WTO TBT Standards Code criteria applied to W3C

Editor: DanielD, last updated: 12 July 2009.

Status: first draft.

Background

The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) - sometimes referred to as the Standards Code - is one of the legal texts of the WTO Agreement which obliges WTO Members to ensure that technical regulations, voluntary standards and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.

It is referenced from the recent EU whitepaper on standardisation policy revision.

Annex 3 of this TBT Agreement is the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards which is known as the WTO Code of Good Practice.

Here's the acceptance criteria:

In accepting the TBT Agreement, WTO Members agree to ensure that their central government standardizing bodies accept and comply with this Code of Good Practice and agree also to take reasonable measures to ensure that local government, non-governmental and regional standardizing bodies do the same (for the definition of "standardizing bodies" see ISO/IEC Guide 2).

The Code seems therefore open for application by non-gov bodies.

The following section is the analysis of the WTO criteria applied to the W3C Process and standardization practices.

ANNEX 3 applied to W3C

WTO CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR THE PREPARATION, ADOPTION ANDAPPLICATION OF STANDARDS.

After each provisions, you'll find our analysis in emphasis.

General Provisions

1. For the purposes of this Code the definitions in Annex 1 of this Agreement shall apply.

   I think we agree with the definitions. In these we learn that W3C does Standards, not Technical Regulations, and that it's an International Non-governmental Body.

2. This Code is open to acceptance by any standardizing body within the territory of a Member of the WTO, whether a central government body, a local government body, or a non-governmental body; to any governmental regional standardizing body one or more members of which are Members of the WTO; and to any non-governmental regional standardizing body one or more members of which are situated within the territory of a Member of the WTO (referred to in this Code collectively as "standardizing bodies" and individually as "the standardizing body").

   Unclear if W3C (or any other intl non-gov body) can fit here: we're not on the territory of one WTO Member (but in severals, but also in non-member, through our offices/membership open to all). The other constraints on regional focus also eliminates international body. To be discussed.

3. Standardizing bodies that have accepted or withdrawn from this Code shall notify this fact to the ISO/IEC Information Centre in Geneva. The notification shall include the name and address of the body concerned and the scope of its current and expected standardization activities. The notification may be sent either directly to the ISO/IEC Information Centre, or through the national member body of ISO/IEC or, preferably, through the relevant national member or international affiliate of ISONET, as appropriate.

   OK for us to notify ISO, we're in touch already.

   SUBSTANTIVE PROVISIONS

4. In respect of standards, the standardizing body shall accord treatment to products originating in the territory of any other Member of the WTO no less favourable than that accorded to like products of national origin and to like products originating in any other country.

   W3C is country/company neutral.

5. The standardizing body shall ensure that standards are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to, or with the effect of, creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade.

   Our goal is interoperability of trades as much as anything else.

6. Where international standards exist or their completion is imminent, the standardizing body shall use them, or the relevant parts of them, as a basis for the standards it develops, except where such international standards or relevant parts would be ineffective or inappropriate, for instance, because of an insufficient level of protection or fundamental climatic or geographical factors or fundamental technological problems.

   W3C standards are based on IETF, ISO, ITU, IEEE, etc. We always ask our community before starting a new activity.

7. With a view to harmonizing standards on as wide a basis as possible, the standardizing body shall, in an appropriate way, play a full part, within the limits of its resources, in the preparation by relevant international standardizing bodies of international standards regarding subject matter for which it either has adopted, or expects to adopt, standards. For standardizing bodies within the territory of a Member, participation in a particular international standardization activity shall, whenever possible, take place through one delegation representing all standardizing bodies in the territory that have adopted, or expect to adopt, standards for the subject matter to which the international standardization activity relates.

   Standards harmonization is an area where we spend a lot of resources, in particular between consortia and official bodies.

8. The standardizing body within the territory of a Member shall make every effort to avoid duplication of, or overlap with, the work of other standardizing bodies in the national territory or with the work of relevant international or regional standardizing bodies. They shall also make every effort to achieve a national consensus on the standards they develop. Likewise the regional standardizing body shall make every effort to avoid duplication of, or overlap with, the work of relevant international standardizing bodies.

   W3C is part of a network of SDO that coordinates (e.g. new-work@ietf.org list) before starting new work. We also maintain a long list of liaisons with our peer SDO.

9. Wherever appropriate, the standardizing body shall specify standards based on product requirements in terms of performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics.

   We always start our working group work based on a requirement list, describing what needs to be achieved, what is the scope, etc.

10. At least once every six months, the standardizing body shall publish a work programme containing its name and address, the standards it is currently preparing and the standards which it has adopted in the preceding period. A standard is under preparation from the moment a decision has been taken to develop a standard until that standard has been adopted. The titles of specific draft standards shall, upon request, be provided in English, French or Spanish. A notice of the existence of the work programme shall be published in a national or, as the case may be, regional publication of standardization activities. The work programme shall for each standard indicate, in accordance with any ISONET rules, the classification relevant to the subject matter, the stage attained in the standard's development, and the references of any international standards taken as a basis. No later than at the time of publication of its work programme, the standardizing body shall notify the existence thereof to the ISO/IEC Information Centre in Geneva. The notification shall contain the name and address of the standardizing body, the name and issue of the publication in which the work programme is published, the period to which the work programme applies, its price (if any), and how and where it can be obtained. The notification may be sent directly to the ISO/IEC Information Centre, or, preferably, through the relevant national member or international affiliate of ISONET, as appropriate.

    We publish our work all the time, and each group has the obligation to publish their latest finding/specs every three months. We do not coordinate with ISONET or ISO on our publication or stages, or rather, we coordinate with everybody by putting all the information our on w3.org.

11. The national member of ISO/IEC shall make every effort to become a member of ISONET or to appoint another body to become a member as well as to acquire the most advanced membership type possible for the ISONET member. Other standardizing bodies shall make every effort to associatethemselves with the ISONET member.

    Not applicable, we're not a national member, or nationally based.

12. Before adopting a standard, the standardizing body shall allow a period of at least 60 days for the submission of comments on the draft standard by interested parties within the territory of a Member of the WTO. This period may, however, be shortened in cases where urgent problems of safety, healthor environment arise or threaten to arise. No later than at the start of the comment period, the standardizing body shall publish a notice announcing the period for commenting in the publication referred to in paragraph J. Such notification shall include, as far as practicable, whether the draft standard deviates from relevant international standards.

    Not really applicable, this rules out the international bodies as written. On the substance, W3C allow for several period of timeing at each stage of review (Public draft, Last call, proposed recommendation, etc)

13. On the request of any interested party within the territory of a Member of the WTO, the standardizing body shall promptly provide, or arrange to provide, a copy of a draft standard which it has submitted for comments. Any fees charged for this service shall, apart from the real cost of delivery, be the same for foreign and domestic parties.

    All the W3C standards, whether in development or stable are publicly and freely available to all with a Web browser and an Internet connection.

14. The standardizing body shall take into account, in the further processing of the standard, the comments received during the period for commenting. Comments received through standardizing bodies that have accepted this Code of Good Practice shall, if so requested, be replied to as promptly as possible. The reply shall include an explanation why a deviation from relevant international standards is necessary.

    Our process describes how we take into account and respond to all comments received during the various W3C standardisation phases.

15. Once the standard has been adopted, it shall be promptly published.

    Instantly!

16. On the request of any interested party within the territory of a Member of the WTO, the standardizing body shall promptly provide, or arrange to provide, a copy of its most recent work programme or of a standard which it produced. Any fees charged for this service shall, apart from the real cost of delivery, be the same for foreign and domestic parties.

    Work programs (what we call activity statements) and our standards (draft or recommendations) are available online at all time.

17. The standardizing body shall afford sympathetic consideration to, and adequate opportunity for, consultation regarding representations with respect to the operation of this Code presented by standardizing bodies that have accepted this Code of Good Practice. It shall make an objective effort to solve any complaints.

    A W3C liaison with WTO would provide for that.