5. An importing Party shall ensure that its final decision in response to a finding of non-conformity with the importing Party's sanitary or phytosanitary measure, is limited to what is reasonable and necessary, and is rationally related to the available science.
6. If an importing Party prohibits or restricts the importation of a good of another Party on the basis of an adverse result of an import check, the importing Party shall provide a notification about the adverse result to at least one of the following: the importer or its agent; the exporter; the manufacturer; or the exporting Party.
7. When the importing Party provides a notification pursuant to paragraph 6, it shall:
(a) include:
(i) the reason for the prohibition or restriction;
(ii) the legal basis or authorisation for the action; and
(iii) information on the status of the affected goods and, if appropriate, on their disposition;
(b) do so in a manner consistent with its laws, regulations and requirements as soon as possible and no later than seven days (8) after the date of the decision to prohibit or restrict, unless the good is seized by a customs administration; and
(c) if the notification has not already been provided through another channel, transmit the notification by electronic means, if practicable.
8. An importing Party that prohibits or restricts the importation of a good of another Party on the basis of an adverse result of an import check shall provide an opportunity for a review of the decision and consider any relevant information submitted to assist in the review. The review request and information should be submitted to the importing Party within a reasonable period of time (9)
9. If an importing Party determines that there is a significant, sustained or recurring pattern of non-conformity with a sanitary or phytosanitary measure, the importing Party shall notify the exporting Party of the non-conformity.
10. On request, an importing Party shall provide to the exporting Party available information on goods from the exporting Party that were found not to conform to a sanitary or phytosanitary measure of the importing Party.
Article 7.12. Certification
1. The Parties recognise that assurances with respect to sanitary or phytosanitary requirements may be provided through means other than certificates and that different systems may be capable of meeting the same sanitary or phytosanitary objective.
2. If an importing Party requires certification for trade in a good, the Party shall ensure that the certification requirement is applied, in meeting the Party's sanitary or phytosanitary objectives, only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health.
3. In applying certification requirements, an importing Party shall take into account relevant guidance of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
4. An importing Party shall limit attestations and information it requires on the certificates to essential information that is related to the sanitary or phytosanitary objectives of the importing Party.
5. An importing Party should provide to another Party, on request, the rationale for any attestations or information that the importing Party requires to be included on a certificate.
6. The Parties may agree to work cooperatively to develop model certificates to accompany specific goods traded between the Parties, taking into account relevant guidance of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
7. The Parties shall promote the implementation of electronic certification and other technologies to facilitate trade.
Article 7.13. Transparency (10)
1. The Parties recognise the value of sharing information about their sanitary and phytosanitary measures on an ongoing basis, and of providing interested persons and other Parties with the opportunity to comment on their proposed sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
2. In implementing this Article, each Party shall take into account relevant guidance of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
3. A Party shall notify a proposed sanitary or phytosanitary measure that may have an effect on the trade of another Party, including any that conforms to international standards, guidelines or recommendations, by using the WTO SPS notification submission system as a means of notifying the other Parties.
4. Unless urgent problems of human, animal or plant life or health protection arise or threaten to arise, or the measure is of a trade-facilitating nature, a Party shall normally allow at least 60 days for interested persons and other Parties to provide written comments on the proposed measure after it makes the notification under paragraph 3. If feasible and appropriate, the Party should allow more than 60 days. The Party shall consider any reasonable request from an interested person or another Party to extend the comment period. On request of another Party, the Party shall respond to the written comments of the other Party in an appropriate manner.
5. The Party shall make available to the public, by electronic means in an official journal or on a website, the proposed sanitary or phytosanitary measure notified under paragraph 3, the legal basis for the measure, and the written comments or a summary of the written comments that the Party has received from the public on the measure.
6. If a Party proposes a sanitary or phytosanitary measure which does not conform to an international standard, guideline or recommendation, the Party shall provide to another Party, on request, and to the extent permitted by the confidentiality and privacy requirements of the Party's law, the relevant documentation that the Party considered in developing the proposed measure, including documented and objective scientific evidence that is rationally related to the measure, such as risk assessments, relevant studies and expert opinions.
7. A Party that proposes to adopt a sanitary or phytosanitary measure shall discuss with another Party, on request and if appropriate and feasible, any scientific or trade concerns that the other Party may raise regarding the proposed measure and the availability of alternative, less trade-restrictive approaches for achieving the objective of the measure.
8. Each Party shall publish, preferably by electronic means, notices of final sanitary or phytosanitary measures in an official journal or website.
9. Each Party shall notify the other Parties of final sanitary or phytosanitary measures through the WTO SPS notification submission system. Each Party shall ensure that the text or the notice of a final sanitary or phytosanitary measure specifies the date on which the measure takes effect and the legal basis for the measure. A Party shall also make available to another Party, on request, and to the extent permitted by the confidentiality and privacy requirements of the Party's law, significant written comments and relevant documentation considered to support the measure that were received during the comment period.
10. If a final sanitary or phytosanitary measure is substantively altered from the proposed measure, a Party shall also include in the notice of the final sanitary or phytosanitary measure that it publishes, an explanation of:
(a) the objective and rationale of the measure and how the measure advances that objective and rationale; and
(b) any substantive revisions that it made to the proposed measure.
11. An exporting Party shall notify the importing Party through the contact points referred to in Article 7.6 (Competent Authorities and Contact Points) in a timely and appropriate manner:
(a) if it has knowledge of a significant sanitary or phytosanitary risk related to the export of a good from its territory;
(b) of urgent situations where a change in animal or plant health status in the territory of the exporting Party may affect current trade;
(c) of significant changes in the status of a regionalised pest or disease;
(d) of new scientific findings of importance which affect the regulatory response with respect to food safety, pests or diseases; and
(e) of significant changes in food safety, pest or disease management, control or eradication policies or practices that may affect current trade.
12. If feasible and appropriate, a Party should provide an interval of more than six months between the date it publishes a final sanitary or phytosanitary measure and the date on which the measure takes effect, unless the measure is intended to address an urgent problem of human, animal or plant life or health protection or the measure is of a trade- facilitating nature.
13. A Party shall provide to another Party, on request, all sanitary or phytosanitary measures related to the importation of a good into that Party's territory.
Article 7.14. Emergency Measures
1. If a Party adopts an emergency measure that is necessary for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health, the Party shall promptly notify the other Parties of that measure through the primary representative and the relevant contact point referred to in Article 7.6 (Competent Authorities and Contact Points). The Party that adopts the emergency measure shall take into consideration any information provided by other Parties in response to the notification.
2. If a Party adopts an emergency measure, it shall review the scientific basis of that measure within six months and make available the results of the review to any Party on request. If the emergency measure is maintained after the review, because the reason for its adoption remains, the Party should review the measure periodically.
Article 7.15. Cooperation
1. The Parties shall explore opportunities for further cooperation, collaboration and information exchange between the Parties on sanitary and phytosanitary matters of mutual interest, consistent with this Chapter. Those opportunities may include trade facilitation initiatives and technical assistance. The Parties shall cooperate to facilitate the implementation of this Chapter.
2. The Parties shall cooperate and may jointly identify work on sanitary and phytosanitary matters with the goal of eliminating unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.
Article 7.16. Information Exchange
A Party may request information from another Party on a matter arising under this Chapter. A Party that receives a request for information shall endeavour to provide available information to the requesting Party within a reasonable period of time, and if possible, by electronic means.
Article 7.17. Cooperative Technical Consultations
1. If a Party has concerns regarding any matter arising under this Chapter with another Party, it shall endeavour to resolve the matter by using the administrative procedures that the other Party's competent authority has available. If the relevant Parties have bilateral or other mechanisms available to address the matter, the Party raising the matter shall endeavour to resolve the matter through those mechanisms, if it considers that it is appropriate to do so. A Party may have recourse to the Cooperative Technical Consultations (CTC) set out in paragraph 2 at any time it considers that the continued use of the administrative procedures or bilateral or other mechanisms would not resolve the matter.
2. One or more Parties (requesting Party) may initiate CTC with another Party (responding Party) to discuss any matter arising under this Chapter that the requesting Party considers may adversely affect its trade by delivering a request to the primary representative of the responding Party. The request shall be in writing and identify the reason for the request, including a description of the requesting Partyâs concerns about the matter, and set out the provisions of this Chapter that relate to the matter.
3. Unless the requesting Party and the responding Party (the consulting Parties) agree otherwise, the responding Party shall acknowledge the request in writing within seven days of the date of its receipt.
4. Unless the consulting Parties agree otherwise, the consulting Parties shall meet within 30 days of the responding Party's acknowledgement of the request to discuss the matter identified in the request, with the aim of resolving the matter within 180 days of the request if possible. The meeting shall be in person or by electronic means.
5. The consulting Parties shall ensure the appropriate involvement of relevant trade and regulatory agencies in meetings held pursuant to this Article.
6. All communications between the consulting Parties in the course of CTC, as well as all documents generated for CTC, shall be kept confidential unless the consulting Parties agree otherwise and without prejudice to the rights and obligations of any Party under this Agreement, the WTO Agreement or any other international agreement to which it is a party.
7. The requesting Party may cease CTC proceedings under this Article and have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) if:
(a) the meeting referred to in paragraph 4 does not take place within 37 days of the date of the request, or such other timeframe as the consulting Parties may agree under paragraphs 3 and 4; or
(b) the meeting referred to in paragraph 4 has been held.
8. No Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) for a matter arising under this Chapter without first seeking to resolve the matter through CTC in accordance with this Article.
Article 7.18. Dispute Settlement
1. Unless otherwise provided in this Chapter, Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) shall apply to this Chapter, subject to the following:
(a) with respect to Article 7.8 (Equivalence), Article 7.10 (Audits) and Article 7.11 (import Checks), Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) shall apply with respect to a responding Party as of one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party; and
(b) with respect to Article 7.9 (Science and Risk Analysis), Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) shall apply with respect to a responding Party as of two years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party.
2. In a dispute under this Chapter that involves scientific or technical issues, a panel should seek advice from experts chosen by the panel in consultation with the Parties involved in the dispute. To this end, the panel may, if it deems appropriate, establish an advisory technical experts group, or consult the relevant international standard setting organisations, at the request of either Party to the dispute or on its own initiative.
Chapter 8. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
Article 8.1. Definitions
1. The definitions of the terms used in this Chapter contained in Annex 1 of the TBT Agreement, including the chapeau and explanatory notes of Annex 1, are incorporated into this Chapter and shall form part of this Chapter, mutatis mutandis.
2. In addition, for the purposes of this Chapter:
consular transactions means requirements that products of a Party intended for export to the territory of another Party must first be submitted to the supervision of the consul of the importing Party in the territory of the exporting Party for the purpose of obtaining consular invoices or consular visas for conformity assessment documentation;
marketing authorisation means the process or processes by which a Party approves or registers a product in order to authorise its marketing, distribution or sale in the Party's territory. The process or processes may be described in a Party's laws or regulations in various ways, including "marketing authorisation", "authorisation", "approval", "registration", "sanitary authorisation", "sanitary registration" and "sanitary approval" for a product. Marketing authorisation does not include notification procedures;
mutual recognition agreement means a binding government-to-government agreement for recognition of the results of conformity assessment conducted against the appropriate technical regulations or standards in one or more sectors, including government-to-government agreements to implement the APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment of May 8, 1998 and the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Mutual Recognition Arrangement of July 7, 1999 and other agreements that provide for the recognition of conformity assessment conducted against appropriate technical regulations or standards in one or more sectors;
mutual recognition arrangement means an international or regional arrangement (including a multilateral recognition arrangement) between accreditation bodies recognising the equivalence of accreditation systems (based on peer review) or between conformity assessment bodies recognising the results of conformity assessment;
post-market surveillance means procedures taken by a Party after a product has been placed on its market to enable the Party to monitor or address compliance with the Party's domestic requirements for products;
TBT Agreement means the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, as may be amended; and
verify means to take action to confirm the veracity of individual conformity assessment results, such as requesting information from the conformity assessment body or the body that accredited, approved, licensed or otherwise recognised the conformity assessment body, but does not include requirements that subject a product to conformity assessment in the territory of the importing Party that duplicate the conformity assessment procedures already conducted with respect to the product in the territory of the exporting Party or a third party, except on a random or infrequent basis for the purpose of surveillance, or in response to information indicating non-compliance.
Article 8.2. Objective
The objective of this Chapter is to facilitate trade, including by eliminating unnecessary technical barriers to trade, enhancing transparency, and promoting greater regulatory cooperation and good regulatory practice.
Article 8.3. Scope
1. This Chapter shall apply to the preparation, adoption and application of all technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures of central level of government bodies (and, where explicitly provided for, technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures of government bodies at the level directly below that of the central level of government) that may affect trade in goods between the Parties, except as provided in paragraphs 4 and 5.
2. Each Party shall take reasonable measures that are within its authority to encourage observance by regional or local government bodies, as the case may be, on the level directly below that of the central level of government within its territory which are responsible for the preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, of Article 8.5 (International Standards, Guides and Recommendations), Article 8.6 (Conformity Assessment), Article 8.8 (Compliance Period for Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures) and each of the Annexes to this Chapter.
3. All references in this Chapter to technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures shall be construed to include any amendments to them and any addition to the rules or the product coverage of those technical regulations, standards and procedures, except amendments and additions of an insignificant nature.
4. This Chapter shall not apply to technical specifications prepared by a governmental entity for its production or consumption requirements. These specifications are covered by Chapter 15 (Government Procurement).
5. This Chapter shall not apply to sanitary and phytosanitary measures. These are covered by Chapter 7 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures).
6. For greater certainty, nothing in this Chapter shall prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining technical regulations, standards or conformity assessment procedures in accordance with its rights and obligations under this Agreement, the TBT Agreement and any other relevant international agreement.
Article 8.4. Incorporation of Certain Provisions of the TBT Agreement
1. The following provisions of the TBT Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis:
(a) Articles 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 2.9, 2.10, 2.11, 2.12;
(b) Articles 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9; and
(c) paragraphs D, E and F of Annex 3.
2. No Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) for a dispute that exclusively alleges a violation of the provisions of the TBT Agreement incorporated under paragraph 1.
Article 8.5. International Standards, Guides and Recommendations
1. The Parties recognise the important role that international standards, guides and recommendations can play in supporting greater regulatory alignment, good regulatory practice and reducing unnecessary barriers to trade.
2. In this respect, and further to Articles 2.4 and 5.4 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement, to determine whether there is an international standard, guide or recommendation within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement, each Party shall apply the Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Since 1 January 1995 (G/TBT/1/Rev.12), as may be revised, issued by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.
3. The Parties shall cooperate with each other, when feasible and appropriate, to ensure that international standards, guides and recommendations that are likely to become a basis for technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
Article 8.6. Conformity Assessment
1. Further to Article 6.4 of the TBT Agreement, each Party shall accord to conformity assessment bodies located in the territory of another Party treatment no less favourable than that it accords to conformity assessment bodies located in its own territory or in the territory of any other Party. In order to ensure that it accords such treatment, each Party shall apply the same or equivalent procedures, criteria and other conditions to accredit, approve, license or otherwise recognise conformity assessment bodies located in the territory of another Party that it may apply to conformity assessment bodies in its own territory.
2. Further to Article 6.4 of the TBT Agreement, if a Party maintains procedures, criteria or other conditions as set out in paragraph 1 and requires test results, certifications or inspections as positive assurance that a product conforms to a technical regulation or standard, the Party:
(a) shall not require the conformity assessment body that tests or certifies the product, or the conformity assessment body conducting an inspection, to be located within its territory;
(b) shall not impose requirements on conformity assessment bodies located outside its territory that would effectively require those conformity assessment bodies to operate an office in that Party's territory; and
(c) shall permit conformity assessment bodies in other Parties' territories to apply to the Party for a determination that they comply with any procedures, criteria and other conditions the Party requires to deem them competent or to otherwise approve them to test or certify the product or conduct an inspection.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not preclude a Party from undertaking conformity assessment in relation to a specific product solely within specified government bodies located in its own territory or in another Party's territory, in a manner consistent with its obligations under the TBT Agreement.
4. If a Party undertakes conformity assessment under paragraph 3, and further to Articles 5.2 and 5.4 of the TBT Agreement concerning limitation on information requirements, the protection of legitimate commercial interests and the adequacy of review procedures, the Party shall, on the request of another Party, explain:
(a) how the information required is necessary to assess conformity and determine fees;
(b) how the Party ensures that the confidentiality of the information required is respected in a manner that ensures legitimate commercial interests are protected; and
(c) the procedure to review complaints concerning the operation of the conformity assessment procedure and to take corrective action when a complaint is justified.
5. Paragraphs 1 and 2(c) shall not preclude a Party from using mutual recognition agreements to accredit, approve, license or otherwise recognise conformity assessment bodies located outside its territory.
6. Nothing in paragraphs 1, 2 and 5 precludes a Party from verifying the results of conformity assessment procedures undertaken by conformity assessment bodies located outside its territory.
7. Further to paragraph 6, in order to enhance confidence in the continued reliability of conformity assessment results from the Parties' respective territories, a Party may request information on matters pertaining to conformity assessment bodies located outside its territory.
8. Further to Article 9.1 of the TBT Agreement, a Party shall consider adopting measures to approve conformity assessment bodies that have accreditation for the technical regulations or standards of the importing Party, by an accreditation body that is a signatory to an international or regional mutual recognition arrangement. (1) The Parties recognise that these arrangements can address the key considerations in approving conformity assessment bodies, including technical competence, independence, and the avoidance of conflicts of interest.
9. Further to Article 9.2 of the TBT Agreement no Party shall refuse to accept conformity assessment results from a conformity assessment body or take actions that have the effect of, directly or indirectly, requiring or encouraging another Party or person to refuse to accept conformity assessment results from a conformity assessment body because the accreditation body that accredited the conformity assessment body:
(a) operates in the territory of a Party where there is more than one accreditation body;
(b) is a non-governmental body;
(c) is domiciled in the territory of a Party that does not maintain a procedure for recognising accreditation bodies, provided that the accreditation body is recognised internationally, consistent with the provisions in paragraph 8;
(d) does not operate an office in the Party's territory; or
(e) is a for-profit entity.
10. Nothing in paragraph 9 prohibits a Party from refusing to accept conformity assessment results from a conformity assessment body on grounds other than those set out in paragraph 9 if that Party can substantiate those grounds for the refusal, and that refusal is not inconsistent with the TBT Agreement and this Chapter.
11. A Party shall publish, preferably by electronic means, any procedures, criteria and other conditions that it may use as the basis for determining whether conformity assessment bodies are competent to receive accreditation, approval, licensing or other recognition, including accreditation, approval, licensing or other recognition granted pursuant to a mutual recognition agreement.
12. If a Party:
(a) accredits, approves, licenses or otherwise recognises a body assessing conformity with a particular technical regulation or standard in its territory, and refuses to accredit, approve, license or otherwise recognise a body assessing conformity with that technical regulation or standard in the territory of another Party; or
(b) declines to use a mutual recognition arrangement, it shall, on request of the other Party, explain the reasons for its decision.
13. If a Party does not accept the results of a conformity assessment procedure conducted in the territory of another Party, it shall, on the request of the other Party, explain the reasons for its decision.
14. Further to Article 6.3 of the TBT Agreement, if a Party declines the request of another Party to enter into negotiations to conclude an agreement for mutual recognition of the results of each other's conformity assessment procedures, it shall, on request of that other Party, explain the reasons for its decision.
15. Further to Article 5.2.5 of the TBT Agreement any conformity assessment fees imposed by a Party shall be limited to the approximate cost of services rendered.
16. No Party shall require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with conformity assessment. (2)
Article 8.7. Transparency
1. Each Party shall allow persons of another Party to participate in the development of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures by its central government bodies (3) on terms no less favourable than those that it accords to its own persons.
2. Each Party is encouraged to consider methods to provide additional transparency in the development of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, including through the use of electronic tools and public outreach or consultations.
3. If appropriate, each Party shall encourage non-governmental bodies in its territory to observe the obligations in paragraphs 1 and 2.
4. Each Party shall publish all proposals for new technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and proposals for amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, and all new final technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and final amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, of central government bodies.
5. A Party may determine the form of proposals for technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, which may take the form of: policy proposals; discussion documents; summaries of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures; or the draft text of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Each Party shall ensure that its proposals contain sufficient detail about the likely content of the proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures to adequately inform interested persons and other Parties about whether and how their trade interests might be affected.
6. Each Party shall publish preferably by electronic means, in a single official journal or website all proposals for new technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and proposals for amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, and all new final technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and final amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, of central government bodies, that a Party is required to notify or publish under the TBT Agreement or this Chapter, and that may have a significant effect on trade. (4)
7. Each Party shall take such reasonable measures as may be available to it to ensure that all proposals for new technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and proposals for amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, and all new final technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and final amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, of regional or local governments, as the case may be, on the level directly below that of the central level of government, are published.
8. Each Party shall ensure that all new final technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and final amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, and to the extent practicable, all proposals for new technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures and proposals for amendments to existing technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, of regional or local governments on the level directly below that of the central level of government are accessible through official websites or journals, preferably consolidated into a single website.
9. Each Party shall notify proposals for new technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that are in accordance with the technical content of relevant international standards, guides or recommendations, if any, and that may have a significant effect on trade, according to the procedures established under Article 2.9 or 5.6 of the TBT Agreement.
10. Notwithstanding paragraph 9, if urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection or national security arise or threaten to arise for a Party, that Party may notify a new technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure that is in accordance with the technical content of relevant international standards, guides or recommendations, if any, upon the adoption of that regulation or procedure, according to the procedures established under Article 2.10 or 5.7 of the TBT Agreement.
11. Each Party shall endeavour to notify proposals for new technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures of regional or local governments, as the case may be, on the level directly below that of the central level of government that are in accordance with the technical content of relevant international standards, guides and recommendations, if any, and that may have a significant effect on trade according to the procedures established under Article 2.9 or 5.6 of the TBT Agreement.
12. For the purposes of determining whether a proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure may have a significant effect on trade and should be notified in accordance with Article 2.9, 2.10, 3.2, 5.6, 5.7 or 7.2 of the TBT Agreement or this Chapter, a Party shall consider, among other things, the relevant Decisions and Recommendations Adopted by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Since 1 January 1995 (G/TBT/1/Rev. 12), as may be revised.
13. A Party that publishes a notice and that files a notification in accordance with Article 2.9, 3.2, 5.6 or 7.2 of the TBT Agreement or this Chapter shall:
(a) include in the notification an explanation of the objectives of the proposal and how it would address those objectives; and
(b) transmit the notification and the proposal electronically to the other Parties through their enquiry points established in accordance with Article 10 of the TBT Agreement, at the same time as it notifies WTO Members.
14. Each Party shall normally allow 60 days from the date it transmits a proposal under paragraph 13 for another Party or an interested person of another Party to provide comments in writing on the proposal. A Party shall consider any reasonable request from another Party or an interested person of another Party to extend the comment period. A Party that is able to extend a time limit beyond 60 days, for example 90 days, is encouraged to do so.