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violation of the provisions of the TBT Agreement incorporated
under paragraph 1. 3. Further to paragraph 2, each Party shall ensure that its
standardising body or bodies ensure that the modifications of the
contents and structure of international standards are not
Article 6.5: International Standards, Guides, and prepared, adopted, or applied with a view to, or with the effect of,
Recommendations creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
1. The Parties recognise the important role that international 4. Each Party shall encourage cooperation between the relevant
standards, guides, and recommendations can play in the standardising body or bodies in its territory and the standardising
harmonisation of technical regulations, conformity assessment body or bodies of other Parties, in areas such as:
procedures, and national standards, and in reducing unnecessary
barriers to trade. (a) exchange of information on standards;
2. In determining whether an international standard, guide, or (b) exchange of information relating to standard setting
recommendation within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and procedures; and
Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement exists, each Party takes into
account the principles set out in the Decision of the Committee on (c) international standardising activities in areas of mutual
Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides interest.
and Recommendations with relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3
of the Agreement (G/TBT/9, 13 November 2000, Annex 4), and
subsequent relevant decisions and recommendations in this Article 6.7: Technical Regulations
regard, adopted by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to
Trade (hereinafter referred to as “WTO TBT Committee” in this 1. Each Party shall use relevant international standards or the
Chapter). relevant parts of them, to the extent provided in paragraph 4 of
Article 2 of the TBT Agreement, as a basis for its technical
3. The Parties shall, where appropriate, strengthen coordination and regulations. Where a Party does not use such international
communication with each other in the context of discussions on standards, or their relevant parts, as a basis for its technical
international standards and related issues in other international regulations, it shall, on request of another Party, explain the
fora, such as the WTO TBT Committee. reasons therefor.
2. In implementing paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the TBT Agreement,
Article 6.6: Standards each Party shall consider available alternatives in order to ensure
that the proposed technical regulations to be adopted are not
1. With respect to the preparation, adoption, and application of more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate
standards, each Party shall ensure that its standardising body or objective.
bodies that prepare, adopt, and apply national standards accept
and comply with Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement. 3. Each Party shall give positive consideration to accepting as
equivalent, technical regulations of another Party, even if those
2. Where modifications to the contents or structure of the relevant regulations differ from its own, provided it is satisfied that those
international standards were necessary in developing a Party’s regulations adequately fulfil the objectives of its own regulations.
national standards, that Party shall, on request of another Party,
encourage its standardising body or bodies to provide what the 4. Where a Party does not accept a technical regulation of another
differences in the contents and structure are, and the reason for Party as equivalent to its own, it shall, on request of the other
those differences. Any fees charged for this service shall, apart Party, explain the reasons for its decision.
from the real cost of delivery, be the same for foreign and
domestic persons.
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