COMMITTEE ONTECHNICAL BARRIERS TOTRADE
Draft Minutes oftheMeeting heldon14July1995
Attached hereto please findthedraftminutes ofthemeeting heldon14July1995. Delegations
areinvited tosubmit comments, ifany,totheSecretariat (Mrs. Vivien Liu,tel.7395455and
Ms.Barbara D'Andrea, tel.7395478)by22September 1995.
95-2381RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/TBT/W/10
TBT/W/194
11August 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-2381)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
DRAFT MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON14JULY 1995
Chairperson: Ambassador C.L. Guarda (Chile)
1. TheWTO andtheGATT Committees onTechnical Barriers toTrade heldjointly theirsecond
andfiftieth meetings, respectively, on14July1995.
2. Thefollowing agenda contained inWTO/AIR/116 andGATT/AIR/3692 wasadopted:
Page
A. Procedures fornotification andinformation exchange under theWTO TBT
Agreement 1
B. Annual review oftheimplementation andoperation oftheWTO TBTAgreement under
Article 15.3 2
C. Eco-labelling 4
D. Statements onimplementation andadministration oftheAgreement 6
E. ISO9000 andISO14000 7
F. Other Business 10
3. TheCommittee agreed togrant observer status totheFood andAgriculture Organization and
theWorld Health Organization onanadhocbasis, pending finalagreement onguidelines forobserver
status forinternational intergovernmental organization intheWTO.
A. PROCEDURES FORNOTIFICATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE UNDER THE
WTO TBTAGREEMENT
4. TheChairperson recalled thatatthelastCommittee meeting on21April 1995, the
WTO TBTCommittee hadhelddiscussions onprocedures fornotification andinformation exchange
under theWTO TBTAgreement based ontheupdated decisions andrecommendations oftheTokyo
Round TBTCommittee contained indocument G/TBT/W/2. Shesaidthatarevision ofthatdocument
(G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1) hadbeenprepared bytheSecretariat based ontheresult ofthediscussions andG/TBT/W/10
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thefurther suggestions submitted. Shereported thataninformal meeting hadbeenheldtodiscuss
thesubject matter, andthedecisions andrecommendations contained indocument G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1
hadbeenagreed upon, withthewords "Parties" onpage10tobereplaced by"Members".
5. The Committee agreed toadopt thedecisions andrecommendations contained in
G/TBT/W/2/Rev.1 withtheminor changes mentioned above, asitsdecisions andrecommendations
regarding procedures fornotification andinformation exchange under theWTO TBTAgreement.
6. TheChairperson drewattention tothefactthatunder Article 15.2oftheWTO TBTAgreement,
allMembers should submit their written statements onimplementation andadministration ofthe
Agreement totheSecretariat assoonaspossible. Shesuggested thatthose WTO Members whohad
beenTokyoRoundTBTSignatoriesandwhoselegislationswerealreadyinplaceandhadbeenexamined,
shouldsimplyindicatewhetherthestatementsnotifiedundertheTokyoRoundTBTAgreement(contained
indocuments TBT/1 andaddendum) remained validunder theWTO TBTAgreement, withaspecific
reference tothedocuments containing thestatements. TheSecretariat would thenproceed tocirculate
those statements intheWTO series.
7. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatthestatement submitted byherdelegation under
theTokyo Round Agreement hadbeenmade fifteen years agoandwould needupdating. Although
many legislations regarding internal procedures remained thesame, newlegislations hadbeenadopted
inhercountry when signing theWTO Agreement. Shesaidthatherdelegation might submit anew
statement instead ofdescribing whathadbeenchanged andsuggested other Members toconsider doing
thesame. TheChairperson shared theview thatifthestatements made under theTokyo Round
Agreement were nolonger up-to-date under theWTO TBTAgreement, itwould bemore practical
tosubmit newones.
8. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
B. ANNUAL REVIEW OFTHEIMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OFTHEWTO TBT
AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 15.3
9. TheChairperson noted thatunder Article 15.3oftheWTO TBTAgreement, theCommittee
should review annually theimplementation andoperation oftheAgreement taking intoaccount the
objectives thereof. Sherecalled thatatthelastCommittee meeting, shehadproposed thatshewould
holdinformal consultations withinterested Members onthevalue ofhaving anAnnual Review for
1995andonhowtocarry outtheannual review under theWTO TBTAgreement. Inthatconnection,
shedrewattention todocument G/TBT/W/8 which contained proposals fromtheUnited States regarding
theessential elements forthepurpose oftheannual review.
10. Therepresentative oftheUnited States explained thatthemainpurpose ofthecommunication
wastoconsider streamlining theinformation compiled fortheannual review. Shesaidthattheproposal
wasmainly acontinuation ofthepastreviews under theTokyo Round withthedeletion ofthe
information regarding requests received andanswered inenquiry points ofMembers because the
information hadnotbeensubmitted byalldelegations anditsvalue andconsistency wasquestionable.
Regarding theinformation ontheimplementation andadministration oftheAgreement, shesuggested
thattheSecretariat could make asummary table listing thereferences tothedocuments containing
Members 'statements withthedates ofacceptance oftheAgreement bythem. Shepointed outthat
alltheinformation needed forpreparing theproposed annual review would havebeenalready availableG/TBT/W/10
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totheSecretariat. Sheadded thatMembers could consider anyadditional information inthesubsequent
annual reviews.
11. Therepresentative ofBrazil generally supported theUSproposals. However, hesaidthatit
wasnotnecessary torepeat eachyeartheinformation onthedates ofacceptance oftheAgreement
byMembersbecausetheWTOTBTAgreementwaspartoftheWTOAgreement,onceacountrybecame
aWTO Member, itwould automatically became aMember oftheCommittee.
12. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities supported theUSproposals andsuggested
thatthefollowing tables could alsobeincluded intheannual review: (i)atableindicating thetotal
number ofnotifications made byMembers under therelevant Articles since theentry intoforce of
theAgreement toprovide ageneral indication ofthedevelopment oftheexisting regulatory systems;
(ii)atableproviding thetotalnumber ofnotifications made under thedifferent legitimate objectives
(asenumerated intheAgreement andothers) stated byMembers ontheirnotifications inthecurrent
period, previous period andsince1January 1995, withtheintention nottomonitor individual Member
buttoprovide ageneral indication onthedevelopment ofthesubject matter overtime; and(iii)a
tableproviding information onalltheWTO documents related totheTBTAgreement withthereference
number, dateofissue, ashort content description andnumber ofpages ofeachdocument.
13. Therepresentative ofCanada shared theviewexpressed bytherepresentative oftheUnited
States thatthere wasaneedtoreassess andstreamline theinformation intheannual review. Hesaid
thatfurther consideration might beneeded, given theimportance oftheannual review andcomments
made bydelegations. Heproposed thattheSecretariat should conduct aninformal survey among
interested Members ofthepossible changes totheannual review, taking intoaccount alsotheoutcome
ofanydiscussion onthesubject attheforthcoming meeting onprocedures forinformation exchange.
TheCommittee could come backtothesubject atitsnextmeeting, keeping inmindthatthefirstannual
review oftheWTO/TBT Agreement should beinplace atthebeginning of1996.
14. Therepresentative ofMexico supported thegeneral structure oftheannual review proposed
bytheUnited States andsaidthattheproposals made bytheEuropean Communities were useful.
Sheshared theviewexpressed bytherepresentative ofCanada thattheCommittee would needmore
timetolookintothedifferent elements oftheproposals made. Sheexpressed concern thatthereviews
made inthepasthadbeentooquantitative, particularly inrelation tocomment periods provided by
Members andsuggested thatthequalitative aspects should alsobetaken intoaccount. Shegavethe
example ofthecaseinwhich aMember might beconsidered tootransparent asaresult ofnotifying
agreat number ofnotifications continuously, some ofwhich might nothaveanysignificant impact
ontrade. Shetooktheopportunity toanswer some ofthequestions which hadbeenraised inthe
Committee regarding notifications made byMexico andsaidthathercountry waspresently reforming
andupdating itslegislations. Asaresult, many oftherelated standards werenotnewstandards but
updated standards which might nothave realimpact ontrade butwere notified forthereason of
transparency. Shesaidthatgenerally, herauthorities would provide comment periods recommended
intheAgreement. However, theremight becases inwhich shorter comment periods weregiven when
hercountry notified, forthereason oftransparency, agreat number ofthedraftstandards which did
nothave realimpact ontrade. Shequestioned howaMember would beevaluated under such
circumstances during thereview, i.e.would thecriteria bethenumber ofdaysprovided forcomments
onaquantitative basis (according towhich thatMember might beconsidered asnotcarrying outits
notification obligations correctly), oronaqualitative basis ofwhether ornotthestandards notified
hadimpact ontrade. Shereiterated thatthequalitative aspect should alsobekeptinmind attheannualG/TBT/W/10
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review andthought thattheemphasis onthequantitative aspect might discourage transparency. She
suggested thatMembers begiven opportunities intheannual review toclarify anyspecial circumstances.
15. TheChairpersonconcludedthatMembersmightneedmoreinformalconsultationsonthestructure
oftheAnnual Review under theWTO TBTAgreement andrequested interested Members tosubmit
further suggestions totheSecretariat sothatapaper could beprepared tofacilitate thediscussions.
Shesaidthatthefirstannual review would beconducted atthespring meeting of1996andasaresult,
related decisions would havetobetaken attheautumn meeting thisyear.
16. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
C. ECO-LABELLING
17. TheChairperson recalled thatatthelastCommittee meeting certain Members hadexpressed
interest inthesubject ofeco-labelling schemes. Shedrew attention todocument G/TBT/W/9 which
contained acommunication from Canada concerning thesubject matter.
18. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthatfurther totheCanadian remarks intheCommittee on
Trade andEnvironment on6April, hisdelegation hadbeenreflecting onhowbesttoadvance the
discussions oneco-labelling. Hesaidthatasnoted inthecommunication, hisdelegation 'sobjective
wasnottoexamine themerits orlegitimacy ofeco-labelling persenortoquestion thevalidity or
appropriateness ofdomestic standards setbynational authorities forthepurpose ofenvironmental
protection within theirownjurisdiction. Hesaidthathisdelegation recognized thateco-labelling could
beanimportant toolforencouraging industries toadopt higher standards ofenvironmental protection
byinfluencing consumer andpossible government purchasing patterns. Forthatreason, itwascritical
toconsider thepossible trade impact ofeco-labelling programmes andhowtheyimpacted onimports
compared todomestic goods, given theirinfluence onpurchasing decisions, thenumber ofcountries
thatusedthem andtherange ofproducts covered.
19. HerecalledthatatthemeetingoftheCommitteeonTradeandtheEnvironmenton21June1995,
theSecretariat hadbeenasked toprepare abackground paper providing information about the
TBTAgreement andrelevant aspects ofitsnegotiating history. Hethought thatasafirststep, the
TBTCommittee could endorse therequest forthatdocument andschedule consideration ofitatit's
nextmeeting. HesaidthattheCanadian communication suggested anumber ofkeyissues which
warranted analysis anddiscussion. However, theintention wasnottoenterintosubstantive discussion
oftheseissues atthecurrent meeting, given thatanysuchdiscussion would benefit fromtheinformation
provided bythebackground paper under preparation bytheSecretariat. Hesaidthatreview ofthat
paper anddiscussions intheTBTCommittee would assist thework intheCommittee onTrade and
Environment oneco-labelling.
20. TherepresentativeoftheEuropeanCommunitiessupportedtheCanadianrequestforabackground
paper prepared bytheSecretariat. However, hesaidthatwithin theTBTCommittee atthisstage,
eco-labelling could notbeseparated from theissue oflabelling ingeneral andforthisreason, the
Secretariat paper should bebroaden inorder toconsider labelling forenvironmental purposes from
theperspective ofthegeneral labelling issue. Headded thatwiththespecific technical competence
oftheTBTCommittee, Members should focus more onthetechnical clarifications needed andless
onthepolitical aspects which were relevant inthediscussion oftheCommittee onTrade and
Environment.G/TBT/W/10
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21. Heproposed thattheSecretariat paper onthenegotiation history should focus onthedefinitions
contained inAnnex 1oftheAgreement withtherelevant points including: (i)non-product related
PPMs andlabelling ingeneral and(ii)"recognised bodies" inthedefinition of"standards". Hethought
that,fromalegalpoint ofview, theconcept of"bodies" intheterm"recognized bodies" encompassed
allentities which hadsomeforms oflegalcharacteristics, regardless whether theywerepublic orprivate
entities. Atthesame time, from atrading perspective, thelevelofgovernment involvement didnot
significantly determine theimpact ofvoluntary eco-labelling programmes inthemarket place. He
thought thataclarification oftheseissues inthefirstplace would helpthediscussions intheCommittee
onTrade andEnvironment.
22. Therepresentative ofBrazil reiterated hisdelegation 'sinterest intheissue bothintheTBT
Committee andintheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment. Hesupported theCanadian proposal
andwelcomed thecomments made bytheEuropean Communities. Hesaidthatdiscussions should
takeplace when theSecretariat background paper wasready andalthough discussions could takeplace
intheTBTCommitteeandtheCommitteeonTradeandEnvironment,closecontactshouldbemaintained
sothatdivergence could beavoided. Forthatreason, hesuggested jointinformal consultations atsome
point intheprocess.
23. Therepresentative ofJapan supported theviewthattheCommittee should address theissues
relating totheapplicability oftheTBT Agreement toeco-labelling inclose cooperation withthe
Committee onTrade andEnvironment. Hesaidthatthediscussions attheCommittee 'snextmeeting
should bebased ontheSecretariat background paper which would provide information onthenegotiating
history oftheTBTAgreement during theTokyo Round andUruguay Round relating toeco-labelling,
non-related processes andproduction methods, aswellasinformation ontheconcept ofeco-labelling
itself.
24. TherepresentativeofSwitzerlandsupportedtheCanadianproposalandsaidthatitwasimportant
fortheCommittee todealwiththequestion ofeco-labelling because ofthecurrent mushrooming of
different forms ofeco-labelling programs which hadanincreasing impact ontrade. Shesaidthatthese
labelling programs reflected thephilosophy oftheTBTAgreement interms ofproduct requirements
andprocedures forconformity assessment. However, further thought should begiven towhether or
notthese programmes werecompletely covered bytheTBTAgreement. Sherequested theSecretariat
toprepare thebackground document sothattheCommittee could study thesequestions, holddiscussion
atitsnextmeeting anddecide whether thequestion ofeco-labelling should beexamined regularly within
theCommittee.
25. Therepresentative ofIndiasupported theCanadian proposal thattheSecretariat should prepare
thebackground document oneco-labelling andthattheCommittee could holddiscussions onthematter
atitsnextmeeting.
26. Therepresentative oftheUnited States supported theproposal made byCanada andtostudy
ofthecoverage ofeco-labelling under theTBT Agreement. ShesaidthattheCommittee hadan
important role,providing information totheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment onhowtheTBT
Agreement operated andrelated toeco-labelling. Sheasked formore information onthecontent of
theSecretariat background paper.
27. Therepresentative oftheSecretariat saidthatthebackground paper requested bytheCommittee
onTrade andEnvironment wasonthefactual negotiating history ofthreeaspects oftheTBTAgreement,
including thecoverage ofprocess andproduction methods, labelling andvoluntary standards.G/TBT/W/10
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28. TherepresentativeoftheUnitedStatesrecalledthatthesubjectofconformityassessmentrelating
toeco-labelling hadbeenraised earlier byanother delegation andsaidthatincluding thatsubject in
thebackground document andthediscussions oftheCommittee would beuseful toassist theCommittee
onTrade andEnvironment tounderstand thediscipline oftheTBTAgreement oneco-labelling.
29. Therepresentative ofNewZealand supported theCanadian proposal forabackground paper
which would provide asound basis forconsideration ofthequestion inthefuture. Hesaidthathis
delegation wasinterested inthecomments made byanumber ofdelegations, inparticular theEuropean
Communities, andwould reflect onthem.
30. Therepresentative ofMalaysia, speaking onbehalf oftheASEAN countries, supported the
Canadian proposal forabackground paper oneco-labelling which would include thenegotiating history
andtheother elements which hadbeenproposed. Hesaidthateco-labelling wasanissue which his
region wasconfronting andhadresorted tobilateral means todealwithit.Thus, hewelcomed the
discussion ofthisissueinanymultilateral fora. Hesaidthattransparency wasoneofthemainissues
ofeco-labelling andsuggested thatthepaper should alsocover thesubject oftransparency withregard
totheTBTAgreement.
31. Therepresentative ofVenezuela supported therequest made byCanada fortheSecretariat
background paper. However, hethought thatsome oftheissues being raised, including those suggested
intheCanadian statement, werenotcovered intheSecretariat paper. Hesaidthatthere werebroad
implications ofeco-labelling andtheCommittee should notfocus onlyonthesubject matters putbefore
it.Hesuggested thatseveral other elements could beadded tothediscussions. Herecalled thateco-
labelling hadbeendiscussed inother fora, particularly onsubjects ofspecial concern todeveloping
countries. Heasked theSecretariat totakeintoaccount thework which hadbeendoneinthese fora,
suchasUNCTAD andtheadhocworking group ontrade andenvironment under UNCTAD. He
saidthathisdelegationwasflexibleonwherethediscussionsshouldtakeplace,whetherintheCommittee
onTrade andEnvironment ortheTBTCommittee, andasked theChairperson toguide theCommittee
inthisrespect.
32. Therepresentative ofArgentina supported theCanadian proposal requesting theSecretariat
toprepare thebackground paper onthenegotiating history oftheTBTAgreement focusing onthe
three aspects mentioned bytherepresentative oftheSecretariat. Hesaidthatitwasnotnecessary to
havetwoseparate discussions under theCommittee onTrade andEnvironment andtheTBTCommittee
andsupported theBrazilian suggestion forjointinformal meetings toavoid thedivergence ofconclusions
which might bereached from these discussions.
33. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed toendorse therequest bythe
Committee onTrade andEnvironment fortheSecretariat background paper onthefactual negotiating
history oftheTBTAgreement relating toeco-labelling, taking intoaccount ofthestatements made
attoday'smeeting, andthateco-labelling would beincluded intheagenda ofitsnextmeeting.
D. STATEMENTSONIMPLEMENTATIONANDADMINISTRATIONOFTHEAGREEMENT
34. Nostatement wasmade under thisagenda item.G/TBT/W/10
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E. ISO9000 AND ISO14000
35. TheChairperson recalled thatseveral Members oftheCommittee hadexpressed aninterest
inlearning more about theISO9000andISO14000 standard series. Shesaidthatasaresult, onbehalf
oftheCommittee, therepresentative oftheISOhadbeeninvited togiveapresentation onthissubject
tohelptheCommittee better understand these ISOinitiatives.
36. Therepresentative from theISOsaidthatISOwasoneofthethree apexworldwide non-
governmental organizations preparing voluntary international standards. There were114ISOmember
countries and9,800 ISOstandards. HesaidthatISObelieved thatinternational standardization would
bring thefollowing benefits: (i)avoidance oftechnical barriers totrade, (ii)quality andreliability
atreasonable priceandsteady supply, (iii)usersatisfaction andsafety, (iv)environmental protection,
(v)compatibility andinter-operability, (vi)simplification forusability, and(vii)production efficiency.
Asaresult, suppliers could compete intheworldwide market andclients could haveawidechoice
ofcompatible offers. Smaller economies engaging inthework ofinternational standardization would
havefreedom tocompete inmore markets andhaveequal footing inthedevelopment ofstandards.
Hesaidthatthere hadbeen agrowth ininterest ininternational standardization duetothetrade
liberalization under theGATT/WTO, theneedforcommunication andtechnological interchange, and
environmentally sustainable industrial development.
37. Heexplained thatthework ofstandard development within theISOwasdone intechnical
committees withsub-fields treated bysub-committees, under which working groups wereestablished.
TheISOCentral Secretariat wasacting asthecentral coordination. Atpresent, there were185active
technical committees, 636sub-committees, 1,975 working groups with35,000 experts supported by
industries oruniversities participating inthework, and821secretariats from 35countries acting as
secretaries ofthetechnical committees. Eachtechnical committee consisted ofparticipating members,
observermembers,liaisonorganizations(frominternationalorganizations),anddelegationsofsuppliers,
userrepresentatives andgovernment, taking anational position.
38. HesaidthatISO9000standard series onquality management andquality assurance hadbeen
developed byTechnical Committee TC176which wasestablished in1979. Theproposal forthishad
beencontroversial because management hadbeenconsidered tobeneither scientific nortechnical enough
tostandardize. ISO9000 standards were established in1987 andrecently, there were 51countries
participating actively inTC176and16countries asobserver members; 71countries hadaccepted ISO
9000 astheirnational standards without anymodification and14other countries wereintheprocess
ofdoing so.Many companies wereintroducing ISO9000 toaccept products, forexample, thethree
biggest USlocomotive industries hadagreed tohaveacommon document onquality fortheirsuppliers
inwhich ISO9000 hadbeen integrated. Hesaidthatalthough ISOwasinvolved inthework of
standardization, itdidnotissuecertifications. However, therewere17certification/registration systems
established indifferent countries, actively engaged inassessing conformity ofcompanies toISO9000
standard series. Itwasestimated that70,000 certificates hadbeenissued forISO9000 worldwide
inJune1994.
39. Hesaidthatthecoredocuments oftheISO9000standard series included ISO9000itself(first
published in1987, providing thefundamental concept ofthestandard) anditsfirstrevision (issued
in1994 which included ISO9000-1: Quality management andquality assurance standards, and
Part1:Guidelines forselection anduse). ISO9001, 9002 and9003 were documents relating to
conformityassessmentforcertifications/registrationsamongwhichcustomersselectedthequalitysystem
oftheirsuppliers inacontractual way. Thethree standards wereeachasub-set oftheother, whereG/TBT/W/10
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ISO9001hadthemoststringentrequirements.ISO9004wasabasicstandardwhichcontainedguidelines
forcompanies toestablish theirquality system.
40. HesaidthatISO9000 could beapplied worldwide because itoffered ageneric tooltoassess
thequality system ofmanagement inanycompany. Usually, there wereseveral linesofproduction
inacompany andeachproduction linewould haveseveral markets. Ifdifferent quality systems were
requested indifferent markets, itwould beimpossible foracompany tohaveaconsistence quality
system. Heemphasised thatISO9000wasnotaproduct standard butastandard toaddress thequality
ofmanagement ofanorganization. There were twenty elements identified toestablish aquality
management system which included, forexample: themanagement responsibility mustexistinwriting;
theremustbeaquality policy inthecompany which mustbeknown toallstaff; theremustbeasystem
forreviewing contracts, making surethatgoods weredelivered without problem; andthere mustbe
controlsondesign,documentanddata,process,inspection,measuringandtestequipment,nonconforming
product, corrective andpreventive action, handling, storage, packaging, preservation anddelivery,
andquality records.
41. Hesaidthatjudging bythedocument itself, ISO9000didnotcreate technical barriers totrade
since ithadbeenadopted bymany countries asnational standards. However, problems came when
companies weretobeassessed forconformity ofthestandard. Hesaidthatthere werethree possible
ways ofconformity assessment which included: (i)firstparty's(i.e.supplier 's)declaration of
conformity; (ii)second party'scertification inwhich thecustomer audited thequality system ofthe
supplier;and(iii)thirdparty'scertificationinwhichacertification/registrationbodyauditedandcertified
theconformity ofquality system ofasupplier. Hesaidthatproblems would arisewhen acustomer,
notknowing thecertification bodyofanother country, hesitated toaccept thecertificate issued bythat
certification body andrequested certification fromanother one. Inorder totrytosolve theproblem,
ISO/IEChaddecidedtoestablishaqualityassessmentrecognitionsystem(QSAR)sothatwhenasupplier
wascertified/registered byaparticipating certification/registration body intheISO/IEC system, that
certification/registration would berecognized byitscustomers worldwide.
42. HesaidthattheQSAR Board would beestablished under theISO/IEC Council andserved
bytheQSAR executive andprogramme manager. There would beaGeneral Assembly ofallthequality
system accreditation bodies recognized under theQSAR program through apeerassessment system
which demonstrated theadherence totherelevant ISO/IEC criteria. These accreditation bodies would
thenassess thequality system ofcertification/registration bodies which demonstrated theadherence
totherelevant criteria andguidelines developed bytheISO/IEC Committee forConformity Assessment
(CASCO). These accredited certification/registration bodies would bepermitted touseanISO/IEC
QSAR logo, sothattheircertificates could beaccepted bycustomers throughout theworld.
43. Referring tothefieldofenvironment, hesaidthatISOhadbeeninvolved inthedevelopment
ofstandards ontesting methods andthemeasurement ofair,water andsoilquality, exhaust emissions,
noise, vibration andshock. In1993, ISO/TC 207wasestablished toprepare ISO14000 standard series
inageneric approach toevaluate theenvironmental performance ofanorganization. Hesaidthat
ISO14000 would besimilar andcompatible toISO9000, indicating themeasures anorganization must
takeintoconsideration inorder tohavehighperformance initsenvironmental management system.
Thedocuments ofISO14000 weredivided intothefollowing twocategories: (i)organization evaluation
which included environmental management system, environmental performance evaluation and
environmental auditing, and(ii)product evaluation which included lifecycleassessment, environmental
labelling andenvironmental aspects inproduct standards. Hesaidthatthework intheenvironmental
labelling committee which wastodevelop criteria onhowtointroduce environmental labelling onG/TBT/W/10
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products would beofinterest totheTBTCommittee. Thekeyprinciples ofISO/TC 207were to
developenvironmentalstandardswhichwouldbecost-effective,non-prescriptiveandflexible;applicable
toallnations; suitable forinternal orexternal verification; scientifically based; practical, useful and
useable; aswellasresult inbetter environmental management andpromote thebroad interests ofthe
public andusers.
44. Hesaidthatthecoredocuments ofTC207,including CD14001 (Environmental Management
Systems -specifications withguidance foruse)andCD14000 (Environmental Management Systems -
General guidelines onprinciples, systems andsupporting techniques) were atthestage of"draft
international standard". These documents hadgonethrough atechnical enquiry among the114ISO
members forverifications andthecomments made would betaken intoaccount andthefinaldocuments
would besubmitted forconsensus approval before being published. Hesaidthatthedocuments were
anticipated tobeavailable inthemarket in1996 or1997.
45. HesaidthatISO/TC 176andISO/TC 207wereaiming todevelop acompatible system which
would enable acompany tohaveonecertificate forbothitsquality andenvironmental management
systems atthesame time, iftheywished.
46. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthathiscountry wasastrong supporter oftheuseof
international standards andconformity assessment procedures asamean ofincreasing transparency
andharmonization. However, heexpressed concern thatasystem which wasmeant tofacilitate trade
might beconstrued insuchawayastohinder it.Hesaidthattheexperience ofCanadian companies
suggested thattheinternational recognition ofcertification forISO9000wasarealissueandhethought
thatthesame would apply toISO14000. Heasked therepresentative oftheISOtoclarify thestatus
anddevelopment process oftheISO/IEC QSAR programm.
47. Therepresentatives ofJapan andNew Zealand saidthatbecause oftheimportance and
technicalityofISO9000and14000,theywouldcomebacktotheissueatthefutureCommitteemeetings.
Therepresentative ofNewZealand asked therepresentative oftheISOformore information onthe
following subjects: (i)theproportion ofthe114ISOmembers participating actively inthework of
developing ISO9000 andISO14000 intheworking groups andsub-committees; (ii)thecoverage
ofclause 4.6ofISO9001 onpurchasing; (iii)thenature ofthespecifications contained inthe
ISO14000 Core Document (CD14001) -Specifications withguidance foruse;(iv)thedevelopment
oftheISO14000 Core Documents which were inthestage ofdraftinternational standards andthe
stage theyhadreached intheISOOslomeetings fewweeks ago; and(v)therelationship between
theISO14000 CoreDocuments andtheseven sub-committees relating toenvironmental labelling and
auditing, andthedevelopment ofthese sub-committees interms ofprogress towards theirpublications
intointernational standards.
48. TherepresentativeofVenezuelaraisedconcernsofdevelopingcountriesonthesubjectregarding
theequivalence andmutual recognition ofenvironmental standards andasked formore information
onthework within ISOTC207on"Product Evaluation" which dealt withlifecycle analysis,
environmental labelling andenvironmental aspects inproduct standards. Heasked ifitwasfeasible
toestablish afollow-up mechanism onthework being done intheISO,particularly withregard to
theenvironmental aspect.
49. Therepresentative oftheISO,referring tothequestion raised bytherepresentative ofCanada,
reported thattheISOCouncil haddecided inJune, togoahead andorganize theQSAR system assoon
asthebasic documents werefinalized bytheCommittee onConformity Assessment (CASCO), whichG/TBT/W/10
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would probably bebefore theendoftheyear. Theboard ofQSAR could thenbeestablished atthe
endof1995 orbeginning 1996. Concerning thetechnical questions raised bytherepresentatives of
NewZealand andVenezuela, hesaidthattherelated documents werestillunder development andhence
itwould notbeuseful tohaveadetailed discussion within theTBTCommittee. Hesaidthathewould
provide theinformation inwriting totheinterested delegations.
50. TheChairperson saidthatshewould invite therepresentative oftheISOtoanswer anyfurther
questions related tothesubject atthesubsequent Committee meetings. TheCommittee tooknoteof
thestatements made andagreed thatthesubject matter relating toISO9000 andISO14000 would
beincluded intheagenda foritsnextmeeting intheautumn.
F. OTHER BUSINESS
51. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities recalled thatatthelastmeeting, theCommittee
hadagreed that"notifications would bedistributed tothemissions inGeneva ortoanaddress (one
only) provided bythedelegation. Failing toindicate anaddress meant thatthenotifications would
besenttothemissions ofdelegations inGeneva." Hesaidthathisdelegation hadunderstood the"or"
notasanexclusive "or", andasked theCommittee tosupport theunderstanding thatamaximin of
twoaddresses should beavailable, forexample, onetothedelegation andtheother tothecapital, for
those delegations which thought itnecessary tofacilitate thepractical internal work. Hesaidthatif
some delegations preferred tohavenotifications senttoonedestination, theywould befreetoindicate
so.
52. Therepresentatives ofBrazil saidthatifnotifications weretobesenttobothGeneva andone
another address, itwould cause budgetary problems intheSecretariat, butatthesame time, ifitwere
possible, thesame treatment should beapplied toalldelegations.
53. Therepresentative ofNewZealand recalled thatatthelastmeeting, hisdelegation supported
thesuggestion thatnotifications becirculated toonlyoneaddress perMember inviewoftheincrease
membership intheWTO TBTCommittee. Hethought thatitwasnotanunreasonable approach to
placetheresponsibilityinthehandsofMemberstoworkoutwithintheirownsystemonhowtodistribute
theirnotifications soastoreduce theamount ofdocumentation flowrequired tobeundertaken bythe
Secretariat. Hequestioned thenecessity fortheECdelegation tohavenotifications circulated totwo
addresses because itwaspossible forhisdelegation andanumber ofotherMembers tohavenotifications
senttoasingle address.
54. Therepresentative ofJapan thought thatconfusion might ariseifnotifications were sentto
twoaddresses.
55. TheChairperson thought thattherewerefinancial implications involved inthematter andsaid
thatshewould holdinformal consultation withinterested Members toclarify thematter.
56. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
57. TheChairperson recalled thatatthelastmeeting theCommittee hadagreed toholdameeting
onprocedures forinformation exchange intheautumn. Shesaidthatinterested delegations hadbeen
consulted ontheform ofthemeeting.G/TBT/W/10
TBT/W/194
Page11
58. TheCommittee agreed totheChairperson 'sproposal thatajointSPSandTBTspecial meeting
onthesubject ofinformation procedures (notification andenquiry points) could facilitate the
implementation oftheseprocedures bysome Members andrequested theChairman andtheSecretariat
toschedule suchameeting before theendof1995.
59. TheChairperson noted thatatitsnextmeeting theGATT Committee would conduct itssixteenth
Annual Review under Article 15.8oftheTokyo Round TBTAgreement anditsAnnual Report tothe
Contracting Parties andurged delegations toprovide theSecretariat promptly andfully withthe
information which willbeneeded toprepare thebackground documentation fortheReview. The
Committee agreed totheChairperson 'sproposal thatthenextWTO andGATT TBTCommittees should
beheldintheautumn, withtheexact datetobefixed closer tothetimebytheChairperson in
consultation withinterested delegations.