G/TBT/W/411  
29 May 2015  
(15-2838)  Page: 1/4  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  IMPROVING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRADE ENABLING BENEFITS OF A  
NATIONAL QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE  
SEVENTH TRIENNIAL REVIEW 
Submission from the United States 
The following submission, dated 29 May 2015, is bein g circulated at the request of the delegation 
of the United States. 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  On the occasion of the Seventh Trienni al Review of the World Trade Organization's 
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), the United States would like to 
propose examination of a key topic for the effect ive implementation of the TBT Agreement – the 
trade facilitating role that may be realized th rough a National Quality Infrastructure (NQI).  
1.2.  Noting the TBT Agreement recognizes  t h a t  n o  c o u n t r y  s h o u l d  b e  p r e v e n t e d  f r o m  t a k i n g  
measures necessary to ensure the quality of its exports, and that conformity assessment systems 
can improve and facilitate the conduct of international trade. 
1.3.  Recalling that the TBT Committee´s Indicative List of Approaches to Facilitate the Results of 
Conformity Assessment1 includes the use of accreditation to assess the competence of conformity 
assessment bodies, and that in 2009 Members were encouraged to participate in technical cooperation activities in the area of conformity assessment consistent with sector-specific national 
priorities.
2 It also suggests capacity building activities – at the national or regional level as 
appropriate – aimed at improving technical infrastructure (e.g. metrology, testing, certification, and accreditation) as well as capacity to enforce (including with respect to market surveillance and 
product liability). 
1.4.  In the Sixth Triennial Review, Members agreed  to continue their exchange of information on 
approaches that may facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results, in order to 
contribute to building globally robust and trade facilitative schemes as envisaged under Article 9 of 
the TBT Agreement.
3 
1.5.  The Agreement focuses on the reduction of unnecessary obstacles to international trade.  
Nevertheless, the United States would like to explore, during the Seventh Triennial Review of the 
TBT Agreement, how effective and market driven standards and conformity assessment activities 
may be trade enablers. Further discussion of NQI and its relationship to technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures is merited in order to enhance Member 
implementation of the TBT Agreement. 
1.6.  Manufacturers and producers are obliged to  meet technical regulations and other standards-
related measures and to demonstrate the fulfilment of those requirements. Utilizing approaches to 
facilitate the acceptance of results of conformity assessment in voluntary programs and technical 
regulations is a key market advantage for exports and imports. A National Quality Infrastructure 
                                               
1 G/TBT/1/Rev.12, Annex 1 to Part 1, page 45-46. 
2 G/TBT/26, paragraph 59. 
3 G/TBT/32, paragraph 5. G/TBT/W/411  
 
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  supports these goals. Members, in particular developing country Members, need to be able to 
support manufacturers and producers in understanding and demonstrating compliance with technical requirements. 
2  NATIONAL QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE 
2.1.  While there is no agreed definition of Nati onal Quality Infrastructure (NQI), the World Bank 
defines it as the institutional framework that establishes and implements standardization, including conformity assessment services, metrology, and accreditation.
4 The Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) creating the Quality Infrastructure of the Americas considers the three 
conceptual pillars of a NQI to be standards, a ccreditation, and metrology, particularly because 
regional bodies exist and cooperate in these areas.5  These pillars provide the  services  needed  to 
advance the quality and assure the safety of produc ts placed in national and international markets, 
thus meeting the mandatory technical requirements  that are indispensable for being successful in 
international trade.  
2.2.  Standards, as defined by the TBT Agreemen t, are documents approved by a recognized body 
that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products or 
related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory.  Standards may also include or deal exclusively with termin ology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling 
requirements as they apply to a product, process or production method. 
2.3.  Conformity assessment procedures, as de fined by the TBT Agreement, are any procedure 
used, directly or indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled. Conformity assessment procedures include, inter alia , procedures for 
sampling, testing and inspection; evaluation, verification and assurance of conformity; 
registration, accreditation and approval as well as their combinations. 
2.4.  Accreditation ensures that the evaluation of  technical requirements by conformity assessment 
bodies is done in a competent and impartial manner, providing confidence that the process to 
conduct testing, inspection and certification demonstrates conformance to international requirements. Accreditation is recognized as a conformity assessment procedure in the definition 
of the TBT Agreement. 
2.5.  Metrology is the science of measurement and its application and includes all theoretical and 
practical aspects of measurements, whatever the measurement uncertainty and field of application.
6 Legal metrology is the application of legal requirements to measurements and 
measuring instruments.7 
2.6.  Members need access to NQI services to foster trade, competitiveness, and innovation, as 
well as consumer safety assurances.  These servic es are most useful and best meet the needs of 
international trade when offered by domestic institutions that are internationally recognized.  
3  SYSTEMIC ISSUES RELATED TO CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND THE 
RELATIONSHIP TO THE NQI 
3.1.  To better implement technical regulati ons, more robust communication about NQI and 
regulator understanding of the benefits of usin g the NQI may be needed.  Identified areas of 
potential discussion may include: 
a. Laws and policies establishing NQI or approach are established without an understanding 
by the country or WTO Member of how they w ill apply to specific technical regulations. 
                                               
4 Christine Tippmann and Jean-Louis Racine. "T he National Quality Infrastructure: Tool for 
Competitiveness, Trade and Social Well Being", Innovati on, Technology and Entrepre neurship Global Practice 
Brief, March 2013, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/03/20196286/national-quality-
infrastructure-tool-competitiveness-trade-social-well-being . 
5 Memorandum of Understanding creating th e Quality Infrastructure of the Americas, 
www.iaac.org.mx/English/Index.php . 
6 Defined by the International Vo cabulary of Metrology (VIM3), 
http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/vim.html . 
7 Defined by OIML, http://www.oiml.org/en/about/legal-metrology .  G/TBT/W/411 
 
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  Even when laws relating to NQI are notified to the TBT Committee, affected stakeholders 
are unsure of how certain products will be affected because the laws are general and do not specify application to particular products or sectors.  
b. Even when the standards development organizations (SDO) or the National Standards 
Bodies (NSB), the accreditation bodies and the metrology institute of Members are active 
participants in international conformity assessment and accreditation recognition arrangements, the regulatory agencies of Members are often unaware of how to best 
utilize or trust the voluntary arrangements. This leads to practices which create 
duplicative testing, such as in-country only testing requirements. Or, a Member may require a government-to-government Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in addition to the voluntary recognition arrangement among accreditation bodies. Discussion of 
linkages between the NQI and its use in regulatory systems could help reduce 
duplication and overly restrictive conformity assessment procedures and facilitate trade. 
c. In some situations technical regulations are not specific enough with respect to technical 
requirements or do not incorporate relevant standards.  Technical regulations also may 
not specify the conformity assessment procedures that are needed for compliance.  
d. More than one regulatory agency, or a regulatory agency and customs authority may 
share authority for the implementation of conformity assessment procedures which can 
lead to a lack of clarity in what is necessary to demonstrate conformity and thus impose unnecessary, or duplicative procedures.  
e. Overly restrictive and mandatory technical regulations that stifle trade. This relates to 
the situation where countries or Members set mandatory standards for virtually all 
products in the market that are not justified for reasons of health, safety, or environmental protection.   
f. Insufficient regulator understanding of th e level of conformity assessment needed 
relative to the risk level of the product.  This results in mandatory inspection, testing or certification requirements for low risk products, which restrict, rather than enable, trade. 
3.2.  These circumstances detract from the impl ementation of Article 6 through 9 of the TBT 
Agreement. Application of all the tools in a NQI, particularly those related to participation in international and regional systems for conformity assessment, can help facilitate trade of WTO Members. 
4  EXAMPLES OF NQI COOOPERATION 
4.1.  The strengthening of the National Quality In frastructure in the Americas has been recognized 
as an important policy goal.  The Organization of American States (OAS) supported efforts for the 
creation of a NQI Council to foster competitiveness, innovation, trade, and consumer safety to 
enhance the ability of OAS Member States to have access to internationally recognized quality infrastructure services. 
4.2.  The Quality Infrastructure Council of the Am ericas (QICA), which includes the Inter-American 
Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC), Inter-American Metrology System (SIM), and Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT) has developed a shared vision and work program and is promoting a common message to raise awareness of the importance and critical role of NQI in 
national, regional and international competitiveness. 
4.3.  In addition, the Specialized Regional Bodies of the Asia Pacific, including the Pacific Area 
Standards Congress (PASC), Asia Pacific Laborato ry Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC), Pacific 
Accreditation Cooperation (PAC), Asia Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF), and Asia Pacific 
Metrology Partnership (APMP) work together on mutually beneficial projects, particularly through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Subcommittee on Standards and Conformance (APEC 
SCSC), which provide APEC member support on use of international standards, accreditation 
programs, and projects between metrology organizations, which can contribute to regulator understanding of new or emerging tools or services which can be used to achieve regulatory objectives. G/TBT/W/411  
 
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  4.4.  The United States has shared experience  with the WTO TBT Committee during the October 
2013 thematic session on conformity assessment procedures that the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) provides consulting services to U.S. regulators on tools they may use within the NQI when they are developing  conformity assessment programs or technical 
regulations.
8 In addition, the private sector also offers training and support within the NQI and 
through regional bodies that may provide addition al support to regulators engaged in developing 
voluntary and mandatory requirements.  
4.5.  Connections between the activities of re gional and national organizations and Member 
regulators are important in the development of NQI and how that infrastructure will affect the development and implementation of technical regu lations.  Members should continue to discuss 
both national and regional NQI activities and experiences in this regard with the WTO TBT 
Committee. 
__________ 
                                               
8 RD/TBT/61.