United States  proposal to Negotiating Group on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NGMA).

see also April 22, 2011 Textual report by the Chairman, Ambassador Luzius Wasescha, on the state of play of the NAMA negotiations

March 29, 2011 

United States has submitted a proposal  TN/MA/W/141 for  specific elements in any draft text relating to international standards  in the Negotiating Group on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NGMA).     The United States does not share  views advanced in  submissions such as that offered by the EU and others in TN/MA/W/142 that  name the  International Organization for Standards (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Codex Alimentarius  as sources for  relevant international standards within the meaning of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade ("TBT Agreement" or the "Agreement")   provided that  in their development the principles and procedures set out in TBT Committee Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement  were followed.

The US proposal believes proposals that name specific standardizing bodies  would undermine the principles of this Committee Decision, and put the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the position of picking winners and losers

The US proposes the definition for an international standard to be: 

For purposes of the TBT Agreement, an international standard, guide or recommendation is one developed in accordance with the principles set out in the Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the Committee since 1 January 1995, G/TBT/1/Rev.9, Annex B (Decision of the Committee on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement) (Committee Decision) issued by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Committee).  These six principles are:  1) openness, 2) transparency, 3) impartiality and consensus, 4) relevance and effectiveness, 5) coherence, and 6) the development dimension. 

see also April 22, 2011 Textual report by the Chairman, Ambassador Luzius Wasescha, on the state of play of the NAMA negotiations  He believes brainstorming and small group consultations need to be pursued to reach agreement in this area.

 

 

 

 


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