Overview

Introduction to WTO and the Agreement on Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT)

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was officially launched in 1995, effectively assuming the role of the its predecessor, the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT). The GATT was established in 1948 (as a loose coalition of a small number of countries) and was mandated right from the onset to spearhead the development and application of rules governing trade among nations. The key objective of the WTO is to facilitate and promote trade among its member countries.

The Agreement on Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT) is one of the WTO agreements which addresses matters pertaining to trade. It seeks to ensure that technical regulations and standards, as well as testing and certification procedures, do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. However, it recognises that countries have the right to establish protection, at levels they consider appropriate, for example for human, animal or plant life or health or the environment, and should not be prevented from taking measures necessary to ensure those levels of protection are met. The agreement therefore encourages countries to use international standards where these are appropriate, but it does not require them to change their levels of protection as a result of standardisation.

The Malaysian WTO/TBT Enquiry and Notification Point

Article 10.1 of the TBT Agreement specifies that each member country signatory to the agreement is obliged to establish an enquiry point.

SIRIM Berhad was appointed by the Malaysian Government to manage the GATT (WTO/TBT) enquiry and notifcation functions since 1993. Since January 2002, the function is managed by the Standards Management Department, SIRIM Berhad.

 

Services provided by the WTO/TBT Enquiry and Notification Point

Assistance in answering foreign enquiries on any existing or proposed Malaysian Standards, regulations and conformity assessment systems.
Assistance in answering domestic enquiries on any existing or proposed standards, regulations and conformity assessment systems affecting trade of other WTO member countries.
Assistance in the preparation and submission of notifications on Malaysia’s proposed technical regulations to WTO in accordance with TBT agreement obligations.
Disseminating information on proposed foreign regulations to government agencies, institutions, organisations, associations and other interested parties in Malaysia through the WTO/TBT Newsletter.
Managing National TBT Subcommittee (NSC)