements between Members;

d._    with respect to specific trade concerns:

i._     discussed 33 new specific trade concerns;

ii._    discussed 157 previously raised specific trade concerns;

e._    took note of the 29^th Annual Review under Article 15.3 (_G/TBT/53);

f._     held the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh meetings of the Transparency Working Group on 12 February, 12 March, 29 April, 19 September and 17 October, respectively, and informal meetings on the preparation of the Tenth Triennial Review on 12 March, 29 April, 4 June, 2 July[3], 19 September, 17 October and 4 November; and,

g._    concluded the Tenth Triennial Review (_G/TBT/56).

3.  At the meetings held in 2024, representatives of ARSO, BIPM, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, IEC, ISO, OIML, UNCTAD, UNECE and UNIDO updated the Committee on their activities relevant to the work of the TBT Committee, including on technical assistance.

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