Background
The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NCSCI/NIST is the designated WTO TBT U.S. Enquiry Point and Notification Authority and therefore has direct responsibility for notifying to the WTO proposed U.S. technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that may significantly affect the trade of other Member countries. NCSCI is responsible for notifying regulations and conformity assessment procedures affecting non-agricultural products (including the packaging, marking, and labeling of agricultural products).

Purpose
Transparency in the context of the WTO is used to signify one of the fundamental principles of trade agreements like the TBT Agreement: the aim is to achieve a greater degree of clarity, predictability, and information about trade policies, rules, and regulations of Members. In implementing this concept Members use notifications. Under the TBT Agreement, notifications are used to inform other Members about new or changed regulations that may significantly affect their trading partners. The term “Transparency” under the TBT Agreement also includes answering reasonable questions and publishing regulations.

TBT Article 10 states: “Each Member shall ensure that an enquiry point exists which is able to answer all reasonable inquiries from other Members and interested parties in other Members, as well as to provide relevant documents."

TBT Article 2 and Article 5: Notification to members is required: “Whenever a relevant international standard does not exist or the technical content of a proposed technical regulation is not in accordance with the technical content of relevant international standards, and if the technical regulation (or conformity assessment procedure) may have a significant effect on trade."

What Happens When Regulations Contain both TBT and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures?
When a regulation contains both TBT and SPS measures, it should be notified according to both the TBT and SPS Agreements, preferably with an indication of which parts of the regulation fall under the TBT Agreement (e.g., food quality or conformity assessment procedure) and which parts fall under the SPS Agreement (e.g. a food safety measure).

How Do You Determine If A Measure Must Be Notified?
When assessing whether a regulation may have a “significant effect on trade,” you should take into consideration relevant information which is available, such elements as the value or other importance of imports in respect to the importing and/or exporting Members concerned, whether from other Members individually or collectively, the potential development of such imports, and difficulties for producers in other Member countries, particularly in developing country Members, to comply with the proposed TBT regulations. The concept of a “significant effect on trade of other Members” should include both import-enhancing and import-reducing effects on the trade of other Members, as long as such effects are significant.

Timing of Notifications
A notification should be made when a draft with the complete text of a proposed regulation is available and when amendments can still be introduced and comments taken into account. Members shall normally allow a period of at least 60 days for comments.

Handling Comments on Notifications
Members submitting comments on a notified draft regulation should provide them without unnecessary delay to the authority designated to handle the comments, or to the national notification authority if no other designation is made.

A Member receiving comments through the designated body should, without further request:

• acknowledge the receipt of such comments;
• explain within a reasonable period of time, and at the earliest possible date before the adoption of the measure, to any Member from which it has received comments, how it will take these comments into account and, where appropriate, provide additional relevant information on the proposed regulations or measures concerned;
• provide to any Member from which it has received comments, a copy of the corresponding regulations as adopted or information that no corresponding regulations will be adopted for the time being; and
• where possible make available to other Members comments and questions it has received and answers it has provided, preferably through electronic facilities.

Request for Extensions
Members should grant requests for extension of the comment period wherever practicable, in particular with regard to notifications relating to products of particular interest to developing countries, where there have been delays in receiving and translating the relevant documents or where there is a need for further clarification of the measure notified. A 30-day extension should normally be provided.

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