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Standards in Trade Workshop for the Caribbean, Guyana and Suriname
Nov 09-20, 1998 ( Gaithersburg, MD )
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hosted a two-week Standards in Trade Workshop for the Caribbean countries, Belize, Guyana, and Suriname. The workshop was held November 9 - 20 at NIST's Gaithersburg, Maryland campus. Twenty-one participants from the public and private sectors of Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago attended.
The workshop agenda included briefings and panel discussions with private sector and U.S. Government participants, followed by questions and answer opportunities, NIST laboratory visits, and field visits. Among the topics of discussion were standards development in the United States, product certification, conformity assessment activities, metrology, laboratory accreditation activities, the U.S. regulatory process, and the National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI) which is U.S. inquiry point and serves to notify the WTO (World Trade Organization) secretariat of proposed technical regulations which significantly affect trade. Specific field site visits designed to enhance classroom briefings included a trip to the Fresh Fields Commissary where participants observed food production and packaging. Specific note was made of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, a technique to comprehensively evaluate a food firms' ability to produce safe, quality products. A visit to Alcoa, Eastalco works, an aluminum production facility, offered the opportunity to observe an ISO (international organization for standardization) 9000 and 14000 registered facility.
Great interest was shown by all the participants with regard to having future exchanges and specialized sectoral workshops especially in areas of conformity assessment. Invaluable personal and professional relationships were established on which to continue to build trust and from which to draw for future collaboration.
+ Objectives
- To familiarize participants with U.S. technology and practices in metrology, standardization, testing and certification.
- To become more familiar with standards development and conformity assessment practices within your countries.
- To identify similarities and differences in our systems.
- To describe and understand the role of government and of the private sector in setting and using standards.
- To develop professional contacts as a basis for strengthening our technical ties and enhancing trade between our countries.
+ List of Participating Organizations
Country |
Organization |
Antigua and Barbuda |
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Commerce |
Bahamas | Ministry of Consumer Welfare and Aviation |
Barbados | Barbados National Standards Institution |
Dominica | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Marketing |
Grenada | Grenada Bureau of Standards |
Guyana | Guyana National Bureau of Standards |
Haiti | Ministry of Commerce |
Haiti | General Administration of Haitian Custom |
Haiti | Confiserie Pluy/Maison Lucpaultre |
Haiti | Group Croissance |
Jamaica | Jamaica Bureau of Standards |
Jamaica | Technological Solutions Limited |
Jamaica | Scientific Research Council |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | Government of Saint Kitts & Nevis |
Saint Lucia | Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards |
Suriname | Ministry of Trade and Industry |
Suriname | Ministry of Agriculture Animal Husbandry and Fisheries |
Trinidad and Tobago | Tourism and Industrial Development Company |
Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards |