WORLD TRADE G/TBT/Notif.97.220
29May1997
ORGANIZATION
(97-2248)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification isbeing circulated inaccordance withArticle 10.6.
1. Member toAgreement notifying: CANADA
Ifapplicable, name oflocalgovernment involved (Articles 3.2and7.2):
2. Agency responsible: Industry Canada
Agency orauthority designated tohandle comments regarding thenotification canbe
indicated ifdifferent from above:
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X],2.10.1 [],5.6.2 [],5.7.1 [],other:
4. Products covered (HSorCCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICSnumbers maybeprovided inaddition, where applicable): Non-automatic weighing
devices
5. Title, number ofpages andlanguage(s) ofthenotified document: Order Establishing
Specifications Relating toNon-Automatic Weighing Devices andOrder Regarding
Weights andMeasures Specifications (pages 1553-1574)
6. Description ofcontent: Thisinitiative concerns theadoption ofnewspecifications for
non-automatic weighing devices.
The Weights and Measures Act provides requirements formaintaining
measurement accuracy andequity incommercial transactions where measurement forms
thebasis ofthetransaction.
Theapproval oftypeandtheinspection ofeachdevice before itisusedintrade
toensure compliance torecognized standards, aremeasures acknowledged asessential to
maintaining anacceptable level ofequity andahigh degree ofconfidence among
industry andtheCanadian public. These measures arealsoconsidered essential by
Canada 'smajor trading partners.
./.G/TBT/Notif.97.220
Page2
6. Description ofcontent (cont'd)
TheWeights andMeasures Regulations andMinisterial Specifications prescribe
design, compostition, construction, performance, installation anduserequirements for
weighing andmeasuring devices. Theactual Regulations thatprescribe requirements
mainly formechanical devices were adopted in1974; additional requirements for
electronic weighing devices were adopted in1979. Many ofthese requirements, which
have notbeenupdated since, areobsolete considering current weighing andmeasuring
device technology, anddiffer significantly from standards applied byCanada 'smajor
trading partners.
Asamember oftheOrganisation internationale demétrologie légale, anda
signatory oftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade (GATT) andtheCanada-
United States FreeTrade Agreement, Canada must, tothegreatest extent possible, and
taking into account international standardization activities, make compatible its
standards-related measures andprocedures forproduct approval.
7. Objective andrationale: Reducing barriers totrade
8. Relevant documents: Canada Gazette, PartI,17May1997
9. Proposed dateofadoption:
Proposed dateofentry intoforce:1September 1997
10. Final dateforcomments: 6July1997
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X]oraddress andtelefax number ofother
body: