By Dr. Suman Kumar Regmi

The WTO (World Trade Organization) has adopted disciplines on standards and regulations. WTO does not view these disciplines as creating unnecessary trade barriers as long as they are based on internationally agreed standards. Regulations and standards are different in terms of compliance. While regulations refer to a set of rules and norms where compliance is mandatory; standards refer to guidelines that are not mandatory. Two WTO agreements govern the TBT and the SPS agreement.

The TBT agreement aims to technical regulations and standards, including packaging, marketing, and labeling requirements, do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade. The agreement covers all industrial and agricultural products. Its implication is applied to product and process standards to produce quality products. The TBT provisions provide for conformity assessment required for all regulations and standards. The conformity assessment can take the form of testing of products, certification of products after inspection, assessment of quality management system, and accreditation procedures.

Technical regulations to be followed in the areas of machinery and equipment include boilers, electric construction and assembly tools, metal and wood carving equipment, medical equipment, and food-processing equipment. Consumer areas articles to be followed for technical regulations are pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, synthetic detergents, video and TV sets, cinematographic and photographic equipment, automobiles and toys. Technical regulations apply in the areas of raw materials and agricultural inputs including fertilizers, insecticides, and hazardous chemicals.

Countries should apply technical regulations and standards without discrimination, i.e. MFN and national treatment. Another basic principle of the TBT agreement is scientific-based standards and regulations with technical information. Standards are not applied to create unnecessary obstacles to international trade. Countries use ISO, IEC, ITU, and Codex standards as international standards.

Given the circumstances associated with product testing and inspection from the exporters’ point of view, the agreement encourages to acceptance of conformity assessment tests carried out in exporting countries. The agreement also requires countries to accept and comply with the code of good practice for the preparation, adoption and application of standards. Transparency is another requirement under the agreement. Each member country has to set up a national enquiry point which would respond to all inquiries about its technical regulations and standards.

Nepal Standards Certification Act and Standards, Weights and Measures Act are legal instruments to govern Nepal’s standards.  The authority to determine standards for any goods, processes, or services lies with the Nepal Council of Standards (NCS). A Technical Committee under NCS sets standards based on internationally recognized parameters and national requirements. If there are no international standards, the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) elaborates on the national standards. NBSM, a government agency under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, prepares drafts of proposed standards or technical regulations to submit them to the Technical Committee. NBSM is responsible for all standards except for health and food products. During the WTO accession negotiations, Nepal had offered to introduce legislative and institutional measures till the end of 2006. But these did not happen till 2024.  

The major objective of the WTO SPS agreement is to minimize the negative effects of SPS measures on international trade. Such measures for protection include human or animal life from food-borne risks, human health from animal or plant-carried diseases, and animals and plants from pests and diseases. Products that are often related to SPS measures include fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juices and other fruit preparations, meat and meat products, dairy products, and processed food products. International SPS standards are developed by international organizations like Office International des Epizootic (OIE), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and the Codex Commission.

Unlike, the TBT Agreement, the SPS agreement allows countries to deviate from the MFN principle in the sense that SPS measures may be applied to imports depending on the prevalence level of specific diseases or pests. Exporting countries are obliged to provide reasonable access to testing and other procedures for inspection. The TBT Agreement and the SPS Agreement recognize the difficulties of developing countries in complying with its provisions.

The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) and the concerned Ministry, are responsible for the preparation, adoption and application of SPS measures in Nepal. The export and import of plant and plant materials such as seeds, saplings, and seedlings are subject to phytosanitary measures at the border checkpoints. These measures are based on the Plant Protection Act, Plant Protection Rules, and Seed Act. The Contagious or Infectious Diseases Act authorizes the government to intercept any person, animal, animal products, and feeds suspected of carrying infectious diseases or agents at entry points. In order to govern animal quarantine, the Animal Health and Livestock Services Act was enacted and enforced in 2000. Some of these Acts have been enacted new and some have been renewed. Minimum standards or specifications have been fixed for certain categories of agricultural products, food products-processed and unprocessed and animal feeds under the Food Act, Food Riles, and Animal Concentrates Act.

The export and import of such products must comply with the fixed standards. The Pesticides Act 1991 and Pesticides Rules 1994 regulate the export and import of pesticides. Production, import, export, storage, supply, sales, distribution, quality assessment, regulatory control and rational use of drugs are regulated through Drug Policy, Drug Act, Drugs Registration Regulation, and Drugs Examination, Inspection, and Regulation. Nepal adheres to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) as well as the Plant Protection Agreement for the Asia and Pacific Region. Nepal is a member of the OIE, Codex Alimentarius and the Asia Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC). Nepal has yet to ratify (IPPPC).

Like the TBT agreement, Nepal had agreed to implement the SPS agreement till the end of 2006. Some Acts and infrastructure have to be completed but these have not been even completed in 2024 AD.

Many developed countries have adopted SPS measures on the import of primary and processed agricultural products. Such measures include BSE-related measures, pest risk assessment requirements, pet food import requirements, food safety regulations on agricultural products that have used modern biotechnology, zero tolerance for e-coli, pesticides and antibiotic limits on honey, and foot and mouth diseases control measures on dairy products.

Nepal’s export basket in this sector among others includes medicinal herbs, ginger, brooms, rosin, cardamom, cattle fodder, biscuits, noodles, vegetable ghee, raw jute, pulses, catechu, turmeric, tea, and other types of tea, sugar, spices, uncooked pasta, edible preparation of animal or vegetable fats, wheat, plants, and beer and others. Given the country’s circumstances to meet international standards, these products could be denied market access in developed countries’ markets. The Nepal Accreditation Board and Accreditation Act have not been able to cope with all technical matters. This was initiated since 20-30 years ago.

The writer is the former Deputy Executive   Director of the Trade and  Export Promotion Centre.