Barriers to Trade

Technical Barriers to Trade (also referred to as Standards) and the GATT Policy Negotiations

In relation to the GATT Policy Negotiations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following explanation and/or definition of Technical Barriers to Trade (also referred to as Standards): Government-established specifications of product characteristics –such as levels of quality or purity, performance, safety, environmental impact, or physical dimensions –that must be met in order to receive permission to import the product. The specifications may cover testing and test methods, terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements. Standards normally reflect policy criteria not purposely established to impede imports, but some standards systems clearly function as disguised trade barriers. See Standards. Code and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.