This chapter provides a unique account of the content of discussions in SPS and TBT Committees. Based on an in-depth analysis of Committee meeting minutes over 5 years (2010–2014), it looks into the demand side of information, i.e. in the information sought by WTO Members raising a concern in the SPS and TBT Committees and their purpose in raising such concerns. It finds that Members active in the STC discussions are either after further information or clarification of a measure, they intend to influence draft regulations through inputs to other Members’ regulatory process, or they try to address a problem they face in the implementation of the measure. STCs therefore allow WTO Members to engage in technical dialogue about domestic regulations, against the backdrop of the SPS and TBT Agreements, without there being a legal stake in the discussion. In other words, transparency can be seen as shaping the behaviour of WTO Members without there being new agreements or enforcement.

This part presents the uses made by WTO Members of the SPS and TBT Transparency tools, to demonstrate that transparency can – and does – substitute the dispute settlement procedure. To do so, it gives an overview of both the ‘supply side’ of information, i.e. the volume of information that is shared by WTO Members, and the ‘demand side’ of information, i.e. the information sought by WTO Members that raise concerns about other WTO Members’ measures. The part shows that despite active sharing of information about domestic measures by WTO Members, there is still much higher demand than supply of information. The possibility to raise Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) in SPS and TBT Committees allows to bridge this gap and obtain information, contributes to Members regulatory process and addresses practical impediments to trade. As a result, STCs play an important role in addressing trade conflicts and preventing them from being raised as formal disputes.