A mapping of regional rules on technical barriers to trade

The progressive elimination of tariff barriers has shifted the attention to other forms of barriers to trade. In particular, the recent debate on market access issues highlighted technical barriers to trade (TBTs). These consist of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Standards and technical regulations specify the technical characteristics of a product or the conditions under which it is made. Product standards define the requirements of the characteristics of products (such as the level of safety of an electronic device), while production standards are the conditions under which a product must be made (such as the requirement of limited gas emissions). Conformity assessment procedures define the testing procedures necessary to assess the conformity of products to the norms.