The difference between Information Centre and
Notification Authority in TBT and SPS Agreements
In both the TBT and SPS Agreements provision is made for the
establishment of both ICs and Notification Authorities. ICs
respond to questions and Notification Authorities notify proposed
measures. Under the TBT and SPS Agreements specific mention is made
that the Notification Authority must be a single central government
authority. In practice, on the SPS side there has been a tendency
for the Notification Authority to also retain the role of IC. This
tendency is not as strong in the TBT area, with many governments
choosing to delegate their IC functions to one or more
specialist agencies.
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