International Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade

This briefing summarizes legal opinions from the ISEAL Alliance and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) regarding the use of voluntary international standards in government technical regulations and their relationship to the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). It specifically examines whether non-product related Process and Production Method (npr PPM) standards, such as social and environmental standards, fall under the TBT Agreement's scope and how governments can legally reference such standards.

• There is a common assumption that the TBT Agreement does not apply to non-product related Process and Production Method (npr PPM) standards, such as social and environmental standards. If these measures are indeed outside the TBT scope, governments are not prohibited by the TBT Agreement from adopting mandatory npr PPM technical regulations or voluntary npr PPM standards, though they may still be subject to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
• If npr PPM standards are determined to be within the scope of the TBT Agreement, WTO law strongly encourages governments to use existing international standards as the basis for their own technical regulations or standards, unless those standards are an 'ineffective or inappropriate means' for achieving legitimate objectives.
• Under TBT Article 2.5, a technical regulation that aligns with relevant international standards is 'rebuttably presumed' not to create an unnecessary obstacle to international trade. This presumption strengthens the legal status of the regulation by suggesting it is not more trade-restrictive than necessary to meet a legitimate objective.
• The TBT Agreement does not provide a specific ruling on what constitutes a 'recognised body' for standard-setting. To establish recognition, an organization should demonstrate general recognition by the informed public through means such as ISO recognition, inclusion in the World Standards Services Network (WSSN), government endorsement or funding, and ensuring incorporation documents allow for the issuance of standards.
• To qualify as an 'international body or system' under TBT Annex 1, an organization's membership must be open to relevant bodies of all WTO Members. This openness may extend to non-membership-based bodies, provided interested parties from WTO Member countries can participate in developing standards.
• Based on the EC-Sardines case, a standard is considered 'relevant' if it is 'pertinent' or 'bearing upon' the matter at hand. Furthermore, the Appellate Body concluded that a standard can be relevant even if it was not adopted by consensus, as the TBT Agreement covers documents not based on consensus.

APA

Rogers, M., & Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N. (2006). International Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_Legal_OpinionTBTR053_Jul06.pdf

Chicago

Rogers, Michael, and Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder. International Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade. Center for International Environmental Law, 2006. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_Legal_OpinionTBTR053_Jul06.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rogers |first1=Michael |last2=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first2=Nathalie |title=International Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=July 2006 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_Legal_OpinionTBTR053_Jul06.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rogers2006international, author = {Rogers, Michael and Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie}, title = {{International Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2006}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ISEALCIEL_Legal_OpinionTBTR053_Jul06.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }