A key provision of the agreement is that WTO members have
a central point of inquiry from which firms can ask for information on standards and regulations.
U.S. FTAs, including the U.S.-South Korea FTA (KORUS), expanded on the TBT agreement by,
among other things, providing opportunities for partner countries to comment on proposed
standards and regulations and the implementation of regulations. TPP negotiators are seeking to
build on the KORUS FTA as a model in developing TBT provisions and are including annexes on
sector-specific TBT commitment to harmonize their approaches to regulations in key areas.