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Guidance for Submitting WTO TBT Notification Comments
The following guidance is provided by NIST to assist U.S. industry in the preparation of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures made under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers ot Trade (TBT). Please note that any comments submitted to NIST will be made pubicly available.
This guidance provides suggestions for consideration only; it does not constitute requirements for submissions. In general, comments submitted by U.S. industry do not have to be in any particular format. We suggest including the following elements. Please note that all comments submitted must be received before the closing date for comments as stated on the notification.
What to Submit
1. Comments Submitted By:
Your Name
Company Name
Contact Name at Company Name
Date Submitted
Notification commented on (WTO identification number and title)
2. Issue Statement:
The reason you are submitting comments should be stated clearly and concisely (e.g., the proposed technical regulation does not reference an existing international standard that would accomplish the same purpose as the proposed regulation). We recommend you focus your issue statement on technical aspects of the proposed regulation or regulations with which you may have concerns.
3. Supporting Rationale Statement:
You should provide rationale to support your issue statement. We recommend you focus your supporting rationale statement on technical aspects of the proposed regulation or regulations with which you may have concerns.
If your company will not be able to comply with the proposed regulation or conformity assessment procedure by the proposed date of entry into force, it would be helpful to suggest a date by which your company will be able to comply.
How to Submit Comments
Comments can be emailed, faxed, or mailed to the Inquiry Point:
Email: NotifyUs@nist.gov
Fax: 301.926.1559
Phone: 301.975.4040
(or) by mail:
National Institute of Standards and Technology
ATTN: U.S. WTO TBT Inquiry Point
100 Bureau Drive, MS-2100
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2100
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