The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has designated Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) as the Inquiry Point for Pakistan.
Globally, market access is resulting in reduction of tariffs and standards are improving as a result of continuous scientific research to ensure that imported products are sold under the same conditions as locally manufactured goods. This is of vital importance to exporting enterprises.
It is expected by WTO that a single central government authority should be designated to handle WTO matters in respect of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). It is also required by WTO that the central government take full responsibility for the compliance of all WTO agreements by the member country.
The US WTO/TBT Inquiry Point, Gaithersburg has requested the PSQCA, being the Inquiry Point for Pakistan, to forward them a copy of the full text for the recent WTO/TBT notification, PSQCA standards relating to refined mustard oil and three wheeler auto vehicles. Similarly EU International Strategy Branch has asked for copies of draft notification relating to refined sunflower oil.
The World Trade Organisation's agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade is one of the major legal agreements that advance the organisation's objective of ensuring a rules-based global trading environment. Its scope of coverage is inclusive of all industrial and agricultural products that are traded between members and thus has an impact on the industry, the trading community and consumers.
Being an agreement that is concluded at government-to-government level, the rights are exercisable through official channels and obligations fall upon governments. The government of a member country is obliged to implement policies and take measures to ensure compliance with all the provisions.
It is intended that the effective implementation of the agreement by all members will create an environment for free and open trade by the elimination of unnecessary trade barriers arising from misapplication of standards and technical regulations.
The business community reaps the benefits through removal of trade barriers and the opening of markets. For these reasons, effective communication and co-operation between businesses and national governments is an essential part of the implementation of the agreement and for exercising rights and reaping benefits.
Exporters from WTO member-countries benefit from the provision of the agreement that requires products imported from other members to be given the same treatment as given to products of national origin. As a result of transparency requirements of the agreement, exporters from a member-country benefit from an assured access to information on importing members' technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures.
The WTO agreement on TBT requires regulatory agencies to ensure that technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures are applied so as not to discriminate among imported products by origin and do not treat imported products less favourably than the domestic products; and is based on scientific and technical information, where relevant