Overview of the Permanent Committee Pursuant to Council of Ministers Decision No. (143) dated 09/02/1446H, a Permanent Committee on TBT has been established under the chairmanship of SASO, with membership comprising representatives of government entities and two representatives from the private sector appointed by the Minister of Commerce, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SASO, based on nomination by the Federation of Saudi Chambers. Scope of Work of the Permanent Committee: The scope of work of this Committee includes monitoring the implementation of the Kingdom's obligations under the TBT Agreement and ensuring the alignment of technical regulations and standards with the requirements of the Agreement. It further includes coordinating the Kingdom's positions in the formal meetings of the TBT Committee at WTO, supporting the private sector through awareness and capacity-building, and contributing to the development of related policies aimed at facilitating trade and ensuring product safety. Members of the Permanent Committee The Permanent Committee is chaired by Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), and includes representatives from: - Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources - Ministry of Investment - Ministry of Economy and Planning - General Authority for Foreign Trade - Saudi Food and Drug Authority - Saudi Export Development Authority - Communications, Space and Technology Commission - Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority - National Competitiveness Center - Two (2) representatives from the private sector, appointed by the Minister of Commerce, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), based on nomination from the Federation of Saudi Chambers
Tasks of the Permanent Committee: 1. To unify the Kingdom's position regarding the activities and work under the TBT Agreement. 2. To prepare for and address trade concerns raised by WTO Members in light of the TBT Agreement. 3. To enable the private sector in the Kingdom to review technical regulations, mandatory standards, and conformity assessment procedures notified by WTO Members, in a manner that enables the preparation of comments on technical requirements in coordination with the Saudi Export Development Authority and the relevant entities and committees. 4. To recommend to the General Authority for Foreign Trade the submission of trade concerns by the Kingdom to WTO Members, when necessary. 5. To provide technical opinions in response to inquiries received from WTO Members during bilateral meetings regarding Saudi technical regulations and mandatory standards in light of the TBT Agreement, and respond to such Members in order to avoid the raising of trade concerns against the Kingdom in this regard. 6. To participate in the periodic meetings of the TBT Committee and to review the documents and procedures issued by the Committee. · To submit Comments in Response to Notifications on Technical Regulations, Mandatory Standards and Conformity Assessment Procedures Issued by WTO Members pursuant to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement: · In accordance with the obligations stipulated under this Agreement, each WTO Member designates a national Enquiry Point authorized to receive comments and official communications from other national Enquiry Points, which are not part of WTO or its Secretariat. For the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the TBT Enquiry Point and Notification Authority is located within Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO). · Notifications submitted by WTO Members to the TBT Committee are available through the ePing Platform ( https://www.epingalert.org/), which is maintained by WTO and enables all interested persons to monitor notifications and register to receive customized e-mail alerts. · Comments received by the Saudi TBT Enquiry Point from Saudi stakeholders are not transmitted to, nor shared with, WTO Secretariat or the WTO Members as a whole. Such comments are shared by the Saudi Enquiry Point with the Enquiry Point of the notifying WTO Member and with the relevant governmental entities within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Comments are communicated solely on a bilateral basis with the notifying WTO Member, or with WTO Members issuing regional notifications. WTO Members are not obligated to consider comments submitted outside the framework of official communication from the Saudi Enquiry Point to another WTO Member's Enquiry Point.
Objectives of Submitting Comments by National Stakeholders on Notifications of Technical Measures Issued by WTO Members · To inform the Permanent Committee of the technical challenges and barriers facing national exporters; · To assist in maintaining awareness of transparency obligations and regulation in a manner that is not more trade-restrictive than necessary; · To provide the necessary information to initiate the addressing of technical challenges within the framework of the WTO TBT Committee.
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