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TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE: PROGRAMME AND PRESENTATIONS TBT Learning Event on Labelling(21-22 October 2003) The aim of this Event is to provide Members with a better understanding of the preparation, adoption and application of labelling requirements in the context of the implementation of the TBT Agreement as well as the impact of such requirements on market access. It will also provide Members with the opportunity to draw information from a wide variety of perspectives and real life experiences (including those of consumers, industries, importers, exporters and regulators). |
Speakers have been invited to include the following elements in their
presentations: the nature, the coverage and the application of each of
the labelling schemes, including the approaches to ensure conformity
(e.g. government certification, third party certification or
self-declaration) as well as the relevant implementing bodies (e.g.
government authorities or private agencies). In addition, each
presentation should also cover the following issues: (i) the
underpinning legitimate objectives of the scheme; (ii) the criteria for
choosing voluntary or, otherwise, mandatory requirements; (iii) the use
of relevant international standards; (iv) the transparency procedures in
the preparation processes (i.e. in compliance with the obligations under
the TBT Agreement or its Annex 3, in the cases of voluntary schemes);
(v) the implementation and the effectiveness of the scheme, as well as
its enforcement, in case of mandatory schemes; (vi) the effects on
market access (i.e. positive or negative), in particular, to exports
from developing countries; (vii) whether concerns have been raised by
trading partners about the potential adverse trade effects of the
scheme, and how these concerns have been taken into account; (viii) the
possibilities of providing relevant technical assistance and special and
differential treatment to developing countries; and (ix) the possibility
to accepting as equivalent technical regulations/standards of other
Members.
Members, including relevant interested parties of their delegations, as
well as observers of the TBT Committee have been invited to participate
in the Event.
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9.00-10.00 |
Registration |
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10.00–10.15 |
Welcoming remarks |
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CASE ONE
10.15–10.45 |
CERFLOR, a national scheme of forest labelling oriented to the export of wooden furniture; Integrated Production of Fruits (PIF), a national labelling scheme oriented to the export of fruit; and a labelling scheme which established the national energy efficiency policy — Brazil Speaker: Mr. Armando Mariante, President of INMETRO > Download: PowerPoint presentation 1MB CERFLOR is a voluntary scheme related to
forest management certification and chain of custody aimed at the
sustainable production of forest products and identification of
products that use this scheme. It was developed with the
participation of non-governmental stakeholders and has been
recognized by the Pan-European Forest Certification Council (PEFCC).
PIF is a voluntary scheme related to fruit certification. Components
of PIF are standards, conformity assessment, accreditation and third
party monitoring. The recognition of PIF is being negotiated by
INMETRO with the Euro Retailer Produce Working Group on Good
Agricultural Practices (EurepGAP). The Brazilian Labelling Programme
(BLP) is part of a voluntary energy conservation programme, which
aims at informing consumers about the energy efficiency of some of
the main electronic devices used in the country, through the use of
informative labels that rank the products from "A" (most efficient)
to "G" (least efficient). This presentation provides an overview of
three labelling schemes in Brazil and insight into issues of
interest to technical barriers to trade, such as conformity
assessment procedures for labelling and the choice of voluntary
versus mandatory labelling schemes. |
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10.45–11.00 |
Questions and Answers |
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CASE TWO 10.00–11.30 |
FLORVERDE, Flowers in Relation to Eco-labels — Colombia Speaker: Mr. Santiago Rojas, Former Vice Minister of Trade > Download: PowerPoint presentation 905KB Florverde is a Colombian labelling initiative for flowers. It aims to
achieve economic, social, and environmental sustainability in flower
production while maintaining a competitive market position. This
presentation focuses on the experience of flower growers and exporters
to implement "clean" production programmes in an effort to gain and
retain access to markets. It provides details on how Florverde addresses
these three areas of sustainability, and the strategy used for the
implementation of Florverde, touching on components such as assistance,
awareness raising, benchmarking and verification. It also explores
restrictions to the international flower market due to the proliferation
of private environmental labels being proposed by a variety of
organizations, and the importance of developing or participating in
international labelling schemes (to facilitate mutual acceptance or
recognition) so as to guarantee exports. Specific concerns related to
eco-labelling for flowers are highlighted, such as lack of common
criteria, absence of minimum parameters, conflicting requirements, lack
of transparency, and inadequate information for consumers. |
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11.30–11.45 |
Questions and Answer |
| 11.45–12.30 |
Discussions on Case One and Two |
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CASE THREE
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Mandatory Minimum Efficiency Requirement and Voluntary Energy Label Programme — Chinese Taipei Speaker: Dr. Fanghei Tsau, Deputy Director, Innovative Energy Technology Division, Energy and Resources Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute > Download: PowerPoint presentation 6MB Chinese Taipei has a three stage energy efficiency programme to enhance
the market share of energy efficient products: (i) minimum energy
efficiency mandatory regulations are established to ensure that products
not meeting the prescribed requirements cannot be put in the market;
(ii) voluntary energy label programmes are promoted to encourage the
manufacturing of products with performance beyond the minimum energy
efficiency regulations to further restrict energy consumption; and (iii)
comprehensive research and development projects are implemented on
energy efficiency and related technologies. This presentation focuses on
the mandatory energy efficiency requirements and voluntary energy
labelling programme being implemented in Chinese Taipei. The trend
toward mandatory and /or voluntary regimes coordinated on a multilateral
and regional scale is discussed. As well, the relationship of such
initiatives to the principles of the TBT Agreement is explored,
including opportunities with respect to mutual recognition agreements. |
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15.00–15.15 |
Questions and Answer |
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CASE FOUR
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Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme and Voluntary Energy Star Programme — European Union (EU) Speaker: Jonathan Claridge, European Commission, DG TRADE > Download: PowerPoint presentation 242KB This presentation provides an overview of
two labelling programs related to energy efficiency The EU Energy
Efficiency Labelling Scheme was introduced in 1995 and now covers
the environmental performance of most white goods (e.g.
refrigerators, freezers, washing machines and dishwashers). Labels,
ranging from “A” for the most energy efficient to “G” for the least
efficient, are granted. It is a mandatory labelling scheme. The EU
Energy Star Programme is a voluntary labelling scheme on the energy
efficiency of office equipment (e.g. computers, printers, fax
machines and copiers). Registered manufacturers, assemblers,
exporters, importers and retailers are invited and able to register
with the European Commission allowing them to place the Energy Star
label on products that meet or exceed energy-efficiency guidelines.
This presentation provides the opportunity to compare voluntary and
mandatory schemes put in place to achieve similar objectives. |
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15.45–16.00 |
Questions and Answer |
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CASE FIVE 16.00-16.30 |
National Energy Efficiency Standards — Australia Speaker: Mr. Tim Yeend Minister Counsellor, Australian Mission to the WTO > Download: PowerPoint presentation 2MB Australia’s appliance energy rating label
scheme is a joint initiative of the federal, state and territory
governments. The energy rating label enables consumers to compare
the relative energy efficiency of domestic appliances on an
objective basis when making purchasing decisions. It also provides
incentive for manufacturers to improve the energy performance of
their appliances. All refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers,
clothes dryers, dishwashers and single-phase air-conditioners must
carry a mandatory energy rating label indicating relative efficiency
(in the form of star ratings). This presentation explores the aims
and operation of the energy rating label scheme and the place of
mandatory energy efficiency labelling within an overall framework
designed to achieve a “triple bottom line” of saving consumers
money, enhancing trade opportunities and protecting the environment. |
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16.30–16.45 |
Questions and Answer |
| 16.45–17.30 |
Discussions on Case Three, Four, and
Five |
DAY TWO
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CASE SIX
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System on Labelling of Food and Non Alcoholic Beverages — Mexico Speaker: Lic. Francisco Rosete Ramírez, Director General of Verification and Surveillance, Federal Consumers Office > Download: PowerPoint presentation 1MB This presentation examines the process for
developing technical regulations related to the labelling
requirements for food and non alcoholic beverages in Mexico. Focus
is given to the participation of industry in the process, the
consideration of consumer protection as the legitimate objective,
the related conformity assessment procedures and the need for
periodic revision of the requirements. |
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10.30–10.45 |
Questions and Answers |
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CASE SEVEN 10.45–11.15 |
Mandatory Labelling of Tobacco Products — Canada Speaker: Mr. Byron Rogers, Senior Policy Analyst, Health Canada, Director-General's Office of the Federal Tobacco Program > Download: PowerPoint presentation 1MB The requirements for most tobacco product packaging in Canada requires the display of one of sixteen graphic health warnings about risks associated with tobacco use. The regulations requiring these images became law in June 2000, making Canada the first country in the world to implement labelling measures that are on par with the risks associated with tobacco products. This presentation provides a clear picture of Canadian labelling requirements for tobacco products, and the good regulatory practices applied by Canada as it developed and implements this regulatory programme. Other components of the presentation are: the legitimate health policy objectives behind these regulations, the manner in which they were brought into force, the means by which they are enforced and how this programme considered Canadian obligations with regard to technical barriers to |
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11.15–11.30 |
Questions and Answer |
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CASE EIGHT 11.30–12.00 |
Food Labelling System (Alcoholic Beverages) — China Speaker: Mr. Jiao Yang, food labelling office, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China > Download: PowerPoint presentation 301KB China's General Standard for the Labelling
of Food (GB7718) is a basic compulsory standard by which
pre-packaged food labelling must abide. It has the following
characteristics: manoeuvrability; alignment with international
standards; addition of some indispensable and beneficial articles;
and compliance with the principles of WTO. This presentation uses
the labelling of alcoholic beverages as an example to explain
content and requirements of this technical regulation. |
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12.00–12.15 |
Questions and Answer |
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12.15-13.00 |
Discussions on Case six, seven and
eight |
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CASE NINE 15.00-15.30 |
Nutrition Labelling of Foods — Argentina Speaker: Mrs. María Rivera, government official in the area of Technical Barriers to Trade, Interior Trade Division, Ministry of Economy and Production > Download: PowerPoint presentation 77KB Nutritional information on food products
through the use of labels is useful and enables the consumer to
obtain information on the nutritional composition of the product,
which in turn should endorse/support healthier diets. Argentina
considers nutritional labelling to be an effective mechanism for
informing the consumer, although not the only option available.
Argentinean food product exports encounter trade obstacles as a
result of varying requirements for nutritional labelling from one
country to another (e.g. the obligatory nature of the declaration of
nutrients, the manner of expressing the nutritional information and
the nutrients which must be declared). This presentation will
demonstrate the market access effects of different criteria for
labelling food products. Points for consideration with regard to
labelling for food in a manner that does not generate trade barriers
are offered, including having a scientific basis for the
requirements, harmonization of requirements and use of recognized
standards. |
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15.30-15.45 |
Questions and Answer |
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CASE TEN 15.45-16.15 |
Food Labelling — the United States Speaker: Ms. Sarah Fogarty Thorn, Director for International Trade, the Grocery Manufacturers of America > Download: PowerPoint presentation 2MB This presentation addresses food labelling
in the international marketplace. It provides an analysis of the
impact of different mandatory and voluntary labelling schemes such
as nutrition, organic and biotech labelling on food industry
operations globally. The presentation explores the impact of these
different schemes on imports and exports and the related consumer
response to the requirements, and the relationship between the
development of food safety standards in the Codex Alimentarius
Commission and national food legislation. |
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16.15–16.30 |
Questions and Answer |
| 16.30–17.15 |
Discussions on Case Nine, and Ten |