Transcript Assessment of Egypt’s Compliance with the WTO Agreement on

Assessment of Egypt’s Compliance
with the WTO Agreement on
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
April 18th, 2004
by
Sahar Tohamy, ATR
World Bank Institute
Trade Capacity Building Workshop
Ein Sokhna-Egypt
Assessment Team

Foreign Trade Policies Sector (FTPS)

The Egyptian Organization for
Standardization and Quality Control
(EOS)

Assistance for Trade Reform, ATR
Assessment Objectives
1. Gives the government’s assessment of the
system of standards and technical
regulations
2. Updates and improves on previous work in
this area
3. Provides an action plan addressing remaining
weaknesses in the system
4. Serves as a DSP deliverable
Purpose of Presenting the Assessment
Results in this Workshop
1. Public awareness of the main features of
Egypt’s standards system emphasizing TBT
compliance issues
2. Overview of recent trade facilitation efforts
and remaining weaknesses
3. Coordinating efforts to simplify and
streamline trade facilitation efforts among
government agencies and donors assisting in
this area
4. Comparing Egypt’s import inspection system
to systems implemented in other countries
The presentation covers
1. A summary of Egypt’s obligations under the
TBT Agreement
2. An overview of the Egyptian system of
standards and technical regulations
3. Evaluates the Egyptian system against TBT
obligations
4. Provides policy recommendations and an
action plan for further reform
A summary of Egypt’s obligations
1. under the TBT Agreement
 The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement
(TBT) in the WTO

defines technical regulations as any mandatory
requirement related to product characteristic,
process, administrative provision, etc.

prohibits the use of technical regulations to restrain
trade.
A summary of Egypt’s obligations
1. under the TBT Agreement
The Code of Good Practice: (Annexed to the Agreement)
 Requires similar obligations for (voluntary) standards.
 Egypt is signatory to the Code of Good Practice
 Egypt is bound by obligations under the TBT
Agreement and the Code of Good Practice
A
summary
of
Egypt’s
obligations
1.
1
under the TBT Agreement
 The main obligations under the TBT Agreement are


National treatment


Notification to the WTO
Harmonization of technical regulations and standards with
international standards
Transparency
A
summary
of
Egypt’s
obligations
1.
1
under the TBT Agreement
 National treatment
 National treatment requires that technical regulations
not be used to discriminate against imports.
A
summary
of
Egypt’s
obligations
1.
1
under the TBT Agreement
 Harmonization with international standards

Countries are encouraged to use standards developed
by international organizations

Deviation from the international standard is allowed in
cases of concerns about national security, protection of
human health, safety, environment and protection
from deceptive practices.
A
summary
of
Egypt’s
obligations
1.
1
under the TBT Agreement
 Notification to the WTO
 WTO members are required to give other members an
opportunity to comment on proposed or changed
technical regulations and standards.
 They must also notify to the WTO:
- standards and technical regulations adopted
- standards and technical regulations framework
- any changes in either
1.
1 A summary of Egypt’s obligations
under the TBT Agreement
 Transparency
 in the process of technical regulation and standard
development
 enquiry point to answer questions and clarifications
 general transparency of the system to reduce barriers
to trade
1. A summary of Egypt’s obligations
under the TBT Agreement
 Complementarity and Similarity between TBT and
Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures, SPS
 The SPS Agreement concerns measures that countries
undertake to:
1. protect human, animal or plant health from pests and diseases that are
carried by infected agricultural or animal products;
2. protect human, animal and plant health from entry of food products that
contain toxic additives or contaminants;
3. protect the environment from entry of pests and diseases
 Prohibits using SPS measures to restrict foreign trade flows
1. A summary of Egypt’s obligations
under the TBT Agreement
 Complementarity and Similarity between TBT and
Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures, SPS


National treatment


Notification to the WTO
Harmonization of technical regulations and standards with
international standards
Transparency
In addition:

SPS Agreement requires that countries rely on scientific
risk assessment techniques in case SPS measures are
stricter than international standards
1. A summary of Egypt’s obligations
under the TBT Agreement
 Complementarity and Similarity between TBT and
Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures, SPS

Regulations on Pesticides:
-
SPS: If measure relates to residues in food or animal feed and is to protect
human or animal health
- TBT: If measure relates to the quality or efficacy of the product, or to health
risk to handlers

Establishment of labeling requirements for food
-
SPS: If the measure is related to food safety
- TBT: If the regulation concerns size of typeface used in labels, presentation
of information and content

Regulation on containers for the shipment of grains:
-
SPS: If the regulation is on fumigation or disinfection measures of
containers
- TBT: If the regulation relates to size or structure of containers
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations
 Standard and technical regulation formulation process
(EOS), annually:
 EOS formulates a work plan for adding or updating existing
standards
 With 100+ technical committees, EOS drafts new or
updates an existing standard
 EOS publishes the new standard in the Official Gazette
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations
 Technical Regulations: MOI mandatory list
 MOI Decree 179/1996
 280 groups of goods
- mainly agriculture and food products (70%)
- and engineering and chemicals and textiles and
clothing
 For items on the MOI mandatory list, the Egyptian
Standard must be used for conformity assessment
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations
 Technical Regulations: Ministerial Decrees from the
MOA, MOH, and others
 particular specification, food colors, residues, additives,
etc.
 MOFT regulations were issued after removal of bans in
the textiles and clothing sector.
 If submitted to EOS, these regulations are incorporated
into the mandatory list.
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations
 Voluntary Standards
 Egyptian Standards issued by EOS: Over 4000 Egyptian
standards updated through the 1980s
 Other recognized standards are: ISO/IEC, European
(EN), BS-DIN-NF, US (ANS), Japanese (JIS), CODEX for
food
 MOI Decree 180/1996 requires that any good (local or
imported) comply with the Egyptian standard or one of
6 international standards
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations
 Conformity assessment for locally produced goods
 governed by MOI Decree 42/2003
 responsibility divided between EOS and the Industrial
Regulation Authority )‫(هيئة الرقابة الصناعية‬
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations

Conformity assessment for imports
 governed by Import Export Law 118/1975 and
Implementing Regulations (MOFT Decree 275/1991) .
 Article 73 and 74 of Ministerial Decree specify GOEIC as
the agency responsible for inspection of imports
 Annex 8 lists imports that are required to be inspected,
Annex 9 is for exports
 GOEIC uses EOS standards and technical regulations for
inspection (if on MOI mandatory list) and one of 6
international standards for remaining items
 Several decrees simplifying procedures.
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations

Conformity assessment for imports
 Presidential Decree 106/2000: consolidated
responsibility of sampling and testing under GOEIC
 MOFT Decree 346/2000: executive regulations for
implementing Decree 106.
 Decree 524/2000 maximum number and size of samples
used in inspection
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations

Conformity assessment for imports
 Decree 501/1999: The White List Decree
 Exempts non-agricultural imports from inspection by


GOEIC if 10 or more shipments were imported in span
of 2 years, none rejected.
250+ importers and exporters are currently listed on the
White List
Importers added to the White List by successive
Ministerial Decrees
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations

Conformity assessment for imports
 Acceptance of inspection certificates of other agencies:
- MOFT Decree 552/2000: criteria for agencies to qualify
for certificate recognition
- Decrees 801/2001 and 76/2002 registering SGS
Holding Company and its agent in Egypt and Bureau
Veritas SA and Bivac International SA
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations

Conformity assessment for imports
 Prime Ministerial Decree 1186/2003:
- GOEIC sole agency for inspecting
- Customs shall not take other agencies inspection
results
- Types of tests to be conducted are specified by Decree
for each product
- Location for conducting different tests specified in the
Decree
- Dispute settlement mechanisms and time limits on
providing test results
Egypt’s
system
of
standards
and
2.
1
technical regulations

Conformity assessment for imports
 Ministerial Decree 515/2003:
- Executive Decree for implementation of Prime
Minister’s Decree 1186/2003.
- Article 18 of Decree 515/2003 allows recognition of
International Marks, subject to regulations to be drafted
by MOFT.
Compliance
of
the
Egyptian
system
3.
1
with obligations of the TBT Agreement

National treatment
 Technical regulations
 Standards
 Conformity assessment procedures
 The White List framework for imports
Result: Egypt meets the national treatment obligation.
Compliance
of
the
Egyptian
system
3.
1
with obligations of the TBT Agreement
 Harmonization with international standards
 MOI Mandatory List
 Other technical regulations
 MOI Decree 180/1996
Result: Egypt is compliant with respect to standards and
will be with respect to MOI list. Mandatory
Ministerial Decrees will have to conform, however.
Compliance
of
the
Egyptian
system
3.
1
with obligations of the TBT Agreement
 Notification to the WTO
 Decree 179/1996 and MOI mandatory list
 Annex 8 for imports
 the process of standard and technical regulation
development and adoption
 MOI Decree 180/1996
Result: Egypt will need to ensure its notification
obligations to the WTO are met.
Compliance
of
the
Egyptian
system
3.
1
with obligations of the TBT Agreement
 Transparency
 enquiry point
 process of standard and technical regulation
development
 Better access to information
 transparency in conformity assessment
Result: Continued work is needed in this area, more than
just meeting TBT transparency requirements.
4.
1
Policy recommendations and an
action plan

TBT compliance obligations in section 3

continuous attention to reducing transaction costs
and enhancing transparency of the system

action plan (in the report)

public awareness and interaction with local
producers and importers

From rules and regulations to implementation
.4
Developments since the assessment
was completed

Establishment of the National Sub-Committee on TBT
and SPS issues in Nov 2003

Executive regulations for Prime Ministerial Decree
1186/2003 (MOFT Decree 515/2003)

Harmonization of food and agriculture technical
regulations with CODEX?

EOS website?

Implementation issues: ATR started a time-ofrelease survey with GOEIC to monitor time needed
for inspection and customs procedures