WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/W/277 
10 July 2007 
 (07-2937) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
JAPAN’S EXPERIENCE CONCERNING CR OSS-BORDER DESIGNATION SYSTEMS 
 
 
Submission by JAPAN
 
   The following communication, dated 5 July 2007,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Japan
. 
 
_______________ 
 I. INTRODUCTION  
1. This paper is supplementary information to G/TBT/W/194, G/TBT/W/263 and G/TBT/W/276 
submitted by Japan, concerning “The Case Stud y to clarify the effectiveness of MRAs”. 
2. Introduction of Cross-border Designation Systems is  described in paragraph 39 and is related 
to 46(c) of the “Fourth Triennial Review of th e Operation and Implementation of the Agreement on 
Technical Barriers to Trade under Article 15.4,” as below: 
"In relation to government-to-gove rnment MRAs,…….. The Committee 
notes that the mutual introduction of cross-border designation systems in 
equivalent fields by governments can  be a cost-effective agreement...." 
"With a view to furthering the understanding of the implementation of 
Articles 5-9 of the Agreement, and as indicated above, the Committee agrees
 to continue sharing experiences on: 
(c) recognition of conformity assessmen t results, and in particular on: 
  (ii) the participation of foreign conformity assessment bodies in  
  domestic conformity assessment procedures pursuant to Article 6.4". 
 
3. Japan has concluded MRAs with the European  Community and Singapore.  Japan has also 
signed MRAs with the Philippines, Thailand and th e U.S.  The Japan-EC MRA, Japan-Singapore and 
Japan-U.S. MRA are Designation-Delegation type MRAs, in which a government delegates its 
designation and administration authorities to the other party.  In contrast, Japan also signed the Japan-
Philippines MRA and the Japan-Thailand MRA.  These MRAs are the so-called “Cross-border 
Designation-type MRA”, in whic h the importing country directly designates and supervises 
Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) in foreign countries. 
4. Since 1986, Japan has already had a unilateral Cross-border Designation System within its 
Electrical Appliances and Material Safety Law.  Actually, Japan has six Conformity Assessment G/TBT/W/277 
Page 2  
 
  Bodies (CABs) in Japan, and seven foreign CABs under the Cross-border Designation System of the 
Electrical Appliances and Material Safety Law. 
5. Japan strongly recommends that WTO Members introduce a Cross-border Designation 
System into their own laws, or consider Cr oss-border Designation-type MRA, if possible. 
 
II. EFFECTIVENESS OF CROSS-BO RDER DESIGNATION SYSTEMS 
6. Generally, the Cross-border Designation Syst em is effective in the following ways: 
• The regulatory authorities can implement and understand applicable laws and conformity 
assessment procedures, because the regulation au thority and the designation authority are the 
same, and the authorities implement only their own country’s laws. 
• The regulatory authority can designate and supervise smoothly, because the regulation 
authority directly designates the foreign CAB.  
• If an accident occurs in relation to a product cer tified by the CAB, it is easy to deal with the 
accident, and the subject of responsibility become s clear because the regulation authority and 
designation authority are the same. 
 
7. In addition to the above points, if the domestic  law in the partner country has a Cross-Border 
System, we could gain substantially the same eff ect as if we had an actual Cross-border Designation-
type MRA, without concluding an MRA. 
 
III. OUTCOME OF ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND MATERIAL SAFETY LAW 
8. The “Electrical Appliances and Material Safety Law” is a Japanese law for the regulation of 
electrical products, and requires a third-party certif icate based on the technical regulations of 115 
items. 
9. Seven foreign CABs are designated under th e Cross-border Designation System of the 
Electrical Appliances and Material Safety Law. 
 
 
    
 
     
 
 
Cross-border 
Designation 
systemGoJ
Foreign CABs CABs in JapanForeign 
Government
AcceptanceCertificate
Application Application
Company 
overseaCompany
in JapanCross-Border system of “Electrical 
Appliances and Material Safety Law”
CertificateFigure 1  G/TBT/W/277 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
10. The locations of these seven CABs are as follows: 
- one CAB in the U.S. 
- two CABs in the EU 
- two CABs in Hong Kong, China 
- one CAB in Chinese Taipei 
- one CAB in China 
 11. The table below shows the number of certificates issued by some foreign CABs designated by 
the Electrical Appliances and Material Safety Law. 
Table 1: No. of Certificates 
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total 
CAB A 26 80 96 96 118 75 491
CAB B 0 3 4 16 10 23 56
CAB C     12 35 49 49 145
CAB D       8 48 32 88
CAB E       8 7 12 27
 
 IV. FUTURE STEPS FOR CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES  
12. The Cross-border Designation type has significan t effectiveness and leads to actual results. 
Hence, Japan plans to utilize Cross-border Designa tion Systems positively for conformity assessment 
procedures to facilitate trade. 
13. Japan hopes that the other WTO Members will consider the introduction of Cross-border 
Designation Systems into their domestic laws (as in Figure 1), and the introduction of Cross-border 
Designation-type MRAs (as in Figure 2). 
 
  
 
     
 
    
 
  
__________ 
 Cross-border Designation-type MRA
GoJ
CABs inEUCABs in JapanForeign 
Government 
Designatio
n under Japanese lawDesignation under foreign lawsCertificateAcceptance
Certificate
Conformity 
Assessment 
Procedure under foreign lawConformity Assessment Procedure under Japanese lawMRA
Conpanies
abroadCompanies 
in JapanApplicationFigure 2