PROVISIONS ON STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT IN TRADE AND INTEGRATION ARRANGEMENTS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES - TRADE UNIT

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 2000)

This compendium on Provisions on Standards and Conformity Assessment in Trade and Integration Arrangements of the Western Hemisphere was prepared by the Trade Unit of the OAS for the FTAA Working Group on Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade. It sets out in a comparable format information on provisions relating to standards contained in six subregional trade arrangements and in nine free trade agreements. The provisions of these trade and integration arrangements are examined with respect to those on standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures set out in the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. Additionally, the compendium contains information on the administrative structures of the various standards committees and bodies set up under the integration arrangements, and on their recent activities. It complements an earlier publication by the OAS Trade Unit entitled National Practices on Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment in the Western Hemisphere (May 1997). Both documents are important not only for the information they contain but also because they represent steps towards bringing about greater transparency in a highly complex but critical area to the realization of trade promotion and liberalization in the Western Hemisphere. As such, they complement the work at the multilateral level within the World Trade Organization through its Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade. The compendium also aims to help advance the dialogue on trade liberalization and economic integration among participants in the FTAA process. It is hoped that this effort may contribute to the success of the FTAA, as such an ambitious endeavor requires, inter alia, the availability of comprehensive and well organized information.