WTO/TBT Enquiry Point

What is the WTO/TBT Enquiry Point?

The World Trade Organization (WTO) / Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Enquiry Point supplies WTO and foreign countries with information on compulsory local standards, conformity assessment procedures and technical regulations related to products under the scope of the TBT Agreement. It also informs local industry and trade of similar developments in other countries.

Who is the WTO/TBT Enquiry Point for Trinidad and Tobago?

Article 10.1 of the WTO TBT Agreement requires that each member country establish an Enquiry Point. The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago designated the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) as the National Enquiry Point in 1996 by Cabinet Minute No. 553.

How does it operate?

The TTBS Enquiry Point supplies the WTO with notifications of proposed local measures (technical regulations, standards and/or conformity assessment procedures) that may have a significant effect on trade for dissemination to its member countries. WTO member countries are allowed a minimum of sixty (60) days to comment on a proposed measure. The Enquiry Point also receives notifications from other WTO member countries and interested stakeholders are afforded the opportunity to submit their comments via the Enquiry Point. The Enquiry Point provides upon request particulars or copies of the proposed technical regulations (See Article 2.9.3 of the TBT Agreement).

What We Do

1. Disseminate notifications to and from the WTO to local stakeholders;
2. Provision of comments received on domestic and foreign measures to the appropriate regulatory agency for consideration;
3. Access to strategic information essential to the design, manufacture, marketing, export and import of products and services;
4. Respond to technical enquiries on a variety of topics including: Trinidad and Tobago local standards and technical regulations, CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) standards, international standards and conformity assessment procedures and TBT and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures; and
5. Access to standards and regulatory information via the TTBS Standards Information Centre.

How to Submit Comments

Comments can be emailed, faxed, or mailed to the contact information below:

Enquiry Point
Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards
1-2 Century Drive
Trincity Industrial Estate
Macoya, Tunapuna
Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 662-8827 ext 194 or (868) 662-3132 ext 2531
Fax: (868) 663-4335

Email: enquiry.point@ttbs.org.tt or ttbs@ttbs.org.tt

Additional Resources

Export Notification – ePing

Standards For Public Comment

Standards Work Programme

Trinidad and Tobago Standards Database

List of Compulsory Trinidad and Tobago Standards

Standards Information Centre

WTO Agreement Series — Technical Barriers to Trade

TBT Agreement

Reducing Trade Friction from Standards and Regulations

Implementation and Administration of the WTO Agreement on the Technical Barriers to Trade