Technical Barriers to Trade relate to legal requirements that countries or intergovernmental governments (e.g., the European Commission) impose to ensure product safety, environmental protection, adequate information to consumers, or to protect national security. Generally perceived as a form of restrictions to international trade, they cover all traded goods, and can be broadly classified into two categories, technical regulations and standards. The former (technical regulations) constitute compulsory requirements and encompass aspects of a product such as size, weight, packaging, mandatory labelling, ingredients, allergens and/or health and safety information, etc. The latter (standards) relate to approved guidelines for common use and rules or characteristics for products or production processes and methods (such as those of the UK Food Standards Agency), compliance with which is nevertheless voluntary (not mandatory).

The process by which relevant authorities establish whether relevant requirements are complied with, is known as 'conformity assessment'. All World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries are required to uphold the principles and obligations of the multilateral Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (also known as the 'TBT Agreement', see https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/tbt_e.htm), which aims to: i) prevent the multiplication of unnecessary technical barriers to trade; ii) prevent the establishment of protectionist measures; iii) encourage global harmonization of both technical requirements and recognition of compliance assessment certifications; iv) increase transparency.

Technical barriers to trade are technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures that, because they vary from country to country, can increase the costs associated with trade and reduce the potential gains from commercial transactions between importers and exporters.

Through the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, WTO members have committed to ensuring that technical regulations are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to creating unnecessary barriers to international trade.

In order to discourage countries from adopting measures that create unnecessary obstacles to trade, the WTO provides the ePing tool, which allows receiving notifications based on specific criteria. In this way, WTO members have assumed the obligation to notify all regulations and draft regulations that have an impact on trade, so that other members can be aware of them and, where appropriate, request clarification from the country that issued the regulations.

https://www.epingalert.org/

Technical barriers to trade are regulations, standards, testing, and certification requirements imposed by countries to protect health, safety, or the environment, but they often act as non-tariff barriers by complicating imports and exports, limiting market access, and increasing compliance costs.