REPORT (2025) OF THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE

1.  The Committee held its 95^th, 96^th and 97^th regular meetings on 26-28 March, 25-27 June, and 12‑14 November 2025, respectively. The 95^th meeting was chaired by Ms Daniela García (Ecuador) and the 96^th and 97^th meetings were chaired by Ms Beatriz Stevens (United Kingdom).

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

a._         took note of the Thirtieth Annual Review under Article 15.3 (_G/TBT/58);

b._         with respect to transparency:

i._          adopted updates to notification formats and guidelines as issued in the Compilation of TBT Notification Formats and Guidelines (_G/TBT/59);

ii._         adopted a revision of the recommendation on the Coherent Use of Notification Formats (_G/TBT/35/Rev.2);

c._         with respect to notifications[2]:

i._          received 2,557 new notifications from Members;

ii._         received 1,567 follow-up notifications (addenda, corrigenda, revisions) from Members;

iii._        received 9 notifications under Article 15.2 regarding measures taken to ensure the implementation and administration of the TBT Agreement (2 first-time notifications and 7 updates). In total, since 1995, 147 Members have submitted at least one such statement;

d._         with respect to specific trade concerns[3]:

i._          discussed 40 new specific trade concerns;

ii._         discussed 169 previously raised specific trade concerns;

e._         held thematic sessions on:

i._          Regulatory Cooperation between Members, focusing on Medical Devices Regulation[4], and on Food Contact Packaging[5];

ii._         Standards, focusing on Decarbonization Standards[6]; and

iii._        Conformity Assessment Procedures, focusing on Traceability for Bulk Agricultural Commodities[7] on 25 March;

iv._       Special and Differential Treatment[8] on 24 June;

v._         Standards, focusing on International Standards for Critical and Emerging Technologies (CETs)[9];

vi._       Technical Assistance, focusing on the Role of Metrology in Facilitating Trade[10]; and

vii._      Good Regulatory Practice, focusing on Regulatory Impact Assessment and Trade ‑Related Impacts on 11 November.[11]

f._          held cross-cutting information sessions on:

i._          Trade and Environment on 26 March;

ii._         Non-tariff measures under the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) on 12 November.

3.  The Committee also held the twelfth and thirteenth meetings of the Transparency Working Group on 15 January and 2 October; informal meetings on 15 January, 12 February, 9 May and 2 October; and the eleventh Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange on 24 June.[12]

4.  At the meetings held in 2025, representatives of ARSO, BIPM, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO, GSO, ISO, ITC, OIML, UNCTAD, UNECE, and UNIDO updated Members on their activities relevant to the work of the TBT Committee, including on technical assistance.

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