FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NIST 96-17
May 10, 1996
Contact: Roger Rensberger (NIST) U.S. OFFICIALS SOUGHT FOR
(301) 975-2762 STANDARDS DELEGATION TO
media@nist.gov ASEAN TRADE MEETINGS
Jim Desler (ITA)
(202) 482-3809
Representatives from industry; federal agencies; and standards,
testing and certification organizations are invited to join a U.S.
delegation for a series of meetings with the Association of South East
Asia Nations, known as ASEAN. The meetings will be held with government
and private-sector entities in Singapore; Jakarta, Indonesia; and
Bangkok, Thailand, during the week of July 15, 1996, to explore
opportunities in standards-related areas that can enhance U.S. trade
with the ASEAN countries.
The meetings are being planned by the Commerce Department's
International Trade Administration in cooperation with the department's
National Institute of Standards and Technology and the American National
Standards Institute, a private non-profit membership organization that
coordinates voluntary standards activities in the United States.
The U.S. delegation will be led by Stanley I. Warshaw of NIST,
currently serving as senior policy advisor for Standards and Technology
at the department's International Trade Administration.
The meetings, to be conducted under the auspices of the U.S./ASEAN
Alliance for Mutual Growth, are designed to initiate a dialog on
standards, testing and certification issues with the United States'
fourth largest export market. The ASEAN member countries are Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Warshaw said, "As the ASEAN members move forward with their trade
and market liberalization initiatives, it is important for U.S. business
that harmonized or internationally based standards and conformity
assessment practices exist in this important market."
Global and regional trade agreements have done much to reduce
tariff trade barriers. The chief executive officers of more than 100
European and North American corporations at the November 1995
Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue cited non-tariff trade barriers
associated with standards and conformity assessment (related to product
testing, certification and quality assurance) as the most important
trade issue remaining in many parts of the world, Warshaw said.
The U.S. delegation also will be invited to attend the 8th ASEAN
Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality in Malaysia, July 23-24,
1996, following the preceding week's ASEAN meetings, under the Alliance
for Mutual Growth. The ACCSQ currently oversees cooperative activities
with Japan-MITI and the European Commission for cooperative efforts in
standards, testing and certification. Warshaw noted that it is also
important for the U.S. to develop a dialogue with ACCSQ for cooperation
on standards-related matters.
Parties interested in joining the U.S. delegation should
immediately contact either of the following coordinators:
* Susan Gates, ASEAN Desk Officer, ITA, HCHB 2032, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230, (202)
482-3647, fax: (202) 482-3316, e-mail: gates@usita.gov; or
* Stanley I. Warshaw, Senior Policy Advisor for Standards and
Technology, ITA, HCHB 3868A, U.S. Department of Commerce,
Washington, D.C. 20230, (202) 482-5620, fax: (202) 482-5444,
e-mail: warshaw@usita.gov, or stanley.warshaw@nist.gov
All delegates to the ASEAN meetings will be responsible for their
individual expenses, and each delegate will be charged an administrative
support fee of $500 by the Commerce Department.
As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's Technology
Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by working with
industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.
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