WBO/TBT
What is a technical barrier?
A technical barrier is a form of trade restriction, preventing the free flow or entry of products such as industrial and agricultural products. In extreme cases or circumstances, these measures may take the form of a prohibition so that a product from another country or region is denied entry.
A typical technical barrier to trade includes, while that exhaustive, the following:
- Labelling of food, beverages and drugs.
- Quality requirements for fresh and frozen foods.
- Packaging requirements for fresh or frozen foods.
- Packaging and labelling for dangerous chemicals and toxic substances.
- Regulation for electrical appliances.
- Labelling of textiles and accessories.
How can countries legitimately defend their markets while equally having the ability to trade with the rest of the world?
How can countries legitimately defend their markets while equally having the ability to trade with the rest of the world?
Well the TBT was framed to ensure that countries exercise their legitimate rights not without some scientific evidence or better yet strong justification. In other words, by instituting a standards, TR or CAP, a country needs to prove that the measures it is proposing through their trade instruments are necessary because of a threat to consumers and the environment.
How can country’s avoid TBTs?
A TBT is usually imposed through the crafting of domestic regulations cited to protect human, health and safety and the environment. These, while legitimate must not be unfounded and such, must give way to scientific evidence and justification otherwise they will stand international scrutiny.
How is a technical barrier to trade imposed?
The TBT Agreement strongly encourages members to base their measures on international standards as a means to facilitate trade. This ensures harmonization, avoids discriminatory practices between countries and at the same time creates a predictable trading environment. Imagine how difficult it would be to export a product from Belize to Europe if the requirements of the European market kept changing without warning. This is not to say that market requirements cannot change, in fact, they do change from time to time but they must be done in a transparent manner with openness so that everyone is aware.
