G/TBT/GEN/316  
 
7 June 2021  
(21-4635) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 
AGENDA ITEM 5: TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES  
UPDATE BY THE AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE  (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 2-4 and 9 June 2021 under Agenda Item 5.  
 
_______________  
 
 
1.  The United States takes our commitment to capacity building seriously. As such, we would call 
membe r attention to our continued efforts to support the understanding and implementation of the 
TBT Agreement 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 impl ementation of the TBT 
Agreement in 10 country/regions and was expanded in 2016 to include West and Southern Africa. 
The original Standards Alliance will conclude in September of 2021; however, the program was 
renewed for a second phase in 2019. Phase 2 of the Standards Alliance is working concurrent with 
the initial phase and builds upon the successes and measured impacts of first phase to provide 
targeted technical assistance to developing countries. The second phase focuses on support related 
to the devel opment and implementation of National Quality Infrastructure and Good Regulatory 
Practices that are rooted in the principles of the TBT Agreement.  
3.  To date, the Standards Alliance has completed over 100 trainings, workshops, and delegation 
visits, with mor e than 5,000 participants. These activities have advanced partner countries ' 
understanding and application of the TBT principles and transparency mechanisms. Perhaps most 
notable are the national enquiry point and notification authority trainings that have  supported 
increased notification and transparency amongst participating countries.  
4.  The increased capacity of partner countries related to the TBT principles is demonstrated through 
sector -specific activities, such as the technical training for rural ener gy technicians and engineering 
students. In coordination with Senegal, the Standards Alliance developed a three -part training 
platform to introduce international standards and best practices for PV solar systems.  
5.  Standards Alliance activities during the pa st quarter have included the following:  
a. A ten -part web series on international best practices for cosmetics standards with the 
African Organization for Standardization (ARSO). ANSI, ARSO and the Personal Care 
Product Council (PCPC) hosted the first three w ebinars in a ten -part cosmetics training 
series developed to support the harmonization of African personal care and cosmetics 
standards. With guidance from PCPC and ARSO Technical Committee 40 (TC40) on 
cosmetics, ANSI and ARSO have launched a virtual seri es including ten 90 -minute 
webinars on international best practice for cosmetics standards as well as a thematic 
session for TC40 members during the ARSO GA.  
b. In response to the COVID -19 pandemic, the Standards Alliance supports technical capacity 
in the medical devices sector, while also helping participating nations identify technical G/TBT/GEN/316  
 
- 2 - 
 
  and regulatory barriers to trade. This sub -project, the "Medical Device Regu latory 
Convergence (MDRC) project", builds the capacity of partner countries to effectively 
implement standards and conformity assessment procedures related to medical devices; 
remove technical barriers to trade for medical devices; increase patients ' access to needed 
high-quality 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, Mexico, P eru, Indonesia, Vietnam, 
Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.  
c. The MDRC has nearly completed preliminary gap analyses and literature reviews of project 
countries' GRP landscapes. These gap analyses from all project countries will be compiled 
in a unified report, which will include assessments of GRP implementation by country as 
well as an overarching chart to allow for comparison across project countries. This report 
will serve as a resource for closing key gaps and communicating MDRC objectives to both 
private an d public stakeholders at local and regional levels. Moreover, the report will be 
supplemented by stakeholder maps for each project country in Southeast Asia and Africa. 
In Latin America, the project further strengthened its online module development and 
virtual resource library, which can be accessed here: https://interamericancoalition -
medtech.org/regulatory -convergence/ . 
d. The Standards Alliance engaged a technical consultant  to lead a project to establish 
production of surgical grade Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) within Ghana to supply 
the West African region. The consultant has worked with Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA) to 
develop an action plan for a series of train -the-trainer activities for EAA staff, which are 
scheduled to begin in June to support managerial -level understanding of the best practices 
for PPE production. Following the first round of trainings, EAA management staff, under 
remote supervision, will provide  technical trainings for all EAA staff and relevant Ghanaian 
government agencies including the Ghana FDA and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).  
e. Utility Management Standards Training for Water Sector Utilities  The American Water 
Works Association (AWWA) is an  international, nonprofit, scientific and educational society 
dedicated to providing total water solutions assuring the effective management of water. 
Effective management of water sector utilities is crucial to providing reliable and water 
supply and sani tation 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. In this project, the Standards 
Alliance will introduce AWWA Utility Management Standards to established India water 
sector uti lities though a series of in -person and virtual workshops.  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. Coordination  
for introductory calls has just begun with the USAID Mission in India.  
6.  Additionally, the Standards Alliance has a robust pipeline of activities that will begin 
implementation in the coming year. These include activities focused on sustainable urban 
develo pment in Cote d'Ivoire; petroleum standards harmonization in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, 
and Nigeria; and best practices for water and sanitation in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle 
East. This initiative continues to emphasize transparency and to p romote the foundational principles 
of the TBT Agreement.  
 
__________