At the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee meeting on 14-16 June 2016, WTO members discussed how complying with standards can promote trade in energy efficient products and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, they acknowledged the need for increased global cooperation on regulations for energy efficiency. Members also aired trade concerns about 56 trade measures, including ten new ones, covering topics ranging from food, medicines and cosmetics to toys, telecoms and tyres.
Energy efficiency
WTO members discussed their regulations for energy efficient products, which are imposed to save energy and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These standards — covering products such as household appliances, TVs and cars — set out minimum energy performance standards, provide ways of testing for energy efficiency performance, and regulate energy management systems.
Members heard presentations from the private sector, including Schneider Electric, Consumer Technology Association and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, and from international and regional organizations (such as the International Energy Agency, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation/International Accreditation Forum and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe). Also, regulators shared their experiences concerning national schemes, including Japan’s “Top-Runner” Programme and the United States’ Energy Star Program.
One key point emphasized by WTO members was the need to harmonize national requirements with international standards whenever possible, as companies may find it difficult to export their products if required to comply with multiple standards to achieve an “energy efficient” label. They underlined that aligning standards and regulations helps lower the cost of energy efficient products, making them more attractive for consumers and saving energy. There is also scope, it was pointed out, to make energy labelling schemes less confusing.
This “thematic session” was the Committee’s first on a particular industrial sector. The aim of these sessions is to increase cooperation among regulators globally and to raise awareness about new or emerging regulatory issues.
Read the Chairperson’s reports on the thematic session on regulatory cooperation here and on standards here.
Specific trade concerns
WTO members aired specific trade concerns (STCs) regarding ten new trade measures introduced by members. They also discussed 46 previously raised issues. Regulations on food and drinks topped the meeting’s agenda, accounting for one-third of the STCs. Other STCs concerned regulations on IT equipment, medical devices, cosmetics, toys, motor vehicles, tyres, endocrine disruptors, canola oil, detergents and soaps, steel and wood products, chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Some detail on five of the new STCs is provided below. The full list of STCs is here.
According to the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement, members can regulate their products to protect consumer safety, health and the environment, but they need to do it in a way that does not unnecessarily restrict trade in these products and without discriminating against other WTO members. Discussions in the Committee can help to avoid trade frictions escalating into disputes brought to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body.