Transparency
TENTH
TRIENNIAL REVIEW
Proposal from the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu
The following submission, dated 4 March 2024,
is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the Separate
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
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1 Provision of copyable documents under Box 11 of the
notification template
1.1 Background
1.1. Members are encouraged to include web links or any other means to
facilitate access to texts of the notified technical regulations or conformity
assessment procedures in Box 11 of the notification template. Two options are mentioned
in the Enquiry Point Guide[1] for this purpose, a
hyperlink that links directly to the full text hosted on Members' own websites
or uploading of electronic version via the notification submission dashboard in
ePing.
1.2. There are cases where the document is locked or is an image file
format and the text cannot be selected, highlighted, copied or pasted for
further processing. This function is important for MSMEs to use technology,
such as machine translation, to overcome language barriers and to be able to
assess the impact of the drafted measures. The function of generating copyable
documents is available in almost all word processing software.
1.2 Proposal
1.3. The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu
proposes that this practice be added to the section of "Completing the
notification template" in an updated Enquiry Point Guide.
2 Product coverage of notified
measures
2.1 Background
2.1. At the 9th Triennial Review, the
TBT Committee decided to hold a thematic session on challenges that Members
face in providing specific information on the product coverage of notified
measures, with special emphasis on HS codes. At the 10th Special
Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange held on 19 June 2023, a session
was dedicated to training on the Harmonized System (HS).
2.2. The WTO Secretariat introduced the work on the "product
dictionary," which was designed for the automatic matching of products' HS
Codes.[2] The Enquiry Points and
notification authorities benefited a great deal from this initiative, which
will reduce the burden of identifying appropriate HS codes of products covered
in the notified measures. In addition, it also assists private sectors in assessing
trade implication of the notified measures accurately.
2.2 Proposal
2.3. The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu
appreciates the efforts of the WTO Secretariat in improving product coverage in
notifications, including the consideration of providing ePing users access to
the product dictionary. We propose that a good practice guide be developed and
more training activities be arranged.
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