Background
In July 2006, ASEAN foreign ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership, agreed to by ASEAN heads of state and President George Bush in November 2005. The Plan of Action is designed to enhance ASEAN-U.S. relations and cooperation for the next five years in three broad areas: political and security, social and development, and economic.
The Enhanced Partnership seeks to foster cooperation among all sectors of society: state, provincial and local governments; non-governmental organizations; business; educational institutions; and individual citizens. It will help ASEAN and the United States meet the challenges and reap the benefits of an increasingly globalized world, and create an enabling regional environment in ASEAN conducive to sustained economic growth, enhanced economic interaction, and stronger linkages between ASEAN and the United States.
One of the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership Economic Section’s key components is an initiative to accelerate cooperation on standards, conformity assessment, and regulatory issues. The Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Regulatory Cooperation initiative seeks to improve product quality and safety, facilitate efficient regional and international trade, promote market-driven approaches to standards development, and intensify ASEAN - U.S. dialogue in key sectors, beginning with initial workshops on medical devices and auto safety.