Asia-Pacific Standards Related Activities
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SSD works with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and with other U.S.
Government Agencies to establish positions on standards, technical regulations
and conformity assessment related issues in discussions and negotiations pertaining
to Asian member economies. The following links provide more information on Asia-Pacific
activities.
- Participation in Asia-Pacific Fora
- ANSI Regional Standing Committee on Asia-Pacific
- Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements and Dialogues
- Information on Specialist Regional Bodies
- Workshops
- APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity
Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment
- Standards Expert
- Publications
- Country Links, Information and Background
- Other Links
Participation in Asia-Pacific Fora
Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC)
SSD staff participate as members of the U.S. delegation to APEC SCSC meetings.
The goal of APEC's 21 member economies is to advance Asia-Pacific economic dynamism
and sense of community. The objectives of the SCSC are to: encourage alignment
of members’ standards with international standards; achieverecognition
among APEC economies of conformity assessment in regulated and voluntary sectors;
promote cooperation for technical infrastructure development; and ensure the
transparency of the standards and conformity assessments of APEC economies.
Click below to access selected information from the SCSC work program:
American
National Standards Institute
(ANSI)
Regional Standing Committee for the Asia-Pacific (RSC-AP)
The ANSI RSC for the Asia Pacific is one of three ANSI Regional Standing
Committees. The other two RSCs cover Europe and the Americas. These committees
have been established to provide input from the ANSI perspective to regional
activities in the areas of standardization and conformity assessment.
They also provide a framework for raising standards-related problems.
NIST participates in the regional standing committee as a member of ANSI.
Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements and Dialogues
Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN)
ASEAN Consultative
Committee on Standards and Quality (ACCSQ). The Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) is composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The standards and conformance forum within ASEAN is called the ACCSQ. The
principle objectives of the ACCSQ are to reduce technical barriers to trade
between countries in the region and to harmonize standards and conformance
procedures. The U.S. Department of Commerce maintains a dialogue with the
ACCSQ. Activities carried out under the Dialogue are listed below:
- Memorandum of Cooperation between the U.S. Department of Commerce and
the ASEAN Secretariat
- Standards in Trade Workshop for Southeast Asia
Memorandum
of Understanding between the National Institute of Standards and Technology
and the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards
MOU between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Ministry of State
for Research and Technology, Indonesia
Information on Specialist Regional Bodies
The Asia-Pacific
Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC)
APLAC groups organisations in the Asia Pacific region responsible for accrediting
testing and inspection facilities. Members are nationally recognized accreditation
bodies and are usually owned or endorsed by government. NIST/OSS currently
participates in APLAC through the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation
Program (NVLAP). NVLAP is a signatory to the APLAC multilateral Mutual Recognition
Arrangement (MRA). Under the MRA, each organisation recognises the equivalence
of accreditations performed by its overseas counterparts, and promotes the
equivalence of such accreditations within its own economy.
Asia-Pacific Legal Metrology
Forum (APLMF)
The principle objectives of the Forum are:
- To develop and maintain mutual confidence between legal metrology authorities
in the Asia-Pacific region;
- To identify and promote the removal of technical and administrative
barriers to trade in the field of legal metrology;
- To promote mutual recognition arrangements between members and with
other regional groups and individual nations;
- To cooperate with the International Organisation of Legal Metrology
(OIML) and promote the use and acceptance of OIML International Recommendations
and the OIML Certification Scheme.
NIST/SSD currently participates in APLMF through the Technical Standards Activities
Program (TSAP).
The Asia-Pacific
Metrology Programme (APMP)
The objectives of APMP are:
- to provide mutual exchange of information, training and advice on measurement
standards and capabilities;
- to provide training, advice and consultancy on the development and establishment
of new standards and calibration facilities;
- to provide traceability of measurement throughout the region through
calibration of measurement standards;
- to develop objective technical evidence of measurement traceability
and competence as a basis for multilateral recognition;
The United States currently has observer status within the APMP.
The Pacific Accreditation
Cooperation (PAC)
PAC is an association of accreditation bodies and other interested parties
whose objective is to facilitate trade and commerce among economies in the
Asia Pacific region. Its ultimate objective is the creation of a global
system that grants international recognition of certification or registration
of management systems, products, services, personnel and other programmes
of conformity assessment. The PAC promotes the international acceptance
of accreditations granted by its accreditation body members, based on the
equivalence of their accreditation programmes. The PAC operates within the
framework of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and in cooperation
with other regional groups of accreditation bodies around the world.
The United States does not currently participate in PAC.
Pacific Area Standards
Congress (PASC)
PASC serves as a forum for countries on the Pacific Rim to strengthen international
standardization programmes of the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and to improve
the ability of Pacific Rim standards organizations to participate in these
programmes effectively.
NIST/OSS participates in PASC through the
American
National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Workshops
- Standards in Trade Workshop: Pressure Equipment, Piping, Cranes
and Elevators in Chine (with ASME) - Gaithersburg, MD, 2003
- Training in Building/Construction Product
Evaluation and Certification System, April 2-3, 2002, Brunei Darussalam
- Standards in Trade Workshop: Electrical
Safety Systems in the Asia-Pacific Region, March 18-22, 2002
- Summary and Presentations from Standards in Trade:
Building and Construction Workshop July 19-21, 2000, Hanoi, Vietnam
- U.S. - China Automotive Standards Workshop,
March 1-3, 2000
- U.S. - China Standards in Trade Workshop (Building
and Construction focus) September 27 - October 8, 1999
- Summary Report on the First U.S.-China Standards,
Testing and Certification Workshop
- Second U.S.-China Standards, Testing
and Certification Workshop
- Standards in Trade Workshop for Southeast Asia
APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity Assessment
of Telecommunications Equipment
Standards Experts
There is currently one standards expert located in Asia. This expert is a
NIST Standards Representative in India who has an office in the National Physical
Laboratory in New Delhi. Standards Representatives serve as in-country experts
and liaison for all standards-related matters, handling a wide variety of
issues. They effectively contribute to U.S. businesses in their attempts to
penetrate markets.
The standards experts monitor standards and conformity assessment activities
in the region, including participation in the planning and/or conducting
of events by regional bodies. They also notify government, standards-developing
organizations, trade associations, and industry technical experts of countries
about discussions of standards and related issues in order to promote acceptance
of U.S. positions and product certifications and to harmonize standards
and procedures. The experts support the NIST Standards in Trade Workshops
by identifying candidates, identifying issues, and providing technical and
logistical support. They analyze standards-related issues to support government
and industry trade associations and provide U.S. standards information to
the government and private standards organizations of Asian countries in
order to promote the harmonization of standards and conformity assessment
practices in the United States.
Related Links:
Publications
Country Links, Information and Background
Central
Intelligence Agency's The World Fact Book
Other Links
Asian Development Bank
U.S. Trade and Development
Agency's (TDA) Asia-Pacific
World Bank Group -
East Asia and Pacific
U.S. Agency for International
Development - Asia and the Near East
International Trade Administration
For further information on these activities, please contact:
Global Standards and Information Group
NIST
100 Bureau Drive, MS 2100
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2100
E-mail: gsig@nist.gov
Tel: 301-975-6094
FAX: 301-963-2871
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