ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and the technical barriers to trade (TBT) regime in the multilateral trading system discusses the efforts taken in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to address these concerns to ensure free movement of goods by reducing the cost of trade associated with non-tariff measures (NTM). The continued growth in the notification of technical regulations to World Trade Organisation (WTO) clearly indicates that the SPS and TBT measures are going to be important elements of international trade, especially since the tariffs are being lowered due to WTO and regional trade agreement (RTA) reforms. Like SPS, the TBT Agreement also prescribes that countries use international standards as a basis of their technical regulation through participation in the work of the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) and other international standardising organizations.
