Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
Encyclopedia
The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
--- commonly referred to as the TBT Agreement --- is an international treaty
administered by the World Trade Organization
. It was last renegotiated during the Uruguay Round
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
, with its present form entering into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995.
In a nutshell, the TBT exists to ensure that technical regulations, standards, testing, and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The agreement prohibits technical requirements created in order to limit trade, as opposed to technical requirements created for legitimate purposes such as consumer or environmental protection.http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm
The TBT agreement is closely linked to the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
, which was signed in the same year and has similar goals.
The following list is an overview of the guidelines and mechanisms that promote the TBT’s mission:
A. The WTO’s most-favored-nation rule binds countries’ technical requirements.
B. The TBT agreement strongly encourages countries to recognize the results of other countries' conformity assessment tests – the tests that determine whether a product conforms to a given standard.
C. The TBT promotes the development of international standards and provides governments and inter-governmental bodies with guidance on how to best develop such standards. TBT members are strongly encouraged to adopt international standards as their technical requirements whenever possible.
D. All TBT members are required to establish “enquiry points” – offices that provide information about the country's technical regulations, test procedures, and adherence to various international standards.
E. A technical assistance program helps developing countries meet international standards and helps them get involved in the establishment of such standards.http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_info_e.htm
--- commonly referred to as the TBT Agreement --- is an international treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
administered by the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
. It was last renegotiated during the Uruguay Round
Uruguay Round
The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of Multilateral trade negotiations conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , spanning from 1986-1994 and embracing 123 countries as “contracting parties”. The Round transformed the GATT into the World Trade Organization...
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization . GATT was signed in 1947 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World...
, with its present form entering into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995.
In a nutshell, the TBT exists to ensure that technical regulations, standards, testing, and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The agreement prohibits technical requirements created in order to limit trade, as opposed to technical requirements created for legitimate purposes such as consumer or environmental protection.http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm
The TBT agreement is closely linked to the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures - also known as the SPS Agreement is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization...
, which was signed in the same year and has similar goals.
The following list is an overview of the guidelines and mechanisms that promote the TBT’s mission:
A. The WTO’s most-favored-nation rule binds countries’ technical requirements.
B. The TBT agreement strongly encourages countries to recognize the results of other countries' conformity assessment tests – the tests that determine whether a product conforms to a given standard.
C. The TBT promotes the development of international standards and provides governments and inter-governmental bodies with guidance on how to best develop such standards. TBT members are strongly encouraged to adopt international standards as their technical requirements whenever possible.
D. All TBT members are required to establish “enquiry points” – offices that provide information about the country's technical regulations, test procedures, and adherence to various international standards.
E. A technical assistance program helps developing countries meet international standards and helps them get involved in the establishment of such standards.http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_info_e.htm
External links
- Text of the TBT Agreement
- Analytical Index to the TBT Agreement (annotations last updated, 2004).