Welcome
to the DTI’s Technical Barriers to Trade Webpage that
you are seeing together with information on the United Kingdom
TBT Enquiry Point
General information
about the TBT Agreement
A
technical barrier to trade exists when a country applies
technical regulations, standards (including packaging, marking
and labelling standards) or procedures for assessing conformity
with these standards, in such a way as to impose an unnecessary
restriction on international trade. The WTO
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement goes some
way towards addressing such barriers by requiring countries
to act in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. However,
technical barriers remain a major impediment to international
trade. Accordingly, the UK Government takes the view that
there should be further work on this subject to:
- ensure
that countries regulate only to the extent necessary
to protect public health and safety or other legitimate
objectives
- encourage
governments to keep technical regulations simple, wherever
possible, setting basic requirements and allow voluntary
standards
- achieve
greater recognition of international standards as distinct
from conflicting national or regional standards (while
at the same time encouraging the development of adequate
international standards in those areas currently without
them and greater developing country participation in
standard setting)
The
WTO TBT Agreement is subject to review every three years.
The first review was completed in 1997 and the fourth review
gets underway in 2006 UK TBT Enquiry Point
The
following document explains in more detail the intentions
behind the TBT Agreement and how the DTI consults UK trade
associations on TBT notifications sent by other countries
to the WTO Secretariat.
Information about UK TBT notifications - Copies of notifications
and details of the draft measures
GBR12.doc
(40kb)
GBR13.pdf
(42kb)
The
TBT Agreement (paragraph 10.1) requires the establishment
of national TBT Enquiry Points. Copies of TBT notifications
and corresponding draft measures can be downloaded from
this website. Enquiries relevant to the TBT Enquiry Point
and not related to standards applying in the United
Kingdom can be sent to:
Marilyn
Swain
Europe World Trade Department of Trade and Industry
Bay 4140, 1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET
Tel. 020 7215 5580
Fax. 020 7215 2234
E-mail. marilyn.swain@dti.gsi.gov.uk
Enquiries
in relation to issues covered by paragraph 10.3 of the TBT
Agreement should be addressed to:
British Standards Institution on Standards (Bsi) Business
Information
389 Chiswick High Road
London
W4 4AL
Telephone. ++44 (0)20 8996 7476
Fax. ++44 20 8996 7048
e-mail mark.wasmuth@bsi.org.uk
Other
information sources
European
Commission's Technical Barriers to Trade website
The DTI’s Technical Standards and Regulations Directorate
There
is also a separate European notification system for technical
regulations. EU Member States notify to the European Commission
proposed draft technical regulations and generally observe
a three month standstill period before the regulation is
made. This is to provide an opportunity for the Commission
and other Member States to comment if they consider that
the proposed regulation has the potential to create a technical
barrier to trade. For further information see http://www.dti.gov.uk/strd/directiv.htm.
British
Standards Institution (BSi)
The
British Standards body BSi has a website that people can
refer to in order to undertake their own research on measures
in force in the UK. Their website can be reached through
the following hyperlink URL: http://www.bsi-global.com/export
BSi is not a government body. However, the BSi may be able
to provide assistance on a commercial basis. The BSI's Technical
Information group charges for all activities and they would
be happy to research anyone's needs once they have agreed
price, scope and delivery. The BSi are able to undertake
work concerning the UK and other countries both within and
without the EU. The BSi Technical Information Group specialises
in helping companies overcome Technical Barriers to Trade,
thereby ensuring that their products comply with the technical
requirements of the target market. These requirements are
usually complex, diverse and subject to revision. Attempting
to meet them can be a costly, time-consuming and risky business.
BSi is well placed to assist. The service provides information
to enable companies to export their products successfully.
They provide a versatile service identifying and supplying
the latest information on standards, regulations, inspection
companies, packaging and labelling requirements, language
and more.
Contact:
Marilyn
Swain
Europe World Trade Department of Trade and Industry
Bay 4140, 1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET
Tel. 020 7215 5580
Fax. 020 7215 2234
E-mail. marilyn.swain@dti.gsi.gov.uk
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