Greater access to international markets is universally accepted as the solution for many of Africa’s problems. Such increased access would theoretically allow African countries the opportunity to develop strong economies. Sustainable growth through trade would then replace the current common dependence on aid and enable African citizens to enjoy a fuller share of the myriad benefits of globalisation. The gradual global reduction in historic methods to protect markets aspects, such as tariffs, is bringing technical requirements to the fore. These requirements often become Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) between Africa and its trading partners. Simultaneously, there are continuous global demands for greater access to African markets. Such demands occur even as ever more stringent technical requirements for granting reciprocal access in developed markets are set. Such technical access requirements are insidiously becoming an increasingly important part of the African trading landscape. African governments increasingly need therefore to ensure that domestic industry and agriculture have appropriate and affordable access to appropriate technical support infrastructure. The current African approaches to such generally unexpected technical challenges from elsewhere, are mostly reactive donor–driven projects managed as crises. In order to address such issues proactively, a vital first step is the formulation of a mutually supportive set of national, or preferably regional, polices and associated strategies to synergistically address African issues of trade, industrialisation, agriculture and the environment. The prevalent silo approach that exists both within and among African countries in these increasingly interlinking areas unfortunately simply exacerbates an already desperate situation. The predominant focus of NEPAD presently revolves around demonstrating appropriate governance. Rather than continuing to be victims of globalisation, African states working cooperatively through NEPAD have an opportunity to redress their past difficulties. In the area of African Standards, Quality assurance, Accreditation and Metrology (SQAM) capacitation, NEPAD has an important leadership role to play. It could provide a foundation through which solutions in SQAM be cooperatively sought and addressed. Aspects relating to proving compliance to the aforementioned agricultural, industrial and environmental policies need immediate attention. An African, public administration led approach to building SQAM technical capacity would then be possible. Complying with the various and technically challenging regulatory requirements of foreign markets cannot continue be the sole thrust of Africa’s trade facilitation efforts. Implementing foreign technical solutions that make sense in a limited and different context will not deliver large scale benefits for Africa. NEPAD fostered partnerships based on mutually beneficial and optimal solutions are preferable. Such a proposed role for NEPAD includes the creation of sound theoretical public administration underpinning and successful operational facilitation for African public administrators working in concert on mutually beneficial technical SQAM support strategies. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / Unrestricted

Standards are necessary for an efficient functioning of the market and their regulation is an increasingly important area of law. Such is their importance that today it is possible to find thousands of standards developed by international standardising bodies, governmental agencies and even private companies in products that range from SIM cards and medical devices, to the pasteurisation of milk and computer protocols. Reasons that justify their widespread use are not difficult to ascertain: they play, for example, an important role in the achievement of economies of scale in manufacturing and in the attainment of compatibility of products and processes. However, together with these positive effects, standards can also have discriminatory consequences for trading partners, especially in cases in which they are badly designed and applied (for example, when they are introduced with the real purpose of creating an artificial comparative advantage for domestic producers). Given the existence of these ambivalent effects, three different policy tools have been developed within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) legal regime, aimed at maximising the benefits derived from the use of standards: harmonisation, equivalence and mutual recognition. The present thesis investigates the way in which both the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreements regulate these three instruments, and also, the potential shortcomings of the system from a trade law perspective. For that purpose, it studies relevant legal provisions of both Agreements, WTO jurisprudence and guidelines issued by international standardising bodies, among other topics.

This thesis examines the impacts and implications of post-1995 linkages between the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the World Trade Organization. Chapters 1 and 2 provide data on the structures, functions, and procedures of the Codex Commission and the WTO and analyze their institutional approaches to risk, danger, risk management and the precautionary principle. Chapter 3 evaluates three impacts of post-1995 linkages between these institutions (the politicization of the Codex Commission, deadlock in the Codex standard elaboration process, and dispute in the WTO) as well as three implications of that linkage (risk v. danger assessment and management, changed interpretations of "science," and changed interpretations of "consensus"). Finally, Chapter 4 applies these impacts and implications to food safety cases. This chapter establishes a framework for understanding issues of food safety, Codex standard elaboration, and WTO dispute settlements in terms of scientific and political consensus and debate. This thesis argues, first, that the post-1995 linkage between the Codex Commission and the WTO changed Codex member state expectations and behaviors relative to standard elaboration procedures and that these changed expectations impacted both member state governments and the WTO. It further demonstrates that the extent of the Codex Commission's ability to elaborate universal standards and the WTO's responsibility for dispute settlement can be explained in terms of scientific and political dispute and consensus. Finally, it illustrates that risk and danger are different concepts, require different food safety approaches, and generate different institutional and national reactions. This analysis addresses existing critiques of the Codex Commission, the WTO, and their post-1995 linkages, examines the potential of both institutions to simultaneously pursue consumer safety and open trade objectives, and points to avenues for future research. / Master of Arts

<p><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left">This study examines the legal and policy objectives of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) with specific reference to international standards and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The study sets out the history and development of the TBT Agreement and the relationship between the TBT Agreement and selected WTO Agreements. The study also explores the application and interpretation of the TBT Agreement under the WTO dispute settlement system. More importantly, the study addresses the legal, policy and practical implications of the TBT Agreement for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa. A central argument put forward in this study is that, albeit international standards have been recognised as an important tool for LDCs in Africa to gain access to foreign markets, there is no significant &lsquo / political will&rsquo / and commitment from the key players in standardisation work, that is, the national governments, the private sector and the ISO. At the same time, some developed and developing countries tend to use their influence and involvement in the activities of the ISO as a means of promoting the use and adoption of their homegrown standards. The study proposes, among others, that a more participatory approach which encompasses representatives from consumer groups, the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from these LDCs in Africa, should be adopted.</p> </font></p>

<p><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left">This study examines the legal and policy objectives of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) with specific reference to international standards and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The study sets out the history and development of the TBT Agreement and the relationship between the TBT Agreement and selected WTO Agreements. The study also explores the application and interpretation of the TBT Agreement under the WTO dispute settlement system. More importantly, the study addresses the legal, policy and practical implications of the TBT Agreement for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa. A central argument put forward in this study is that, albeit international standards have been recognised as an important tool for LDCs in Africa to gain access to foreign markets, there is no significant &lsquo / political will&rsquo / and commitment from the key players in standardisation work, that is, the national governments, the private sector and the ISO. At the same time, some developed and developing countries tend to use their influence and involvement in the activities of the ISO as a means of promoting the use and adoption of their homegrown standards. The study proposes, among others, that a more participatory approach which encompasses representatives from consumer groups, the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from these LDCs in Africa, should be adopted.</p> </font></p>

產品標準在現今社會中扮演非常重要的角色，但也容易造成許多技術性貿易障礙。醫藥產品由於攸關人類身體的健康及安全，因此相較於其他行業，各國對藥品皆設有許多嚴格的產品標準及技術法規，對藥品的國際貿易產生嚴重的技術性貿易障礙。PIC/S制定共通的GMP標準，並且旨在降低醫藥產品在國際貿易及流通上所面臨的非關稅貿易障礙。台灣藥物食品檢驗局於2007年公告實施PIC/S GMP，預計於2013年開始全面實施。本研究關注的核心議題，主要將以WTO對技術性貿易障礙的主要規範原則，分析探討PIC/S降低醫藥產品技術性貿易障礙的功能。另外，台灣製藥業由於缺乏關鍵技術、藥廠家數眾多、生產規模小，惡性競爭十分激烈，未來實施PIC/S GMP後，對我國製藥業的衝擊不容小覷，因此本研究另一項主要議題是PIC/S GMP對我國製藥業及藥品貿易之可能影響。 / Product standards play an important role in modern societies. However, they also raise many concerns about technical barriers to trade, particularly for pharmaceutical products which must comply with numerous stringent product standards, such as GMP standards. Therefore, PIC/S aims at reducing the technical barriers to pharmaceutical trade by providing a common GMP standard, which the Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis of Taiwan declared to introduce PIC/S GMP in 2007, and to fully enforce in 2013. This study will examine how PIC/S decreases technical barriers to trade for pharmaceutical products with principals in the WTO TBT Agreement. In addition, since Taiwan pharmaceutical industry has low competitiveness for a long time, how PIC/S GMP will affect the pharmaceutical industry and international trade of Taiwan is another main issue of this study.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:22:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marina Amaral Egydio de Carvalho.pdf: 2338211 bytes, checksum: 7f8ff1b67d179ab37fbeef8b2359b658 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-17 / preferential trade agreements negotiated by South Africa, Brazil/Mercosur, China, U.S.A, India, Russia and the European Union. Such an analysis is relevant mostly because, after the creation of the WTO and of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), several preferential trade agreements were negotiated, thus, extending or creating new rules on technical barriers its signatory countries. This study suggests some conclusions on how Brazil could negotiate this subject in future preferential trade agreements. Additionally, it suggests patterns and standards that may followed in future negotiations with the abovementioned countries. One of the scope of the work was to analyze how preferential trade agreements are related to the TBT Agreement, which are the similarities between the group of agreements analyzed, which were the new topics regulated in the trade agreements when compared to the WTO, which are the preferred policies of the subject countries and how Brazil could take advantage of this empirical analysis in future negotiations. The main purpose of this work is to encourage Brazil to develop a trade policy for negotiation of this specific topic, which may be actually followed and that, unless this is the actual trade objective of the negotiation, is not translated as a mere repetition of rules already in place / Esse trabalho analisa as regras sobre barreiras técnicas ao comércio constantes nos acordos preferenciais de comércio celebrados por África do Sul, Brasil/Mercosul, China, EUA, Índia, Rússia e União Europeia. Essa analise é relevante porque, após a criação da OMC e do Acordo sobre Barreiras Técnicas (TBT), diversos acordos preferenciais foram concebidos, estendendo ou aplicando novas regras sobre barreiras técnicas aos países partes dos acordos. Esse estudo sugere ponderações sobre como o Brasil pode negociar este tema em futuros acordos preferenciais de comércio. Principalmente, sugere padrões e similitudes que poderão ser observadas em negociações com os países acima mencionados. Durante esse trabalho analisou-se como os acordos preferenciais de comércio se relacionam com o Acordo TBT, quais as semelhanças entre os grupos de acordos analisados, quais os avanços regulatórios se comparados com as políticas previstas no acordo da OMC, quais as políticas preferidas dos países objeto do trabalho e como o Brasil pode aproveitar dessa análise empírica para se beneficiar em negociações futuras. O maior propósito desse trabalho é incentivar o Brasil a conceber uma política comercial de negociação, especifica para o tema de barreiras técnicas ao comércio, que possa ser aproveitada e que não se traduza pela mera repetição de normas já vigentes, a menos que este seja o efetivo objetivo comercial proposto

Magister Legum - LLM / This study examines the legal and policy objectives of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) with specific reference to international standards and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). The study sets out the history and development of the TBT Agreement and the relationship between the TBT Agreement and selected WTO Agreements. The study also explores the application and interpretation of the TBT Agreement under the WTO dispute settlement system. More importantly, the study addresses the legal, policy and practical implications of the TBT Agreement for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa. A central argument put forward in this study is that, albeit international standards have been recognised as an important tool for LDCs in Africa to gain access to foreign markets, there is no significant ‘political will’ and commitment from the key players in standardisation work, that is, the national governments, the private sector and the ISO. At the same time, some developed and developing countries tend to use their influence and involvement in the activities of the ISO as a means of promoting the use and adoption of their homegrown standards. The study proposes, among others, that a more participatory approach which encompasses representatives from consumer groups, the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from these LDCs in Africa, should be adopted

La doctrine du libre-échange a favorisé la création d’un cadre multilatéral en 1947 avec l’accord général sur les tarifs douaniers et le commerce (GATT) puis avec l’Organisation Mondiale du Commerce (OMC) en 1995. Les négociations commerciales multilatérales sous l’égide du GATT puis de l’OMC, aboutissent à une réduction considérable des droits de douane au niveau mondial. Or, devant la diminution progressive des droits de douane, un fort accroissement des barrières dites non tarifaires (BNT) apparaît.En effet, l’expansion du commerce international et l’extension des règles commerciales multilatérales à de nouveaux domaines, autrefois protégés, tels que l’agriculture, les services et la propriété intellectuelle ont amené beaucoup de pays à faire un usage plus intensif, voire « abusif » des barrières non tarifaires, une issue pour contourner la règle « libre-échangiste ».Ces barrières non tarifaires viennent ainsi compléter, voire remplacer les droits de douane et peuvent réduire, voire annuler la valeur des consolidations tarifaires. De plus, les BNT sont deux fois plus restrictives que les droits de douane, CNUCED, (2005) et elles limitent nettement plus l’accès aux marchés que les droits tarifaires, CNUCED, (2012). Egalement, les BNT peuvent prendre différentes formes, elles n’ont pas le même degré de restrictivité et ne s’appliquent pas de la même méthode. Elles varient en fonction des pays et des produits et correspondent à différents objectifs.La présente thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre des travaux de quantification des barrières non tarifaires et vise l’évaluation du degré de restrictivité des BNT tarifaires appliquées sur les importations des pays sud-méditerranéens (MED) en provenance des pays de l’Union Européenne (UE) dans le cadre de l’intégration euro-méditerranéenne. Ce travail de recherche introduit deux modèles économétriques : le premier modèle est une équation d’ « importations », il évalue l’ampleur des barrières non tarifaires appliquées sur les importations (corrigées des tarifs) des pays MED en provenance du partenaire UE et ceci à travers le calcul des équivalents tarifaires ad-valorem. Le second modèle est une équation gravitationnelle, il estime le rôle des BNT et les coûts de commerce dans les échanges UE-MED pour aboutir à une analyse plus fine de l’impact des BNT et d’autres barrières à l’échange à savoir : les droits de douane ; les coûts de transport ; la performance logistique ; les facteurs de la proximité culturelle et les facteurs institutionnels sur le commerce euro-méditerranéen. / The doctrine of free trade has promoted the creation of a multilateral framework in 1947 with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and then with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. Multilateral trade negotiations under the GATT and the WTO have resulted in a considerable reduction of tariffs worldwide. However, before the gradual reduction of tariffs, a strong increase in non-tariff barriers (NTBs) appeared.Indeed, the expansion of international trade and the expansion of multilateral trade rules to new areas previously protected, such as agriculture, services and intellectual property have led many countries to make more intensive use of non-tariff barriers, a way to overcome the " free-market " rule.These non-tariff barriers thus complement or replace tariffs and may reduce or cancel the value of tariff bindings. In addition, NTBs are twice as restrictive tariffs and imply a much more limited market access than tariffs. In addition, NTBs can take different forms, they do not have the same degree of restrictiveness and do not apply the same method. They vary across countries and products, and correspond to different objectives.This thesis aims to quantify non-tariff barriers and to assess their degree of restrictiveness on imports of Southern Mediterranean countries (MED) from the European Union (EU) in the framework of the Euro- Mediterranean integration. This research introduces two econometric models: the first model is an equation of "imports". It assesses the magnitude of non-tariff barriers applied by MED countries to the EU and other partners through the calculation of ad valorem tariff equivalents. The second model is a gravity equation. It considers the role of NTBs and trade costs in the EU -MED trade to achieve a more detailed analysis of the impact of NTBs and other barriers to trade, such as tariffs, transport costs, logistics performance as well as cultural proximity and institutional factors on the Euro- Mediterranean trade.

Quasi tutte le tariffe applicate al commercio internazionale sono vincolate dagli impegni sottoscritti dalle economie più avanzate ed ulteriori misure, volte ad aumentare il livello di protezione, non dovrebbero poter essere, di norma, utilizzate. Tuttavia, l’introduzione di un crescente numero di barriere non tariffarie (BNT) ha recentemente favorito il proliferare di dispute e conflitti commerciali fra gli Stati. Il regolamento dell’Organizzazione Mondiale del Commercio (OMC) considera legittime le motivazioni che sono alla base di alcune di queste misure non tariffarie quali quelle a tutela dell’ambiente, della salute o della sicurezza delle persone. Sebbene gli stessi regolamenti dell’OMC impongano agli Stati di addurre giustificazioni credibili per le loro misure in materia di politica commerciale, gli stessi regolamenti dovrebbero, al contempo, essere anche in grado di identificare eventuali finalità protezionistiche promosse da specifici gruppi di interesse. Barriere Tecniche al Commercio (TBT) sono uno specifico sottogruppo delle BNT il cui grado di complessità le rende spesso poco chiare sia sul piano delle ragioni che le giustificano che delle implicazioni che possono conseguire dalla loro applicazione. In questa tesi, vengono messi in luce alcuni particolari aspetti relativi alle BNT ed agli Specific Trade Concerns (STC). Nel primo capitolo, vengono analizzate le determinanti delle BNT e degli STC nel periodo 1995-2011. Nel secondo capitolo, gli effetti delle BNT e degli STC adottate dall’Europa, dagli Stati Uniti e dalla Cina sono analizzati considerando settori a 4-digit derivanti dall’Harmonized System. Nel terzo capitolo, viene proposta un analisi costi-benefici di equilibrio parziale riguardante l’impatto, in termini di benessere, dell’adozione una BNT restrittiva tesa a impedire l’afflusso di uno specifico prodotto dalle caratteristiche sgradite. Nel complesso, questa tesi pone un enfasi maggiore sulla complessità delle suddette BNT fornendo migliori intuizioni sulle loro determinanti e le loro implicazioni. / Almost all tariff lines are bound within the schedules of concessions of developed countries, and duties cannot be used to increase the level of protection. Instead, increasing number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) have given rise to disputes and trade conflicts. World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations consider certain motivations behind imposition of these instruments to be legitimate such as those related to human, environment, health, and safety issues. While regulations of the WTO oblige governments to provide justifiable reason behind their trade policy instruments, they might as well seek for the sale of their industrial protection to some special interest groups supporting them. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) are a sub-category of NTMs with complex nature whose either motivations or implications are not very clear. In this dissertation, I shed light on some aspects of NTMs with specific focus on TBT and Specific Trade Concerns (STCs). In the first chapter, I study the determining factors of TBT STCs over the period 1995-2011. In the second chapter, the trade effects of these TBT STCs maintained by the European Union, China, and the United States at 4-digit level of Harmonized System will be analysed. In the third chapter, I provide a cost-benefit analysis in a partial equilibrium framework to quantify the welfare consequences of a prohibitive NTM which is aimed at a foreign product with negative characteristics. Overall, this dissertation emphasizes more on the complexity of NTMs and it provides us with better insights on the determinants and implications of these trade policy measures.