Technical barriers to trade
The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement aims to ensure that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. At the same time, it recognises WTO members' right to implement measures to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of human health and safety, or protection of the environment. The TBT Agreement strongly encourages members to base their measures on international standards as a means to facilitate trade. Through its transparency provisions, it also aims to create a predictable trading environment.
- TBT Information Management System – The TBT IMS offers a wide range of search criteria for notifications, specific trade concerns and other TBT information
- TBT Enquiry points
Latest tweets about #WTOTBT
News
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TBT Agreement
- The full text of the TBT Agreement
- What are technical barriers to trade? A brief introduction
- WTO Agreement Series — Technical Barriers to Trade
An overview of the TBT Agreement, FAQs, the full legal text of the Agreement, and the decisions and recommendations adopted by the TBT Committee since 1 January 1995.
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TBT Committee
TBT Committee work involves two broad areas:
- review of specific measures
WTO members/observers use the TBT Committee to discuss specific trade concerns (STCs) — specific laws, regulations or procedures that affect their trade, usually in response to notifications. Essentially, members raise STCs to find out more about the scope and implementation of each other's regulations in light of the core TBT obligations. The discussion is mostly about measures in the pipeline, but can also be about the implementation of existing measures. To date, more than 500 “STCs” have been raised which can be accessed through the TBT Information Management System TBT IMS — the database of WTO information on TBT notifications, specific trade concerns, enquiry points, etc.
- strengthening implementation of the TBT Agreement
Members exchange experiences on the implementation of the Agreement with a view to making implementation more effective and efficient. This discussion revolves around generic, cross-cutting themes, including transparency, standards, conformity assessment and good regulatory practice.
Over the years, the Committee has developed a series of decisions and recommendations intended to facilitate implementation of the TBT Agreement. The latest decisions and recommendations adopted by the Committee can be found here.
Meetings of the TBT Committee
The Committee usually holds three formal meetings per year. These are sometimes preceded by workshops or thematic sessions. Meetings are open to all WTO members and observer governments. International intergovernmental organizations — several of them standardizing bodies — also participate as observers in the Committee. See also rules of procedure for meetings of the Committee and guidelines for observer status.
The current chair of the TBT Committee is .
Search here for TBT official documents using various criteria
Annual reviews
The Committee is mandated to conduct an annual review of activities relating to the implementation and operation of the TBT Agreement, including notifications, specific trade concerns, technical assistance activities, and TBT related disputes. The latest Annual Review report was circulated in February 2020..
All annual reviews
Triennial reviews
The TBT Committee is mandated to review the operation and implementation of the TBT Agreement on a triennial basis. The Eighth Triennial Review was completed on 15 November 2018.
Members’ transparency toolkit
Transparency is a cornerstone of the TBT Agreement and consists of three core elements:
- notifications
- establishment of enquiry points
- publication requirements.
This toolkit contains information on the transparency obligations and procedures, and related work in the Committee, as well as other resources.
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Disputes
Disputes citing the TBT Agreement
Find jurisprudence concerning the TBT Agreement:
- Analytical Index — Guide to WTO Law and Practice
- WTO Appellate Body Repertory of Reports and Awards (5th edition: 1995–2013)
- WTO Dispute Settlement: One-Page Case Summaries (1995–2012)
What's new
- 8 December 2020
Workshop on the Role of Gender in Standards Development - 27 October 2020
TBT committee thematic session on Technical assistance - 27 October 2020
Thematic session on technical regulations: Marking and labelling - 14 October 2020
TBT@40, The TBT Committee's Six Principles for the development of international standards: Are they still relevant?
Archive
TBT@40 Dialogue Series
The WTO TBT Agreement originated from the GATT "Standards Code", which entered into force 40 years ago. To mark this anniversary, the WTO's Trade and Environment Division is organizing series of dialogues on TBT-related topics.
- Facilitating trade through regulatory cooperation
The case of the WTO’s TBT/SPS Agreements and Committees
- Making transparency work
New WTO TBT Enquiry Point Guide
- Agreement series — TBT
An overview of the TBT Agreement
- Trade and Food Standards
- Technical Barriers to Trade: Reducing trade friction from standards and regulations
- World Trade Report 2012
A closer look at non-tariff measures - World Trade Report 2011
Deeper integration (PTAs), including on regulatory matters - World Trade Report 2005
A closer look at standards - WTO Agreements and Public Health — A joint study by WHO and the WTO Secretariat