Technical barriers to trade

Le 10 novembre 2020, l’OMC a publié le rapport du Groupe spécial de la mise en conformité dans l’affaire “Indonésie — Mesures concernant l’importation de viande de poulet et de produits à base de poulet” introduite par le Brésil (DS484).

El 18 de agosto de 1997, la OMC hizo público el informe del Grupo especial sobre el caso “Communidades Europeas - Medidas que afectan a la carne y los productos cárnicos (hormonas)”.

On 4 February 2020 the Appellate Body issued its report in the case brought by Ukraine in “ Russia - Measures affecting the importation of railway equipment and parts thereof” (DS499).

El 28 de junio de 2014 la OMC distribuyó el informe del Grupo Especial en los asuntos planteados por Honduras, la República Dominicana, Cuba e Indonesia “Australia — determinadas medidas relativas a las marcas de fábrica o de comercio, indicaciones geográficas y otras prescripciones de empaquetado genérico aplicables a los productos de tabaco y al empaquetado de esos productos” (DS435, DS441, DS458 y DS467)

Most specific trade concerns (STCs), which are raised before the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Committee), disappear from the TBT Committee’s meeting agendas without escalating into formal disputes. At the same time, a relatively small number of TBT-related disputes have been subject to the WTO dispute settlement procedures. By examining the practice of raising STCs and the relationship between STCs and disputes, the paper e Read More

The average international trade transaction is subject to numerous procedural and documentation requirements, which add to the costs of doing business as an importer or exporter and also use up scarce government resources. While these requirements can be necessary to fulfil policy objectives, questions are often raised about why and how they are implemented. The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), adopted by WTO Members in 2014, seeks to expe Read More

This paper investigates whether TBT provisions included in RTAs differ from those under the WTO TBT Agreement, and, if they do, whether they entail broader commitments. Our analysis covers 238 RTAs, of which 171 include at least one provision, and focuses on the provisions on technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, transparency, dispute settlement, marking and labelling and sector-specific commitments. We find that all RT Read More

The WTO TBT Agreement obliges governments to use international standards as a basis for regulation, yet leaves a degree of flexibility with respect to the choice of standard, and the manner of its use. This interplay between obligation and flexibility has given rise to tension in various fora of the WTO. This paper brings together these three distinct strands of WTO work to illustrate core aspects of the international standards debate at the WTO. In our analysi Read More