Speaking at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said that the work in this area “often goes unseen and unremarked upon – but it is one of the key strengths of the multilateral trading system. Over the last 20 years it has become a well-functioning, dynamic mechanism for addressing matters of everyday commercial and social significance – from chemicals in toys, to carbon footprint labelling, to test procedures for medical devices and pharmaceuticals.”

“The figures tell the story. Since 1995, the TBT Committee has received 25,000 notifications of new or changed measures. This is the highest number for any committee at the WTO. And members have developed guidance on the application of the Agreement – which has helped with its practical and business-like application,” DG Azevêdo said.

“Over the years, the Committee has taken on an important pre-emptive function. Throughout its existence, the TBT Committee has dealt with 471 Specific Trade Concerns. Clearly this is an area where there may be potential disagreements. However, in these 20 years, we have only had five TBT related disputes, and only one is ongoing today.”

Entitled “TBT@20: Reducing Trade Friction from Standards and Regulations”, the event provided a wide range of stakeholders with the opportunity to reflect on how the implementation of the TBT Agreement and the work of the TBT Committee have quietly helped to resolve trade problems of commercial and social significance and to enhance regulatory cooperation over the past 20 years.

The opening panel discussed the implementation of the TBT Agreement and the work of the TBT Committee from three complementary perspectives. Former TBT Committee Chairperson Juan-Antonio Dorantes Sanchez (Mexico) looked back at the early days of the TBT Committee and its success in developing good practice for implementation of the TBT Agreement. Yuhua Liu, Deputy Director-General at the Ministry of Commerce of China, outlined the challenges and benefits of China's accession to the WTO in relation to the TBT Agreement. An academic perspective on the TBT Agreement was provided by Professor Joost Pauwelyn, who acknowledged the success of the TBT Committee in keeping track of notifications and in dealing with specific trade concerns, and by Professor Jacques Pelkmans, who looked into the role of the TBT Agreement in limiting or reducing technical barriers to trade.

The second panel looked at the broader relevance of the work of the TBT Committee in relation to businesses, trade associations and consumers. Speakers highlighted the value of the TBT Agreement, how they engage from a personal perspective with their governments on TBT matters, and the challenges they face in this area. The session included contributions by Pär Stenmark (IKEA), Dominique Taeymans (Nestlé), Bev Postma (Food Industry Asia), Jane Ngige (Kenya Flower Council), Dr Scott Steedman (British Standards Institution) and Sadie Homer (Consumers International). Speakers highlighted the importance of addressing the concerns of consumers and small businesses regarding international standards, and the valuable role of standards as a source of knowledge and for promoting regulatory consistency between countries.

The final panel looked ahead to how the TBT Agreement will be implemented in the future. The session benefited from the views of a number of government experts who regularly participate in the TBT Committee. Speakers included George Opiyo (Uganda), Fabrizio Sacchetti (European Union), Jennifer Stradtman (United States) and Xinhua Sun (China). Some of the challenges identified included reviewing how regional trade agreements are addressing TBT issues, how trade barriers can be reduced in the area of testing and certification, and how the participation of developing countries in the work of the TBT Committee can be increased.