Page 263 - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

5. In implementing paragraph 8 of Article 2 of the TBT Agreement,
when a Party does not specify technical regulations based on 2. Each Party recognises the importance of accepting the results of
product requirements in terms of performance rather than design conformity assessment procedures conducted in another Party
or descriptive characteristics, the Party shall, on request of with a view to increasing efficiency, avoiding duplication, and
another Party, provide its reason therefor. ensuring cost effectiveness of conformity assessments.

6. Except where urgent problems of safety, health, environmental 3. Each Party shall ensure, whenever possible, that results of
protection, or national security arise or threaten to arise, Parties conformity assessment procedures in another Party are
shall allow a reasonable interval between the publication of accepted, even when those procedures differ from its own, unless
technical regulations and their entry into force in order to provide those procedures do not offer an assurance of conformity with
sufficient time for producers in exporting Parties to adapt their applicable technical regulations or standards equivalent to its own
products or methods of production to the requirements of procedures.
importing Parties. For the purposes of this paragraph,
“reasonable interval” shall be understood to mean normally a 4. A Party shall, on request of another Party, explain its reasons for
period of not less than six months, except when this would be not accepting the results of a conformity assessment procedure
ineffective in fulfilling the legitimate objectives pursued by the conducted in the other Party.
technical regulation.
5. Each Party recognises that, depending on the situation of the
7. On request of a Party that has an interest in developing a Party and the specific sectors involved, a broad range of
technical regulation similar to a technical regulation of another mechanisms exists to facilitate the acceptance of the results of
Party, the requested Party shall provide, to the extent practicable, conformity assessment procedures conducted in another Party.
relevant information, including studies or documents, except for Such mechanisms may include:
confidential information, on which it has relied in its development.
(a) mutual recognition agreements for the results of conformity
8. Each Party shall uniformly and consistently apply its technical assessment procedures conducted by bodies in the
regulations that are prepared and adopted by its central Parties concerned;
government bodies to its whole territory. For greater certainty,
nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent local (b) cooperative (voluntary) arrangements between
government bodies from preparing, adopting, and applying accreditation bodies or those between conformity
additional technical regulations in a manner consistent with the assessment bodies in the Parties concerned;
provisions of the TBT Agreement.
(c) the use of accreditation to qualify conformity assessment
bodies, including through relevant multilateral agreements
Article 6.8: Conformity Assessment Procedures or arrangements, to recognise the accreditation granted by
other Parties;
1. Further to paragraph 4 of Article 5 of the TBT Agreement, each
Party shall ensure that central government bodies use relevant (d) the designation of conformity assessment bodies in
international standards or their relevant parts as a basis for their another Party;
conformity assessment procedures, except where, as duly
explained upon request, such international standards or relevant (e) unilateral recognition by a Party of results of conformity
parts are inappropriate for the Party concerned, for, inter alia, assessment procedures conducted in another Party; and
such reasons as: national security requirements; the prevention
of deceptive practices; protection of human health or safety, (f) manufacturer's or supplier's declaration of conformity.
animal or plant life or health, or the environment; fundamental
climatic or other geographical factors; fundamental technological 6. Upon reasonable request, the Parties concerned shall exchange
or infrastructural problems. information or share experiences on the mechanisms referred to

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