A Call to Action to Strengthen U.S. Competitiveness
Initiative
to Enhance
Commerce Department Standards Activities
Impact
of Standards and Technical Regulations on Trade
The
United States has a strong and diverse tradition of developing and
using voluntary standards to support the needs of our citizens and
the competitiveness of our nation's industry. These voluntary consensus
standards for products, processes, and services underpin our nation's
economy and are crucial factors in our international competitiveness.
Yet, our nation faces new challenges as the international standards
landscape changes in combination with increases in competition from
other countries.
Standards
and standards-related technical regulations are pervasive features
of global commerce, affecting an estimated 80 percent of world commodity
trade. These technical specifications make up much of the vocabulary
in the exacting language of industry, consumer protection, and government
regulation. As such, foreign standards and methods used to assess
conformity to standards can either facilitate efficient international
trade and its resultant benefits, or they can impede access to export
markets. Divergent standards peculiar to a nation or region, redundant
testing and compliance procedures, unilateral and non-transparent
standard setting exercises, and a confusing thicket of other standards-related
problems are now recognized as major impediments to free trade.
Over
the course of the last several months, a number of industry associations
and companies have highlighted foreign standards development and technical
regulation as an issue of increasing importance for U.S. exports.
There is a sense from industry that the U.S. Government, specifically
Commerce, could do more to reduce the barriers to export markets caused
by foreign governments' adverse policies on standards and technical
regulatory requirements.
The
Department of Commerce is already actively engaged, both directly
and in coordination with other agencies, in the following activities:
ensuring the recognition and use of globally relevant and internationally
recognized standards both domestically and in the global marketplace;
promoting worldwide acceptance of competent test and calibration data
to facilitate the trade of products; and providing assistance to other
government agencies, industry, trade associations, exporters, and
standards developing organizations through its operations, training
programs, and information programs. It also works with other U.S.
government agencies and foreign governments to resolve foreign standards-related
market access problems brought to its attention by U.S. industry.
Standards Initiative Framework
In
response to industry concerns, the Commerce Department has developed
an eight-point initiative to augment current activities as an effective
framework to address the relationship between foreign standards and
the international competitiveness of U.S. companies.
1.
Developing a Commerce Global Standards Activity Assessment: The
Department of Commerce has a defined leadership role to play in standards
and technical regulatory issues pursuant to authorities vested under
the 1979 Trade Agreements Act and the National Technology Transfer
and Advancement Act. Accordingly, the Secretary of Commerce will task
the Technology Administration, through the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST), to conduct a standards activity assessment
of all existing Commerce Department programs and efforts to reduce
standards-related barriers in foreign markets. The Department will
also work with other Federal agencies to include an inventory of existing
government programs and initiatives in this assessment in order to
help effectuate stronger coordination in the management of Federal
interagency standards activities. Based upon the findings of the Standards
Activity Assessment, recommendations will be made to the Secretary
for future action.
In
conducting the assessment, the Department will solicit input from
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and its member domestic
and international standards developers, as well as from the private
sector generally. Additionally, suggestions from advisory committees
through the authorities to whom they report, such as the proposed
President's Export Council subcommittee on technology and competitiveness
and the Industry Functional Advisory Committee (IFAC) on Standards,
as well as comments from related U.S. Government interagency groups
such as the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), will be solicited.
A framework for this assessment will be developed in April 2003, with
a report to the Secretary expected in January 2004.
2.
Reinforcing Expertise in Key Markets: The Commerce Department
currently has standards liaisons based in Europe, Latin America, Asia,
and the Middle East to assist U.S. businesses and foreign governments
in their standards development. NIST and the International Trade Administration
(ITA) have developed a new, redesigned, intensive training program
for standards liaisons posted abroad; other U.S. Government agency
experts will be included in the training curriculum as appropriate.
During the spring of 2003, the liaisons assigned to the U.S. Mission
for the European Union and to Mexico will participate in the training
program. This network of standards liaisons will also be strengthened
based on recommendations coming from the Standards Activity Assessment
and from input from the U.S. standards community.
3.
Devising an Effective Training and Outreach Program: NIST and
ITA, in cooperation with U.S. standards development organizations
and with U.S. industry, will develop a standards training program
for all Commerce Department Foreign Commercial Service officers so
that all U.S. officers posted worldwide have sufficient understanding
and knowledge of the importance of standards in international trade.
This will enable Foreign Commercial Officers to advocate more effectively
for globally relevant and internationally recognized standards in
key foreign markets.
4.
Creating a "Best Practices" Database: Working with its
offices abroad, other government agencies, and industry, the Commerce
Department will assemble a database of "best practices"
with useful information relating to standards, technical regulations,
and market access in foreign markets. This database will serve as
a toolkit for Departmental staff to work more effectively with U.S.
industry to address the challenges they face and to undertake stronger
efforts to advocate standards and conformity assessment procedures
in markets around the world.
5.
Expanding the Early Warning System: The Commerce Department will
strengthen and expand "Export Alert!," a free, web-based
service to disseminate market intelligence and information on standards
developments in key priority foreign markets in Europe, Asia, and
Latin America.
6.
Partnering with the President's Export Council on Standards Leadership:
The Commerce Department will support the development of a dialogue
on standards within the proposed President's Export Council subcommittee
on technology and competitiveness. The subcommittee would provide
advice and suggestions on global standards issues for the Council's
consideration to include in its overall recommendations for U.S. policy.
The subcommittee will be encouraged to reach out to other industry
associations and coordinate with advisory committees, such as the
IFAC on Standards, so that the plan is complementary to, and supportive
of, existing private sector efforts.
7.
Reaching out to U.S. Industry: The Commerce Department will host
a series of industry-specific roundtables to gather input from U.S.
industry on the most pressing standards issues and priority foreign
markets. Information and transcripts from the roundtables will be
shared with NIST and other interested parties in the development of
the Standards Activity Assessment and related recommendations for
action.
8.
Appointing a Liaison at the International Trade Administration:
A senior official will be named to act as ITA's Standards Liaison
with U.S. industry. The ITA Liaison will ensure that industry's priorities
on standards are promoted through the Commerce Department's international
policies and programs, and will work closely with the Office of the
United States Trade Representative (USTR) and other U.S. Government
agencies on how to address these priorities in U.S. trade agreements.
The Liaison will also work closely with NIST's Standards Services
Division to strengthen coordination on technical and policy issues
affecting industry and its international competitiveness.