G/TBT/GEN/337  
 
21 November  2022 
(22-8668) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
AGENDA ITEM 3: TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES  
UPDATE BY ANSI ON ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE WORK OF THE TBT COMMITTEE   
This document contains information  provided by  the United States  at the TBT Committee meeting  
of 16-18 November 2022 under Agenda Item  3.  
 
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1.  The United States takes our commitment to capacity building seriously. As such, we would call 
member attention to our continued efforts to support the understanding and implementation of the 
TBT Agr eement through the Standards Alliance program. The Standards Alliance is a public -private 
partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American 
National Standards Institute (ANSI), which coordinates with developing and least developed 
countries to identify and prioritize areas for technical assistance.  
2.  The Standards Alliance was established in 2012 with a focus on the implementation of the TBT 
Agreement in 10 country/regions and was expanded in 2016 to include West and Southern Africa. 
The first phase of the Standards Alliance ended in September 2021; however, the program was 
renewed for a second phase in 2019. Phase 2 of the Standards Alliance remains active and builds 
upon the successes and measured impacts of first ph ase to provide targeted technical assistance to 
developing countries. The second phase focuses on support related to the development and 
implementation of National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) and Good Regulatory Practices that are 
rooted in the principles  of the TBT Agreement. Due to the success of Phase 2 in helping to build 
better NQI, USAID has extended the program for two more years and will now run until 2026.    
3.  With the program extension for two additional years, the SA2 plans to address key sectors  of 
particular importance for more sustainable trade around the globe; including for example clean 
energy, sustainable cities, or digital infrastructure. The work plan will be updated accordingly over 
the next 2 -3 months.  
4.  Under Phase 2, the Standards Allia nce has so far delivered 41 events, reaching more than 
6000 participants. These activities have advanced partner countries’ understanding and application 
of the TBT principles and transparency mechanisms. Standards Alliance Phase 2 activities between 
July and October 2022 have included the following:  
• In response to the COVID -19 pandemic, the Standards Alliance has continued to support 
technical capacity in the medical devices sector , while also helping participating nations 
identify technical and regulatory barriers to trade. This activity , the " Medical Device 
Regulatory Convergence (MDRC) project ", builds the capacity of partner countries to 
effectively implement standards and confo rmity assessment procedures related to medical 
devices; remove technical barriers to trade for medical devices; increase patients’ access to 
needed high -quality Personal Protective Equipment ( PPE) and other medical technologies in 
response to COVID -19 and future global health crises; and foster private sector engagement in 
the (medtech) regulatory space. The project countries of focus include Brazil, Colombia,  Ghana, 
Indonesia,  Kenya , Mexico, Peru,  South Africa , and Vietnam.  
The MDRC has hosted 2 6 trainings and workshops to advance objectives for global, regional, 
and local stakeholders in the public and private sectors. These workshops convened an estimated 
5,651  participants, of which about 3,623  were from the private sector and about 3,555  were G/TBT/GEN/337  
 
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  women (6 2.9%). This group includes  experts and professionals from academia, the private 
sector, Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs), national regulatory authorities (NRAs), 
international organizations, and numerous other vital stakeholders.  
Since Ap ril 2022 the MDRC has packaged the findings of its Phase One, Tier One gap analyses 
and literature reviews from all project countries in a unified Tier One report. This report includes 
assessments of GRP implementation by country as well as an overarching chart to allow for 
comparison across project countries. It remains a live document; as more inputs and feedback 
from governments and relevant stakeholders are received . 
In the past few months in Latin America, the project further strengthened its work arou nd 
regulatory convergence through a Global Medical Technology Alliance (GMTA) Regulatory 
Committee that was first established in September 2021, focusing on developing benchmarks 
and training to increase the capacity to combat the effects of the COVID -19 pandemic in the 
hemisphere.  
The MDRC team has also been formalizing its partnerships with key African stakeholders in 
Ghana and Kenya, developing MoUs for systemic convergence in this field with the Ministry of 
Trade and Industry and Kenya Pharmacy and Poi sons Board, respectively.  
A MedTech conference was held in Boston, MA, USA in October, where experts from partner 
countries joined key sessions to highlight the progress made under the SA2.  
• ANSI is continuing to support a multi -year “Harmonization of Petr oleum Standards in West 
Africa” project , targeting four of the largest petroleum producing/ extraction and refining 
economies: Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. The project still aims to encourage 
testing laboratories to use harmonized testing pro tocols that are up to date and fit for purpose 
in the ECOWAS region. During July to October the project implemented a petroleum standards 
workshop in parallel to the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition.  
• In coordination with the Economic Communit y of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre 
for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) , the Standards Alliance also 
continues its work in the region on clean renewable fuel (for transport and household use). In 
partnership with ARSO , the project  concluded a webinar series on Bioethanol  in September 2022 ; 
after having completed four other workshops to increase expertise in this field in the region .  
• Utility Management Standards Training for Water Sector Utilities:   Effective management 
of water sector utilities is crucial to providing reliable and water supply and sanitation services, 
and a well -managed utility can be a driver to promote economic development. The use of 
standards, such as AWWA’s Utility Management Standards, assists water sector entities in 
addressing these challenges by improving utility management and performance over time, 
increasing utility efficiency, reliability, consistency, and providing safer water to the general 
public. This project is tak ing place in India and Africa (Malawi, Lesotho, and Zambia). AWWA 
Utility Management Standards will be introduced to water sector utilities though a series of in -
person and virtual workshops. In India, AWWA is already hosting workshops, and conducted 
follow-up monthly user group calls for India participants. By introducing these standards and 
providing instruction on how to implement them at utilities in India will provide social, economic, 
and public health benefits to the local communities.  
• Increase the F low of Wash Services  - This project reached a significant milestone when 
SNI 122:2022 (APPENDIX 1) was officially recognized by the National Standardization of Agency 
of Indonesia (BSN) in July . This standard officially references several international sta ndards as 
the foundation for its technical requirements. These standards include: ASME A112.18.1/CSA 
B125.1, ASTM B117, ASTM B571, ASTM D3359 and ASTM D968. The new standard covers 
15 product categories of fitting supply and replaces the old standard which  was SNI 0122. The 
last time the old standard was updated was in 1991.  
• Community Water Systems – Standards For Safety And Risk Management  
Quality of life can be reduced as a result of the burden of disease from chemical and  
microbiological contaminants in community and household drinking water systems. NSF Drinking 
Water standards establishes minimum health effects and requirements for chemical G/TBT/GEN/337  
 
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  contaminants and impurities that are directly imparted to drinking water from components used 
in drinking water sy stems and chemicals used to treat drinking water. In this project, NSF 
Drinking Water standards on drinking water treatment chemicals and drinking water system 
components will be introduced to stakeholders by NSF International to build consensus for 
standa rds that validate the safety and efficacy of materials, chemicals and water treatment 
devices that come into contact with drinking water systems. NSF Drinking Water standards will 
inform and strengthen existing in -country efforts to better provide safe dri nking water in Morocco 
and Brazil. Training events were held in both countries to inform regulators, operators, 
manufacturers, NGOs, and other stakeholders about NSF Drinking Water standards. Support to 
attempt to implement the adoption of the standards is  now underway in Brazil and Morocco.  
 
5.  Finally , the Standards Alliance has a robust pipeline of activities in implementation. These include 
activities focused on best practices for water and sanitation in Latin America, Africa, and the 
Middle East ; as well as awareness building trainings on reinforced concrete standards and 
building code adoption across the African continent . The MDRC also plans to have regional 
forums with public and private stakeholders in Africa and the Indo Pacific.  
6.  More information reg arding the overall Standards Alliance Phase 2 (2019 -2026) can be found 
here. 
 
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