Global Overview of Conformity Assessment Applications Notified to the WTO

The negotiations on the Standards Codes (Technical Barriers to Trade) were initiated in the Tokyo Round (1973–1979) under the GATT; however, the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into existence as a legally binding agreement. In succinct terms, the TBT Agreement assumes a pivotal role in maintaining equilibrium between the promotion of legitimate societal objectives and disciplining measures of members notified to WTO with the intent to regulate imports. Among the trio of measures encompassed by the TBT Agreement, conformity assessment procedures (CAPs) serve as the means by which it is established whether the prerequisites, as outlined by technical regulations (TRs) or standards, have been dutifully met or flouted. CAPs have become a significant tool used skillfully by the leaders of wealthy and advanced countries. They use CAPs to restrict foreign products’ entry into their territory. Despite the widespread and fervent deployment of CAPs, the academic discourse concerning these measures remains sparse. This study endeavors to bridge this intellectual gap by analyzing the TBT notifications at the 4-digit level of the harmonized system (HS) using the online databases of the Centre for WTO Studies on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and the TBT measures. The empirical findings unveil a trend, revealing that from 1996 to 2021, the primary proponents of CAPs and TRs were predominantly the high-income and middle-income nations. Intriguingly, a discernible shift occurred post-2001 and 2008, with developing and least developed countries increasingly engaging in these measures. The chapter will endeavor to unravel the underlying rationale behind this noteworthy transition.