The problem in context

When the Malaysian Standards Industrial Research Institute Malaysia (SIRIM), an organization designated as a national enquiry point for technical barriers to trade (TBT) in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), informed local manufacturers that the Ministry of Social Welfare of Colombia had proposed a new requirement for the labelling of natural latex condoms, a local company voiced its objection against such a requirement. The Draft Decree from the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (CTBT), received by the WTO on 15 May 2003, stated that ‘each condom in the individual container shall bear at least the following information: manufacturer, trade name, sanitary register number, expiry date, batch number, the number of condoms contained, instructions for use of the condom, the statement that the condom is made of natural rubber latex that can cause irritation, instructions for the storage: “Store the condom in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight”’. The proposed regulation was to take effect from 15 August 2003.

Alarmed, Tharampal Singh, senior director (operations) of Medical-Latex (DUA) SDN BHD (ML), a Malaysian condom manufacturer, called Salmah Mohd Nordin, a SIRIM officer, to express his dissatisfaction with the new requirements. ML has been producing condoms for export since 1987, exporting 80 million condoms a year to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador; ML is in fact the biggest supplier in Latin America. Losing ground in these markets would adversely affect ML's profitability.

As far as Tharampal is concerned, the new requirements did not make sense.