Standards are vital for export

According to Mr Lloyd David, Public Relations Officer of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, adherence to standards is very important when producing consumer goods for export, and these standards facilitate trade.  However, foreign consumers and regulators in countries that have not subscribed to the Technical Barrier to Trade Agreement (TBTA) can conveniently use standards and other mandatory technical regulations as technical barriers to trade, which can restrict the flow of needed goods to consumers across borders.

In the article below, Mr David takes the opportunity to examine the technical barriers to trade as well as their impact on manufacturers, exporters and consumers.

“What are Technical Barriers to Trade?
“Technical regulations and standards are important, but they vary from country to country and having too many different standards makes life difficult for producers and exporters. If the standards are set arbitrarily, they could be used as an excuse for protectionism and then standards can become obstacles to trade. However, they are necessary for environmental protection, safety, national security, consumer information and protection and to facilitate trade. Therefore, the same basic question arises again: how can we ensure that standards are genuinely used, and not arbitrary used as an excuse for protectionism?

“The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement has been implemented to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification procedures are not used as a weapon to create unnecessary obstacles to trade.

“However, the agreement also recognizes countries’ rights to adopt the standards that they consider appropriate – for example, for human, animal or plant life or health, for the protection of the environment or to meet other consumer interests. Moreover, members are not prevented from taking measures necessary to ensure the requirements of their standards are met, but that they are counterbalanced with discipline.

“A myriad of regulations can be a nightmare for manufacturers, exporters and consumers when they cannot deliver desired goods to foreign consumers, but life can be simpler if governments apply international standards, and the agreement encourages them to do so. In any case, whatever regulations they use should not discriminate.

“The agreement also sets out a code of good practice for both governmental and non-governmental or industrial bodies to prepare, adopt and apply voluntary standards. Over 200 standards-setting bodies apply the code.

“The agreement states that the procedures used to decide whether a product conforms with relevant standards have to be fair and equitable. It discourages any methods that would give domestically produced goods an unfair advantage over imported goods. The agreement also encourages countries to recognize each other’s procedures for assessing whether a product conforms.

Without recognition, products might have to be tested twice, first by the exporting country and then by the importing country.

“In order to participate effectively in the process, manufacturers and exporters need to know what the latest standards are in their prospective markets and to help ensure that this information is made available conveniently, all WTO member Governments are required to establish national enquiry points and to keep each other informed. Through the WTO, about 900 new or changed regulations are notified each year. The Technical Barriers to Trade Committee is the major clearing house for members to share the information and the major forum to discuss concerns about the regulations and the implementation.

“In Guyana, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards is responsible for the operations of the local enquiry point and stakeholders can seek clarification and make inputs by calling the GNBS on telephone number: 219-0062, 219-0064 or 219-0065.”