RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
6 June 2006 
 
 (06-2700) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  
  
 
SUMMARY REPORT OF THE WORKSHOP ON  
THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT
1 
 
16-17 MARCH 2006 
 
Note by the Secretariat2 
 
Addendum  
 
 
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... ...............3  
 
SESSION I – CONFORMITY ASSESSM ENT PROCEDURES AT THE NATIONAL 
LEVEL.......................................................................................................................... .............3  
NATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF CONFORMITY 
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES .........................................................................................................3  
Conformity Assessment and Regulations:  The ISO/CASCO Toolbox ...............................3  
Existing Good Regulatory Practice in th e Area of Conformity Assessment in 
Colombia....................................................................................................................... .............5  
Trade Impact of Conformity Assessment Procedures:  A Manufacturer's 
Perspective.................................................................................................................... .............5  
Conformity Assessment Pr ocedures in Mexico ......................................................................7  
Handling Complaints in Brazil (Pursuant to Article 5.2.8 of the TBT Agreement) ...........8  
SECTOR -SPECIFIC APPROACHES TO CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT ............................................................9  
Vehicle Emission and Noise Standards ...................................................................................9  
The Electricity Sector:  Trade and Confidence....................................................................10  
Implementation of Voluntary Conformi ty Assessment Market Programs .......................11  
Canada’s Experience in Forest Certification .......................................................................12  
 
                                                      
1 All presentations are available on the WTO website at: 
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/ meeting_march06_e/tbt_c onformity_16march06_e.htm  
2 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's ow n responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of 
Members and to their rights a nd obligations under the WTO. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 2  
 
SESSION II – FACILITATING THE ACCEPTANCE OF CONFORMITY 
ASSESSMENT RESULTS.....................................................................................................14
 
APPROACHES TO FACILITATE THE ACCEPTANCE OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT RESULTS .................14  
Trends in the Mechanisms to Facilitate the Acceptance of Conformity Assessment Results............................................................................................................. .....15
 
Accreditation as an Approach to Faci litate the Acceptance of Conformity 
Assessment Results and the Benchmarking Procedure.......................................................16  
The Experience of Mauritius in the Use of Accreditation...................................................17  
Approaches to Facilitate the Recognition of Results:  The Experience of the 
European Co-operation for Accreditation............................................................................18  
MUTUAL ACCEPTANCE OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT RESULTS .........................................................20  
Experiences in Formal Mutual Rec ognition Agreements:  Sectors Covered, 
Possible Difficulties Faced in the Negotiations and Key Elements for a Successful Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... ..........20
 
Mutual Recognition Agreements and Regulatory Cooperation:  Some EU 
Experiences.................................................................................................................... ..........21  
Sector-Specific Examples of Arrangements Between Conformity Assessment 
Bodies ("Peer Assessments") .................................................................................................23  
IEC Experience in Arrangements Between  Conformity Assessment Bodies Used 
by Regulators.................................................................................................................. .........24  
 
SESSION III – BUILDING A CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT INFRASTRUCTURE 
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS .......................................................................25  
THE CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT INFRASTRUCTURE OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS .................25  
Nigeria's Example of a Conformity Asses sment System in a Developing Country 
Member:  Concerns and Challenges .....................................................................................25  
Overview of the Conformity Assessment Proce dures in India:  Role of the BIS ..............26  
Specific Needs and Technical Considerati ons Identified in Relation to the 
Conformity Assessment Infrastructu re of Developing Country Members 
Through the Analysis of the Responses to the WTO Questionnaire..................................28  
Accreditation:  Role of ILAC and IAF..................................................................................29  
ESTABLISHMENT OF A CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................30  
The Experience of Brazil in Establishing  a Conformity Assessment System and 
Existing Educational Programmes on Conformity Assessment .........................................30  
The Example of Technical Assistance Provided to Costa Rica on Conformity 
Assessment..................................................................................................................... ..........31  
Establishment of Conformity Assessment  Schemes in Developing Countries:  
UNIDO's Experience ............................................................................................................. .31 
Building a Quality System at the Regional Level in the UEMOA Zone ............................32  
Building a Conformity Assessment Infrastructure at the Regional Level in the 
Caribbean Region:  the Experience of Trinidad and Tobago.............................................33  
  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
1. At the Third Triennial Review of the TBT Ag reement, concluded in November 2003, a work 
programme on conformity assessment was agreed upon.  The objective of this work programme was 
to improve Members' implementation of Articles 5 to 9 of the Agreement.  In particular, the idea was to promote a better understanding of conformity assess ment systems in general.  The main elements 
of this work programme related to the use of in ternational standards, s uppliers' declaration of 
conformity (SDoC), accreditation, including the operation and participation of Members in 
international and regional accreditation fora, and th e different approaches to conformity assessment. 
2. In this context, Members agreed to orga nize a workshop on the different approaches to 
conformity assessment, including on the acceptance of conformity assessment results.
3  T h e  
participation of 82 representatives from developi ng country Members had been sponsored by the 
WTO through the Global Trust Fund.    
3. The WTO Secretariat4 presented an overview of the TBT Committee's work on conformity 
assessment procedures and of the relevant provisi ons of the TBT Agreement based on a background 
note contained in JOB(05)/261.   
SESSION I – CONFORMITY ASSESSMEN T PROCEDURES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL5 
4. The intention of this session was to give partic ipants an opportunity to share experiences of 
conformity assessment approaches and procedures at the national level and to  address considerations 
that were to be taken into account for th e use of conformity assessment procedures.   
NATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF CONFORMITY 
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES  
5. The first part of this session dealt in particul ar with the national considerations for the 
preparation and application of conformity assessment procedures.  Presenters were invited to identify 
their various considerations that were relevant when deciding on the need for a conformity assessment 
procedure and on the type of procedure including cost s and benefits of alternatives, level of risk, 
incentives for users to comply, technical and phys ical infrastructure, and existing monitoring and 
enforcement mechanisms.     
Conformity Assessment and Regulations:  The ISO/CASCO Toolbox 6 
6. One of the imperatives of ISO/CASCO was to ensure that conformity assessment standards 
were implemented and applied the same way ev erywhere.  The ultimate goal of conformity 
assessment was one standard, one test accepted everywhere.  The basic conformity assessment 
process entailed three levels of work:  the identif ication of the object of conformity assessment;  the 
evaluation of the object against requirements;  an at testation to the validity of those tests, through a 
first party in the context of Supplier's declaration of conformity (SDoC), through a second party doing 
an audit on the suppliers premises, or through th ird party certification.  A level upon would be 
accreditation or peer assessment in the context of certification bodies.  
7. The CASCO toolbox consisted of 24 ISO/IEC doc uments covering:  vocabulary, principles 
and common elements of conformity assessment, code  of good practice, product certification, system 
certification, certification of persons, marks of c onformity, testing, calibration, inspection, SDoC, 
accreditation, peer assessment, and mutual rec ognition arrangements.  100 countries were involved 
                                                      
3 The final programme for this workshop is  available in document G/TBT/GEN/31. 
4 Mrs. Ludivine Tamiotti, Trade and En vironment Division, WTO Secretariat. 
5 This session was moderated by Mr. Margers Krams, Chairman of the TBT Committee. 
6 Mr Peter Dennehy, Secretary of ISO/CASCO. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 4  
 
through ISO member bodies in CASCO:  63 were participating members and 37 observers.  CASCO 
also benefited from the experience of nine interna tional organizations who were liaison members.   
8. CASCO's structure reflected its various roles of policy development, writing of technical 
documents, promotion of documents, and monitoring market feedback on the use of documents.  A 
continual improvement cycle ensured that CASC O provided globally rele vant documents that 
reflected modern conformity assessment practice.  The Policy and Coordination Group had to ensure 
that CASCO's work matched member bodies' needs.   The working groups themselves were composed 
of experts from the 100 countries and the nine liais on bodies.  Guides and standards developed in 
working groups were then sent to member bodies w ho debated the content and use of the documents, 
commented on them, changed the documents remote ly and voted.  That was the double level of 
consensus that ensured that docum ents were acceptable for the i ndustry at any given time.  Once 
published, those documents were promoted and sup ported by two different bodies:  the Regulations 
Interface Group;  and the Promotion and Support Group.   Finally, the Market Feed-Back Panel had to 
ensure that standards were still useful or to identify standards that needed to be modified or improved.  
9. There were also a number of basic documents  developed by CASCO concerning conformity 
assessment procedures, for instance:  ISO/IEC 17000:2004 on vocabulary and general principles, 
which contained the terms, defin itions and theoretical basis for conformity assessment;  and ISO/IEC 
Guide 60:2004, which was a Code of Good Practi ce to facilitate trade.  Moreover, CASCO was 
developing common elements for conformity assessment that would be used in all CASCO documents.  These common elements included:  impar tiality, confidentiality, co mplaints and appeals, 
disclosure of information, and use of management systems in conformity assessment.  
10. There was a number of documents in the CASCO Tool Box:  on accreditation and peer 
assessment, which addressed the relationship betw een conformity assessment bodies (CABs);  mutual 
recognition arrangements;  marks of conformity;  and sector specific applications of conformity 
assessment procedures.  In the technical area, there was a number of other standards:  on SDoC;  testing and calibration laboratories (17025 which w as a set of technical and management system 
requirements for the laboratories and Guide 43 about proficiency testing);  inspection (17020);  for 
product certification, there was a whole range of documents that addressed different aspects of product certification;  and for system certifi cation, 17021 on certification bodies and 17024 on person 
certification, which was a relatively new approach in conformity assessment.  
11. For developing countries, DEVCO was running a five-stage programme that enabled all 
conformity assessment standards and all other ISO standards to be devel oped and implemented by 
developing member bodies:  (i) improve awareness;  (ii) develop capacity;  (iii) increase national and 
regional cooperation;  (iv) develop electronic co mmunication and expertise in IT tools;  and 
(v) increase participation in governance and technical work of ISO.   
12. To conclude, technical barriers to trade in relation to tests, certificates and similar 
requirements could be addressed using international standards and conformity assessment.  However, 
to achieve this goal, there was a need to ensure  that the regulatory requirements, which relied on 
them, were performance-based.  ISO was also trying to develop its standards using performance-based 
requirements.  Relying on ISO/IEC international st andards on conformity assessment to demonstrate 
compliance with technical regulations would rec oncile public objectives, such as safety and security, 
and compliance with commitments of the TBT Agreement. 
13. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further indicated that the Regulations 
Interface Group had already carried out three comprehensive surveys on the use of ISO and IEC 
standards on conformity assessment.  The extent to  which the surveys could be used depended on the 
accuracy of the information provided by me mber bodies.  The convener of the group was 
restructuring one of those surveys to be more focuse d on particular aspects of the use of the guides.  
However, there was already evidence that in different  parts of the world there were different uses by  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 5 
 
 
regulators of the same standards.  For instance, in one country regulators would allow for the use 
SDoC for a particular requirement and for the same  requirement, in another country, regulators would 
require third party certification. 
Existing Good Regulatory Practice in the A rea of Conformity Assessment in Colombia7 
14. Conformity assessment and good regulatory pr actices were closely linked as it was very 
difficult for a conformity assessment procedure to be carried out without good regulatory practices in 
other related sectors.  In Colombia, there were open discussions on what was the best conformity assessment procedure for a particular techni cal regulation.  These discussions involved the 
participation of all stakeholders, i.e. consumers,  industry, certifiers, accreditors, etc.  Moreover, 
Colombia had national legal instruments dealing w ith conformity assessment procedures and as part 
of the ANDEAN community of nations, regional standards. 
15. Colombia's conformity assessment system had a few weaknesses.  First, Colombia lacked 
accredited laboratories.  Many private laboratories we re not accredited.  The level of activities was not 
enough to justify going through the whole procedure of accreditation, which was time consuming and 
costly.  Therefore, the fact that a number of unaccredited laboratories existed weakened the whole 
process of accreditation at the national level.  Sec ond, Colombia lacked skilled professionals to really 
carry out the procedures required in the accred itation process.  Moreover, some entities at the 
government level developed what they called "accr editation procedures", which were in fact mere 
recognition or designation;  sometimes, national pr oducers needed a double cer tification for the same 
product from two different authorities.  Finally, th ere was a problem of link between the accreditation 
of conformity assessment bodies and the risk that needed to be addressed.  
16. Colombia was working towards international r ecognition of its accreditation body.  There was 
an infrastructure that could be developed further providing support to neighbouring countries and to 
the region as a whole.  Colombia had a very positi ve experience in conformity assessment of third 
parties and a very good implementation of the CASC O Tool Box.  The conformity assessment system 
in Colombia also faced a number of challenges:  the adjustment to modifications of international 
standards on conformity assessment procedures;  th e important rotation of human resources trained 
for conformity assessment;  the very high costs i nvolved in conformity assessment for producers and 
importers;  and the question of the sustai nability of laboratories over time.   
17. To conclude, it was noted that the whole regul atory process was crucial.  There had to be 
transparency and participation of all stakeholders in the entire conformity assessment process.  That 
was indispensable in developing standards and in  determining what was the best conformity 
assessment procedure for each regulation.  Confor mity assessment procedures needed to be closely 
linked to risk management.  Regional cooperation and international cooperation for conformity 
assessment were indispensable for developing coun tries to establish good regulatory practices, in 
particular with regard to conformity assessment.  
Trade Impact of Conformity Assessment Procedures:  A Manufacturer's Perspective
8 
18. From a company's perspective, trade was a ll about meeting consumers' needs first.  
Conformity assessment provided a way for consumers and regulators to gain confidence in products 
and services offered by suppliers and to differentia te between them.  A company's objective were:  to 
differentiate between those who produced high qu ality service and those who did not; and for 
legitimate suppliers to build confidence in their pr oducts and services.  Brand building was critical to 
                                                      
7 Mr. Ramón Madriñán, Chief Regulatory Officer, Mini stry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Colombia. 
8 Mr. Robert W. Noth, Manager, Engine ering Standards, Deere and Company, United States.  Deere and Company was a 
169 year-old company, which had a long experience of intern ational trade in agricultural a nd industrial equipments.   G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 6  
 
Industry Preferred Conformity Assessment Model
Low Risk ProductsIntermediate
Risk ProductsHigh
Risk 
ProductsConformity Assessment 
Program 
Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity
Voluntary 3rdParty Certification 
Post Market Surveillance
Recall Mechanism 
Penalty Mechanism Pre-market Surveillance
Accepting Justified SDoC or 3rdParty 
Certification from Accredited CA 
Organizations with MRA options
Post Market Surveillance Pre-market Surveillance
Requiring  
Mandatory 3rdParty Certification 
With MRA options Product Classification
Pyramid 
Regulated
Unregulated a company's survival because it en sured on-going commerce.  Brand recognition only had value if 
brand reputation was earned by consistently meeting customers' expectations in the market place.   
19. Conformity assessment consisted of four things.  Fi rst of all, a consistent set of standards and 
regulations that provided the baseline for an assessment.  The second and third elements were 
inspection and testing.  Assessment systems were cl assified according to which party performed the 
inspection and testing.  SDoC was usually done by the manufacturer.  It was stressed that, especially 
for complex products, manufacturers knew their products best and nobody had invested more in the delivery of these products than the manufacturer.  Th erefore, SDoC had a strong basis in competence 
and delivery.  Second party referred to the cu stomers' assessment.  And third party was an 
independent assessment used voluntarily for brand- building and risk assessment by many companies 
in areas where risk was a concern.   
20. The fourth element of conformity assessmen t was time.  Products were expected to 
continuously meet requirements.  Pre-market surveillance ensured initial compliance but was not 
sufficient:  post-market surveilla nce was essential to ensure con tinued compliance.  Legitimate 
manufacturers supported principles contained in th e TBT Agreement, such as the avoidance of 
unnecessary obstacles.  Unfortunately, this was not  always the case in the market place.  
Requirements were often out of proportion to the risk involved, for instance in the case of electro-magnetic interference (EMI) regulations for IT pro ducts.  There, the likelihood of non-conformance 
and harm was almost non-existent and historically there was plenty of evidence of the adequacy of 
SDoC.  SDoC was acceptable for earthmoving equipm ent in the United States and Europe countries 
with minimal negative experience but not acceptable in many other WTO Members.   
21. Another problem was unique and non-value added testing.  The redundancy of having to test 
the same product for different markets only added to  the cost burden, which was ultimately passed on 
to the consumer.  For instance, in the area of agricultural lighting equipment, the existence of different 
regulations made it difficult to produce tractors, which were often for markets in small volumes.  
Likewise unique earthmoving equipment requirements in a few countries required local third party 
testing beyond globally acceptable norms.  The impact  was ultimately on manufacturers:  the time to 
market was affected because of th e time necessary to get the testing and the certification done;  there 
was also the issue of the cost of third party assessment.  Two ratios were important to consider:  the cost to risk ratio, i.e. the comparison between the co st and the possible risk of the product;  and the 
cost to margin ratio, i.e. the question of whether th e manufacturer would be able to cover the cost.  By 
far, the most important cost in this area was th e redundancy of third party assessment especially where 
SDoC was accepted in some markets, a nd third party required in others.   
22. In a model of industry's preferred conformity assessment system, there was a particular place 
given to high risk products, recognizing that pre-market surveillance and mandatory third party assessment were necessary, for instance 
for medical devices and food products.  For the 
group of intermediate risk products, there should be a combination of different types of assessment.  And for the vast majority of products, SDoC should not be a problem provided that post-market surveillance, recall 
and penalty mechanisms were in place.  One 
other consideration in relation to market surveillance was the importance of recognizing and rewarding sustained performance in the market place.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 7 
 
 
23. The primary challenges for the TBT Committee were:  the elimina tion of redundant and 
unnecessary inspection and testing requirements around the world;  the harmonization of what was considered high risk, intermediate risk and low risk ;  and the development of guidelines on how to set 
up effective and non-discriminatory conformity asse ssment programmes.  The benefits of meeting 
these challenges would be:  greater product's availability;  more choice for consumers;  more 
confidence in the goods manufactured;  lower costs;  more trade, faster growth and hopefully more 
capital investment in developing country markets;  and, for all manufacturers, faster time to market, 
lower cost, more effective competition and more investment opportunity.   
24. During the Questions and Answers Session , further information was provided on the 
relationship between brand recognition and confor mity assessment procedures.  If consumers had a 
good and consistent experience with certain products, there was less risk involved.  In this context, 
SDoC through brand-building was a less expensive and more efficient way to perform conformity 
assessment.  If consumers had less experience with a particular brand, manufacturers would need to 
provide a little more assurances in terms of conformity  assessment.  It was also noted that the cost of 
redundant conformity assessment was very much depe nding on the size of the market.  For example, 
in Europe, there were specific requirements for tract ors, e.g. on how far the headlights could be from 
the ground.  Those kind of design requirements also had to be added to the cost.  Therefore, the 
impact of the cost of different conformity assessment procedures and requirements could be significant and as high as 30 or 40 per cent of the cost.  In response to a questions on how to evaluate the risk encountered by the product so as to de fine the best applicable conformity assessment 
procedure that should be used, it was noted that industry tended to build its products according to 
standards and specifications that were establishe d and globally accepted.  If products met those 
requirements, the risk for individual consumers was reduced.   
Conformity Assessment Procedures in Mexico
9 
25. The legal basis for conformity assessment in Mexico was a Federal Law introduced in 1992 
and revised in 1997.  This Federal Law covered:   metrology;  voluntary standards;  technical 
regulations;  calibration laboratories;  test laborat ories;  inspection bodies;  standards development 
organizations;  product, quality an d environment certifiers;  who could accredit;  and when and how to 
perform conformity assessment.  In Mexico, most st andards were effectively voluntary and the rules 
of civil responsibility in the country were weak. 
26. Mexico had free trade agreements with 43 countri es and the import taxes were zero or near 
zero for these countries.  Mexico applied the procedures for conformity assessment based on 
international practices.  Mexico, the United States and Canada worked, even before entering in the 
free trade agreement, to harmonize electro-technical st andards.  There were also some other working 
groups in steel and the automotive industry, which helped to increase the flow of products and 
services within the three countries.   
27. Mexico had also been working internationall y with other Latin American countries through 
several free trade agreements such as:  G-3 with Co lombia and Venezuela;  the north triangle with 
Guatemala, Honduras and Salvador, plus Nicaragua, Co sta Rica, Chile and Bolivia.  Nowadays, some 
negotiations were under study:  with Panama, Ecuado r and Peru to integrate the G-3;  MERCOSUR;  
and Korea.  In all these agreements, there was a "chapter" regarding st andards and technical 
regulations, local value content and rules of origin. 
28. As regards accreditation, there were numerous procedures in America which all followed 
ISO/IEC standards.  A common accreditation system like the Inter-American Accreditation 
Cooperation Organization (IAAC) could help gain  confidence in conformity assessment bodies.  
Moreover, this year, Mexico would enter into the me chanisms of IEC.  A regional approach facilitated 
                                                      
9 Mr. Rafael Nava, President, Commission of Sta ndardization and Conformity Assessment, Mexico. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 8  
 
the knowledge of needs because of natural similar ities.  However, international standards were 
essential to have better results and global relevance,  while it was also necessary to consider some 
essential differences based on local meteorological c onditions, infrastructure or energy situation.  
Since 1997, when the Mexican Law was modified for the last time, 10 products certifiers and more 
than 30 systems certifiers (ISO 9000, 14000 and the like) had been accredited.   
29. In 2005, Mexico bought 222 billion dollars of  products and services with a minimum amount 
of trouble for suppliers.  There were 800 technical  regulations, but only 6 per cent of them were 
mandatory before products entered the country, covering less than 25 per cent of the imports, mainly 
in relation to product safety; health and environmen tal protection, and energy efficiency;  in other 
words 75 per cent of products, or over 165 billion do llars, entered Mexico without any conformity 
assessment requirement. 
Handling Complaints in Brazil (Pursuant to Article 5.2.8 of the TBT Agreement)
10 
30. In the National Institute of Metrology, Sta ndardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO), 
there were three main channels to receive compla ints related to activities under its responsibility:  a 
call centre, a programme on produc t analysis and the Brazilian TBT Enquiry Point.  Through these 
channels, complaints were received from diffe rent sectors on products subjected to conformity 
assessment procedures.  The objectives were:  to ensure credibility in the Brazilian system of 
conformity assessment as well as INMETRO activities;   to gains consumers' confidence in the 
products which had been assessed;  and to iden tify improvements of opportunities in conformity 
assessment procedures.  However, it was not enough ju st to establish those channels and hope for the 
consumers to present their complaints.  It was necess ary to publicise those channels so as to guarantee 
that more complaints be presented.  The call ce ntre offered a few communication modalities:  a toll-
free line, a telephone, fax, internet, and pe rsonal consultations by appointment.   
31. It was interesting to point out that most comp laints did not come from consumers but from the 
private sector.  INMETRO received a vast diversity of requests, most of them being in relation to 
information.  The complaints represented a small part  of the requests.  When there was a complaint, 
the request was forwarded to the person in the depa rtment of INMETRO in charge of the particular 
area and each department had its own person responsible for handling complaints.  This information 
flow was managed by a system, specifically devel oped for the call service.  As soon as the complaint 
was taken care of, the system was upda ted with the information gathered.  
32. INMETRO carried out a product analysis progr amme since 1996 according to Guide 46/1985 
on "Comparative testing of consumer products an d related services".  This programme aimed at 
supporting the Brazilian industry on quality improv ement and raising consumer awareness.  The 
programme methodology consisted of identifying a set of products to be analysed based on complaints received from different sources.  The following actors were involved:  the consumer 
protection and defence department under the Minist ry of Justice, other officials and civil entities 
related to consumer protection, national media, pr ivate sectors and the INMETRO call centre.  A first 
research was carried out to identify standards and te chnical regulations that needed to be complied 
with.  Then, a laboratory accredited by INMETRO was selected to test compliance.  The relevant official responsible for the product regulation was invited to participate and manufacturers' 
associations and federations were informed.  Th e product was analysed and the laboratory sent the 
results to INMETRO, which forwarded them to each  manufacturer with a deadline for the response. 
33. After a clarification process on manufacturers' possible queries, the test results were released 
on a national television network in a Sunday even ing show.  Other media linked to consumer's 
protection released these test results on a voluntar y basis.  After this phase, meetings gathering 
manufacturers and consumers protection entities in the government were carried out to define 
                                                     
 
10 Ms. Anna Camboim, Manager, Intern ational Affairs, INMETRO, Brazil.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 9 
 
 
measures to improve the quality of the specific se ctor.  50 per cent of the manufacturers decided to 
adopt the immediate correct reaction, 18 per cen t considered the programme a decisive quality 
improvement factor for national products.  In th e last 10 years, the product analysis programme 
analysed more than 200 products involving more that 2200 brands. 
34. In addition to raising society awareness on lo w quality or illegal products, the programme was 
an opportunity to develop sp ecific conformity assessment programmes for specific sectors.  
INMETRO provided the possibility to receive compla ints through the internet concerning problems 
identified on domestic products.  Some complaints re lated to difficulties in complying with foreign 
technical requirements.  In such cases, there were  two possibilities:  either there was a technological 
gap and the manufacturer was really unable to comp ly with the requirements requested, or there was a 
technical barrier to trade for this product.  If the analysis of the complaint demonstrated a technical 
gap or a non-conformity aspect, the issue was forw arded to a specific govern ment programme, which 
was able to help the producer to meet the relevant technical requirements.  On the other hand, in case 
of doubt about the legitimacy of the technical requi rements, INMETRO would get in touch with the 
relevant TBT enquiry point of the WTO Member.   
SECTOR -SPECIFIC APPROACHES TO CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT  
35. In this session, speakers had been invited to identify the benefits and possible problems, 
including respective costs, of the different c onformity assessment approaches and to focus their 
presentations on specific products or sectors.   
Vehicle Emission and Noise Standards11 
36. Chinese Taipei had the highest vehicle density in the world.  As a result, mobile-source 
emissions had become the major cause of air pollution in urban areas.  This had caused a continual 
rise in respiratory illnesses associated with air.  The vehicle industry in Chinese Taipei relied heavily 
on imported technology.  Most of the major motor vehicle technology providers were Japanese manufacturers.  In addition, the average age of a ve hicle in Chinese Taipei wa s high which needed to 
be considered in the emissions controls.  Cons idering economic, trade and environmental factors, 
Chinese Taipei had adopted conformity assessment procedures to reduce barriers to trade, while 
implementing increasingly stringent standards.  These  procedures were harmonized with international 
conformity assessment standards. 
37. Before the accession of Chinese Taipei to the WTO, in 2002, imported vehicles originated 
mostly from the USA.  US vehicle emissions management system were the most comprehensive and it was referred to as the US system in the domestic  management system.  After 2002, Chinese Taipei 
accepted foreign standards and certifications in line with UNECE WP.29.  In relation to acceleration 
and stationary noise, Chinese Taipei referred to Ja pan's standards in the early stages and further 
harmonized with UNECE and EC standards.  Chinese Taipei adopted a type approval conformity assessment procedure to ensure that new vehicles meet  such standards.  In the design phase, vehicles 
were required to meet mandatory standards and a pply for type approval certification.  After the 
production process, authorities randomly selected vehicles for compliance checks and the 
manufacturer was required to do on-line checks and random tests for quality assurance.   
38. The type approval procedure was working as fo llowed.  For new vehicles, the applicant 
needed to select the vehicle to be certified and sent to the lab for testing.  If the test report qualified, a 
certificate would be issued for imported vehicle alre ady holding EC and US certification.  Applicants 
should use the foreign certification to apply for do mestic certification.  Document review included 
durability, manufacturer's specification and quality contro l plan.  In order to ensure that all produced 
vehicles meet Chinese Taipei's standard, a new vehi cle inspection would be carried out and vehicles 
                                                     
 
11 Ms. Hui Chen Chien, Senior Specialist, Department of Ai r Quality Protection and Noise C ontrol, EPA, Chinese Taipei. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 10  
 
Quality Control by Manufacturers
abnormalqualified Explain 
and 
correctSubmit to competent 
authority
ConfirmationVehicle 
selection
Simple 
AdjustmentnormalTest: Driving 
mode, Idle 
mode, 
Evaporation; Acceleration, Stationary noise.Random sampling:
Gasoline - 1 for every 200 vehicles
Heavy diesel - 1 for every 500 vehicles
Light diesel - 1 for every 200 vehicles
Noise for <3.5 ton - 1 for every 500 vehicles
Noise for >3.5 ton - 1 for every 100 vehicles
unqualified
Fewer random tests for those with good quality 
control (for exhaust emission only)abnormal
normalCost and fee depends 
on manufacturer itselfwould be randomly selected from the new vehicle lot and then delivered to the testing laboratory for 
emission and noise compliance test.  If the vehicles were not in compliance, then retest would be performed or if necessary, the certification withdrawn.   
39. The manufacturer was also 
required by law to carry out tests for 
quality control.  The selected vehicle 
first needed to do a confirmation check;  if it was normal, it would perform a conformity test;  if the test result complied with relevant standards, it was 
submitted to the authority;  if the vehicle 
did not comply, then the vehicle maker had to provide an explanation and propose the correction for follow-up review.  Some improvements had been 
made in the conformity assessment 
system:  the differences between laboratories had been minimised;  communication had been enhanced to increase the understanding of compliance certification documents;  for vehicle with a new technology, 
such as hybrid vehicles, a new test procedure was accepted to reduce the risk for import vehicle recall 
cost and promote vehicle industry technology;   and in accordance with the objectives and 
requirements of the TBT Agreement for acceptance of conformity assessment results, Chinese Taipei accepted European emission and noise certification as well as vehicles imported from other countries and holding EC or US certification.   
40. To conclude, after Chinese Taipei's accession to  the WTO, the imported value of vehicles and 
components continued to rise at a rate even higher than the GDP growth.  Second, given the high 
vehicle density, the need to protect the environm ent, public health and to remove non-tariff trade 
barriers, Chinese Taipei was harmonizing its ve hicle control standards and would place more 
emphasis on assessing cost effectiveness in the future .  Third, with the harmonization of regulations 
and standards, Chinese Taipei's conformity assessment  of vehicle emissions and noise was consistent 
with international practice.  Finally, as a Member of the WTO, Chinese Taipei would continue to meet 
its obligation to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade and its commitments under the WTO.   
41. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was indicated that new vehicles without an 
EC or US certification needed to be tested again.   Also, if a car met the national level standard in 
Chinese Taipei and it could be proven, it was possible to import this car. 
The Electricity Sector:  Trade and Confidence
12 
42. Trade and conformity assessment needed trust and confidence of consumers.  Consumers had 
to be sure that products were ha rmless, safe and long lasting.  C oncepts of trade and trust would 
consolidate further conformity assessment if one mana ged to gain the trust of consumers and ensure a 
better flow of goods and services in the country and with other countries.  Authorities establishing 
conformity assessment procedures needed to make su re that technical regulations were followed and 
abided by.  Authorities had to take into account wh at the best mechanism w as to ensure that the 
domestic market was well covered and that consumers' interests were protected.   
43. In Argentina, certain mechanisms had been put in  place in order to ensure the security and the 
safety of products.  The government had develope d a series of regulations for the protection of 
                                                      
12 Ms. María Juana Rivera, Technical  Barriers to Trade, Ministry of Economy and Production, Argentina.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 11 
 
 
citizens.  Special care had been given in establis hing instruments that would guarantee technological 
improvements taking place in national enterprises.  Several systems had been established for a wide 
variety of products:  electrical products, personal pr otection equipment, lifts or elevators, toys, 
bicycles and lighters.  The common features in all these systems included the following:  a regional rule or standard accepted by the parliament, or an international standard;  a system of conformity 
assessment through certification by third parties on the basis of ISO models and a system of 
marketing monitoring.   
44. In the electricity sector, there was a regula tion to guarantee the security and safety of 
electrical products that covered:  all electrical equipm ents;  the type of materi als that needed to be 
used in making any electrical appliance;  el ectronical goods; and household electrical goods.  The 
regulation applied to local producers, importers, dist ributors, wholesalers and retailers and the system 
was therefore not discriminatory because all products marketed in the country were covered whether 
national or imported.  On the produc t, reference had to be made to the basic features of the equipment, 
the country of origin, legal domicile and the type of product. 
45. In Argentina, the certification procedure was done by  a third party.  This system had to ensure 
the participation of all the different parties con cerned, it had to be accredited by the Argentinean 
office of accreditation which was a full member of  IEC, and it had to be acknowledged by the 
competent authority in the country.  There were diffe rent kinds of certification:  type certification or 
certification through the conformity label system or  through the batch certification system.  There was 
also a system of monitoring of the market of th ese products with certain verification procedures:  
certifications were checked and regularly reviewed.   
46. If governments based conformity assessment procedures on international standards, if 
certification and accreditation bodies subscribed  and endorsed multilateral arrangements, if 
laboratories, certification and verification bodies were accredited, certified and recognised according 
to international rules and instruments, there woul d be every possibility of successfully and mutually 
recognising products;  this would ensure that tr ade was based on one product, one test.  From 
Argentina's point of view, there was not a single system for conformity assessment.  Each one of the 
systems had advantages and disadvantages and each c ountry should take very much into account the 
particular conditions at its own stage of developmen t so as to choose the best system for conformity 
assessment.  Such system should not be inconvenien t for trade development and the variables that 
should be taken into account were the level of risk of the product, the development of its fiscal 
system, the legal framework of company responsibility  and the legal structure.  With these elements, 
considered jointly, each country could choose the best system for conformity assessment.   
47. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was pointed that the cost of testing and 
certification of electrical equipment fell upon producers. 
Implementation of Voluntary Conformity Assessment Market Programs
13 
48. There were many entities that could play a ro le in ensuring the market obtained what it 
needed.  The market could choose to purchase or not to purchase the product as a brand or as an 
individual product.  The government could set requir ements for high risk issues and manufacturers 
themselves could help preserve the market for thei r own future.  There was a need for regulation in 
certain product categories.  These regulations had to be based on a full risk assessment, which would 
provide the consumer and the government with confidence and fair commerce.   
                                                      
13 Mr. Wayne Morris, Vice President, Division Services, Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, United States.  The 
Association of Home Appliance Manufactu rers represented 200 companies scatte red throughout the world doing business in 
the United States.   G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 12  
 
49. In the area of confidence building, testing, inspection, SDoC, certification and registration 
could play a part.  The key was to find what level of confidence was necessary to satisfy the risk.  In 
some cases, SDoC could meet that need, in othe rs it might require product certification or even 
government regulation;  this depended on the type  of activity and its risk.  In deciding upon 
conformity assessment, the government had to consid er the actual level of risk.  An overuse of 
conformity assessment could restrict trade, slow dow n the introduction of products, create barriers to 
small emerging companies, reduce the technological  advancements of ma ny products, and reduce 
harmonization regionally or internationally.  One of the questions facing new markets and new goods 
was whether they should use voluntary or mandatory conformity assessment.  This decision should be 
based on the level of risk and consider the public, co nsider confidence levels of the market forces, the 
time to move the product from one market to another and the overall cost/value ratio.   
50. There were many examples of mandatory programs of conformity assessment:  the CCC mark 
in China, nutritional labelling in the United States,  energy efficiency labels in North America or 
Europe.  Cooperation of industry and certifiers, the market value of the products, their relatively lower 
risk, the value of the manufacturer's name on the product, the checks and balances that were already 
present on the market could meet the need without mandatory programs.  These could operate within 
or outside third party systems and still be voluntary in  nature.  If a product was low risk and subject to 
rapid market turnaround, a program of voluntary conf ormity assessment could work very effectively.   
51. Voluntary programs had the market place as their basis, as the key driver.  The name of the 
company was on the product and the true incentive w as to have a market that continued year after 
year.  Developing markets in nations should consid er each product sector separately:  sectors of 
textiles or information technology, appliances, earth  moving equipment or building materials had to 
be thought of as independent sectors.  Emerging nati ons and developing countries needed to consider 
recognising existing conformity assessment systems, recognising international standards and not just 
international standards that had the word "international" in their title.   
52. Developing countries should notify WTO Members of significant changes in their systems of 
conformity assessment and seek comments.  Lastly, any changes in conformity assessment should be 
notified with significant time for manufacturers and industries to make the necessary modifications.  
Manufacturers needed a minimum of 18 to 24 mont hs in order to make changes in design, 
manufacture and distribution.  Conformity assessment could be very effective in meeting the market 
needs but it had to be based on risks, needs and effects.  For many sectors, voluntary systems could meet these needs.  At the end of the day, th e consumer would see the name of the brand on the 
product, not the certifying mark at the back of the product.   
53. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was noted that the responsibility to educate 
consumers on voluntary conformity assessment was on manufacturers and their associations but also on the government, the media, the legal system to he lp punish severe offenders.  The retail sector also 
had a great responsibility and this was the case in th e United States.  For inst ance, while there was a 
voluntary system in the electrical sector for conf ormity assessment of appliances, it was largely the 
retail sector which enforced it.   
Canada’s Experience in Forest Certification
14 
54. Canada had about 10 per cent of the world' s forest representing 402 million hectares and 
93 per cent of the forest land was publicly owned.  There was a high level of private forest land in the 
eastern part of Canada.  The forest management was the responsibility of the ten provinces and three 
                                                      
14 Mr. Guillaume Gignac, QMI, Senior Manager, Product Manage ment, Canada.  QMI was the leading certification body in 
North America, part of the Canadian Standard Associa tion group, and accredited to a number of accreditation bodies, 
including by the Standard Council of Canada (SCC), the ANSI-ASQ Nationa l Accreditation Board (ANAB) in the 
United States, the Mexican Accreditation entity, and the National Standard Institute in Chile.  QMI had extensive experience 
in forest certification:   it certified over 54 m illion hectares of forest through two standards.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 13 
 
 
Global Forest Area Certified
millions of hectares certified as at Dec 2005
119.8
37.8
31.9
17.1
7.5 6.5 5.7 4.8 4.4 42.3
0102030405060708090100110120130
Canada USA Finland Sweden Germany Russia Australia Malaysia Brazil France ChileSource:  Canadian Sustainable Forestry 
Certification Coalition. December 2005
territories.  Canada exported 80 per cent of its fo rest products.  Three forest certification schemes 
were available in Canada:  (i) the CSA Z809 Sust ainable Forest Management (SFM) standard, which 
was the Canadian national standard and was accredited by  the SCC;  (ii)  the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC);  and (iii) the Sustainable Forestry Initiative standard (SFIS), which was accredited by 
the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (U.S.).  
55. CSA Z809-SFM, which was only used in Cana da, had three broad sections:  (i) public 
participation,  (ii) system requirements, and (iii)  performance requirements.  The public participation 
process involved putting in place a group of stake holders to determine objectives and targets and a 
timeframe to meet these objectives.   These stakeholders were repr esentatives from industry, academia, 
conservation and environmental gr oups, first nations (i.e. the abor iginals) and a number of other 
stakeholders.  The Standard Council of Cana da was the overseeing body which accredited the 
standards development organizations, the certifi cation bodies and also the products certification 
bodies.  The Canadian Standards Association was the organization that had the responsibility to 
develop national standards.  The Standard Coun cil Sustainable Forest Management accreditation 
program and currently the Standard Council of Ca nada had accredited four certification bodies to be 
able to conduct CSA Z809-SFM.   
56. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was an  international system covering forest 
management practices and the tracking and labelli ng of certified products a nd paper products with 
recycle content.  It had developed a set of 10 principles and 57 criteria for forest management this addressed legal aspects, indigenous rights, labour righ ts, multiple benefits a nd environmental impacts 
surrounding forest management.  However, countries ha d to develop their own national, or even in 
some aspects regional, standards using these global principles and criteria.   
57. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard ( SFIS), which was originally developed in the 
United States, was based on 9 principles that addr essed economic environment, cultural, and legal 
issues, in addition to a commitment to continuously  improve sustainable forest management.  That 
standard was both applicable in Canada and the Un ited States.  The standard contained 13 objectives 
covering sustainable forest management, procuremen t of wood and fibre, public reporting, continuous 
improvement and mitigating illegal logging.  
58. There was a fourth organization which 
originally started in Europe:  the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).  It was a membership based global umbrella 
organisation that provided mutual recognition 
framework for national forest certification systems developed in the multi-stakeholder process.  Canada’s Sustainable Forest Management Program, including the CSA Z809 
– SFM and SFIS, had been endorsed by PEFC.  
As of December 2005, Canada had about 
120 million hectares of forest land that were certified to one of the three standards.  This slide showed where Canada was in relation to forest certification worldwide.  
59. There were three driving forces which encouraged  forest companies in Canada to go towards 
forest certification:  (i) the market place,  (ii) th e industry itself,  (iii) and the governments.  In the 
market place, there was a number of business and gove rnment buyers particularly in Europe and 
North America that had been significant driver s for demand of certified wood and paper;  as a 
consequence, Canada being an e xporting nation was tremendously affected by that.  Some companies 
also committed to have certified forest products  when buying wood for their product lines.  Other 
companies explicitly had certified products according to their own established policies.  They had G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 14  
 
their own environmental policies and requested th at their suppliers provide them with products 
coming from well managed forests.  The second driver  was the forest industry itself.  The Forest 
Product Association of Canada (FPAC) represented the large majority of forest companies in Canada 
which were responsible for 75 per cent of the wo rking forest in Canada.  In 2002, FPAC committed 
its members to be third party certified to one of th e three main forest certification schemes (i.e. CSA, 
SFI and FSC) by the end of 2006.  It was the only trade association in the world with this type of 
commitment.  Forest certification increased 7 times in  4 years since then.  Th e last driving force was 
the governments.  In Canada, some provincial govern ments had enacted in laws (or were considering) 
on forest certification of public land.   
60. The forest industry faced a number of challenges in getting certified.  When forest 
certification first emerged as a tool, some businesses thought that demand for certified products would 
be driven by the willingness of the consumer to pa y a price premium for forest products labelled as 
certified.  However, since it did not happen, comp anies wondered about the utility of certification.  
Some companies tried to implement forestry sta ndards without a management system in place and 
found out early that it did not really work.  Then, these companies realised that instituting a strong 
environmental management system standard, lik e ISO 14001, would provide the proper foundation to 
move on to some of the forestry-specific certifi cation standards.  In fact, there was 169 million 
hectares that were certified in Canada under ISO 14001.  Other challenges included:  some 
environmental NGOs and purchasers lobbied for one for estry standard to be recognised in the market 
place only;  and the lack of information and education of decision makers on the differences and benefits of the different schemes.    
61. To conclude, Canada had learnt a number of l essons with this process.  First lesson, it was 
important to be third party certified by an accr edited certification body as it provided credibility and 
market access.  Second, it was impor tant to have four certification schemes in order to take into 
account national and regional differences.  Third, it was essential that decision makers be properly 
informed on the different forest certification schemes .  Finally, it was important to ensure that not 
only one forest certification scheme be imposed by stakeholders.   
62. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further stressed th at globally the forest 
industry was well committed to forest certification.  For instance, in Chile, in Brazil, in Europe, all 
forest industry companies were certified to one sch eme or another.  Replying to a question on the 
education of consumers on voluntary conformity assessment, it was noted that it was a challenge for the industry to educate consumers on the differe nces between schemes.  For instance, the Forest 
Products Association of Canada had an office in Euro pe to inform consumers on forest certification.   
SESSION II – FACILITATING THE ACCEPTANCE OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT 
RESULTS
15 
63. The intention of this session was to focus on th e implementation of the obligations contained 
in Article 6 of the TBT Agreement on the "Rec ognition of Conformity Assessment by Central 
Government Bodies" and discuss th e effectiveness of the differen t mechanisms to facilitate the 
acceptance of conformity assessment results.   
APPROACHES TO FACILITATE THE ACCEPTANCE OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT RESULTS  
64. Speakers were asked to address the advantag es of, and possible difficulties with, various 
approaches to facilitate the acceptance of conformity  assessment results and in particular the use of 
accreditation.  
                                                      
15 This session was moderated by Mr. Juan Antonio Dorantes (Mexico).  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 15 
 
 
All factors associated with moderate and 
high growth in export-related activity
1322253232405266
9283859
0 1 02 03 04 05 06 07 0Indirect technical assistance by home GovernmentRemoval of sub national requirementsGovernment efforts to get CA acceptedJoined a non-government mutual recognition schemeFormal MRA involving Home CountryEffort of accreditation bodies to promote of MRAs & MLAsNew accreditation by foreign GovernmentEasier to identify CA requirements in export marketExport growth faster than domestic growthNew export related technical competenceIncreased sales effort in export marketBroader acceptance of International standards
Trends in the Mechanisms to Facilitate the Acceptance of Conformity Assessment Results16 
65. The OECD carried out a survey of CABs a nd exporters in 2004 and 2005.  The purpose was 
to obtain evidence from key players in the field on perceptions of conformity assessment barriers to trade in manufactured goods, what they were, where and how important.  The survey identified trends 
in the practices of conformity assessment procedur es including concerning mechanisms to facilitate 
the acceptance of conformity assessment results.  Several mechanisms were covered by the survey 
and the following general conclusi ons could be drawn:  (i) for government-to-government mutual 
recognition agreements (MRAs), CABs reported be nefits from MRAs, while exporters remained 
concerned;  (ii) for voluntary arrangements of recognition between domestic and foreign bodies, the 
survey noted that there was an important activity ;  (iii) on SDoC, the survey found that there was 
some activity but so far only limited signs that it was actually replacing third party certification;  and 
(iv) on accreditation and designation by government s, the survey found that multiple accreditation 
was still a practice and that government designation was often used.   
66. 430 CABs responded to the survey:  272 bodies from Europe, covering 21 countries;  60 from 
America, covering 10 countries in that region;  78  from the South Pacific region including Australia 
and New Zealand;  and 40 from the Middle East a nd North Africa.  To reply to the survey, these 
bodies had to be involved in trade and certify traded goods.  There were less responses from exporters:  110 responses came from exporting compani es of all sizes, most were small and medium 
sized enterprises.  Some common characteristics includ ed that:  they sold products mostly identical at 
home and abroad;  they operated in sectors such as machinery, scientific instruments, medical devices 
and a lot in the area of electrical equipment, including electronics and IT products;  and their export 
markets were typically North America, China and individual members of the European Communities. 
67. In the CABs survey, as part of 
the factors associated with moderate and high growth in CABs’ export-related activity, an important number 
of CABs identified new accreditation 
by foreign governments as being a factor which helped them in their export trade activity.  The majority of these CABs were based in Europe.  Factors identified as being important 
for the good performance in the export 
activity included:  the efforts of accreditation bodies to promote their mutual recognition agreements and arrangements;  the existence of formal 
MRAs involving the home country of 
the CAB;  efforts by the government to push for conformity assessment to be accepted in fore ign markets;  efforts of CABs to join non-
governmental mutual recognition schemes;  and a br oader acceptance of international standards for 
conformity assessment and product regulation.   
68. Concerning accreditation, 23 per cent of CABs wh ich were accredited for product testing and 
certification reported multiple accreditation.  Some CABs reported that they had to refuse potential 
export-related CA orders and many of them me ntioned as a reason the lack of accreditation in 
destination markets.  Concerning government d esignation, there was a positive correlation between 
conformity assessment performance and being designa ted by a foreign government.  Therefore, the 
designation by a foreign government helped CAB activities and international trade.   
                                                     
 
16 Ms. Barbara Fliess, Principal Administrator, Trade Directorate, OECD. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 16  
 
69. Turning to the exporter survey, one question was "In your effort to export, offer a general 
judgement of the seriousness of problems caused  by the need to apply conformity assessment 
procedures for exports different from or additional to your practice in your home market".  For 
50 per cent of the respondents, these problems were critical or major and for 27 per cent it was not a problem.  Critical or major problems included that conformity assessment procedures increased costs 
of exporting and delayed the marketing of new products.  On the issue of duplication and non-
recognition, exporters expressed some  concerns about the refusal of  governments and export markets 
to accept home country test reports or certificates.  Almost half of the exporters expressed a concern about the imposition by governments in export markets of different tests.   
70. In the Questions and Answers Session , it was further noted that there seemed to be a real 
discrepancy between the findings of the CAB and the exporter surveys with respect to the role that 
information played.  It appeared that CABs had info rmation at hand while exporters did not or at least, 
did not get it as easily or as timely.  It was very im portant for exporters to have information on the 
requirements in export markets in a timely,  accurate and comprehensive fashion.   
Accreditation as an Approach to Facilitate the Acceptance of Conformity Assessment Results 
and the Benchmarking Procedure
17 
71. The Joint Accreditation System of Australia-New Zealand (JAS-ANZ ) was set up to support 
a trans-Tasman TBT arrangement for manageme nt systems, products, personnel and inspection 
bodies.  Accreditation underpinned international trade through providing confidence in the integrity of 
conformity assessment activities through the accredita tion of CABs against international norms.  
JAS-ANZ had developed a number of programs with regulators and industry groups to assist in the 
establishment of conformity assessment schemes which f acilitated trade.  In cooperation with industry 
groups, JAS-ANZ developed a number of programs, generally codes of conducts, sustainability and 
demonstration to regulators and consumers that products were in compliance.   
72. JAS-ANZ now provided 18 different pr ogrammes for the regulatory sector and 
14 programmes for the industry.  This was in addition to the 15 programmes based on certification 
and inspection to national and international st andards.  JAS-ANZ developed programmes for 
regulators, such as the Aust Quarantine and Insp ection Service (AQIS) and the New Zealand Food 
Safety Authority (NZFSA) to underpin the issuance of export certification.  Accredited certification 
programmes had also been developed to facilitate government funding of service providers in the area 
of medical general practice and disability employment  services.  Industry used accredited certification 
to ensure that suppliers were meeting basic cu stomer standards and regulatory requirements, to 
provide evidence of due diligence, and reduce cost s in maintaining expensive supplier monitoring 
activities.     
73. JAS-ANZ participated in the EUREPGAP benc hmarking programme.  This programme used 
the international infrastructure to facilitate rec ognition of schemes that provided an equivalent 
outcome to the EUREPGAP schemes.  The objective wa s to reduce the need for farmers to meet the 
requirements of multiple standards, thereby reducin g audit impost for food producers.  JAS-ANZ was 
the first organization to start this kind of progr amme and now there was one or two other accreditation 
bodies who performed that function.  The benchm arking process required the comparison of an 
applicant scheme standard and scheme rules agains t those of the appropriate EUREPGAP scheme. 
74. To conclude, over the last eight years, the awareness of accreditation and conformity 
assessment in Australia and New Zealand had grow n.  JAS-ANZ had about 48 different programmes, 
accredited 57 certification bodies in 12 economies, mainly in the Asia Pacific region but also in the 
United States and in the United Kingdom. 
                                                      
17 Mr. Tony Craven, Chief Executive, Joint Accreditation System of Australia-New Zealand.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 17 
 
 
Mutual recognition by foreign national, regional and international 
accreditation organizations
MAURITAS
Conformity assessment bodies
Certification of products, systems, personnelInspection of processes, products, plant and equipment, etc Testing and calibration
International standards, technical specifications, health and safety 
standards, regulatory approvals, etc.
Manufacturing and service industriesNational Quality Infrastructure75. During the Question and Answers Session , it was indicated that three staff members of 
JAS-ANZ provided technical assistance.  For inst ance, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand received 
such assistance.  There was also  a project for Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar to provide 
them with some advice on setting up an accreditation infrastructure and another one with the Gulf states to provide technical services to help them set up an accreditation system for both laboratories 
and management systems. 
The Experience of Mauritius in the Use of Accreditation
18 
76. In 1994-1999, the World Bank carried out a technical assistance project in Mauritius and 
recommended the establishment of a national accredita tion body.  Following that recommendation, a 
National Laboratory Accreditation Council was se t up in 1997 and the Mauritius Accreditation 
Service Act was adopted in December 1998 by the National Assembly.  The main functions of the 
Mauritius Accreditation Service (MAURITAS) were:  to provide a national unified service for the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, i.e laboratory certification bodies and 
inspection bodies for the whole country and 
also for the region;  and to establish mutual recognition arrangements with other national, regional and international accreditation bodies.  The first step to establish an accreditation body was to set up a national quality infrastructure.  
To support the industry, Mauritius needed 
testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies for certification of products, personnel and management systems.  MAURITAS consisted of a director,  
one person in charge of the laboratory's accredita tion section and another person of the certification 
bodies section.   
77. Accreditation was important for trade facilitation but also for the protection of health, safety 
and the environment.  The first pillar of the strate gy used in Mauritius to implement accreditation was 
to create awareness of training laboratories, all t echnical assessors, and the staff of the accreditation 
body.  The second pillar of Mauritius strategy on accreditation was based on twin agreements with 
two foreign recognised accreditation bodies which could help with the technical expertise and the first 
assessments.  MAURITAS signed these twin ag reements with the South African National 
Accreditation System (SANAS) and the Norwegian accreditation body.  MAURITAS had already started assessing conformity assessment bodies with  the help of experts from these accreditation 
bodies.   
78. MAURITAS was also sponsoring and building capacity  at the local level.  There were already 
13 laboratories who had applied for accreditation, fo ur of them had undergone a document review and 
pre-assessment and would probably be undergoing  the real assessment in a few months and be 
awarded the certification of accreditation.  In Mauritius, the level of awareness had raised on 
accreditation and laboratories were seeing the importa nce of having accreditation in the country.   
79. Two examples of the use of accreditation could be mentioned.  First, following the death of 
two children who swallowed gadgets sold together with snacks and other food stuff, it was decided 
that all food stuff accompanied by gadgets and toys had to have an accredited test certificate.  The 
second example was in relation to a number of sec ond hand imported cars.  Following the import of 
                                                     
 
18 Mr. Robin Neeren Gopee, Acting Director, Mauritius Accreditation Service (Mauritas). G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 18  
 
stolen cars, it was decided to impose an accredite d pre-inspection shipment certificate to accompany 
all second hand imported vehicles.   
80. Following these incidents, the government had ta ken the decision to have a reference to 
accredited conformity assessment bodies in the text of technical regulations.  The government was 
also considering the promulgation of technical regul ations on a number of items to ensure consumer 
safety, for instance for electrica l appliances.  Developing countries needed also to adopt good 
regulatory practice while introducin g technical regulations.  Once a country had a national quality 
infrastructure, standards bodies, a metrology institu tion, the government had to make sure it had a 
good framework for developing technical regulations th at would take into account impact assessments 
and issues of accreditation of CABs.   
81. International recognition was the ultimate ai m of MAURITAS as a national accreditation 
body.  MAURITAS wanted to obtain the signatory status, with both ILAC (International Laboratory 
Accreditation Cooperation) and IAF (International Accreditation Forum).  It was therefore necessary 
to use international standards, promote proficiency testing among laboratories, and, very important for 
developing countries, have traceability of m easurements, i.e. metrology facilities.   
82. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further noted that the accreditation 
activities of MAURITAS had only started in mi d-2005.  MAURITAS had established a strategic 
partnership with SANAS because the accreditation provided in Mauritius would then be recognised 
by IAF and ILAC as the assessment would be done  jointly by MAURITAS and SANAS.  As to the 
difficulties which the laboratories had to cope with, those were mainly financial and human resource 
problems, as this was a very technical and specialised sector.   
Approaches to Facilitate the Recognition of Results:  The Experience of the 
European Co-operation for Accreditation
19 
83. The development of the European accreditation infrastructure started with the establishment 
of the Western European Calibration Cooperation in 1976, and the Western European Laboratory 
Accreditation Cooperation in 1987, and progressed with  the merging of these two organizations into 
the Laboratory Accreditation (EAL) in 1994.  Meanwh ile, in 1991, the Accreditation of Certification 
and Inspection Bodies (EAC) was also established.   The European Cooperation for Accreditation 
(EA) was formed through the merging of EAL and EA C and became a legal entity, in form of a non-
for-profit association registered in the Netherlands in June 2000. 
84. EA was the association of the national Eur opean accreditation bodies providing accreditation 
of all conformity assessment activities (calibrati on, testing, inspection, management system 
certification, product certification, personnel certific ation, EMAS declarations).  It operated under a 
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU ) with the European Commission and the European Free Trade 
Association (EFTA) and its main purposes were:  to develop accreditation criteria and guidelines 
which would ensure effective and harmonized performance of national accreditation bodies in 
Europe;  and to contribute to the pursuance of si milar achievements worldwide, through its active 
membership in ILAC and IAF.  This mission was pursued by a number of activities and, chiefly, by 
the management of the EA Multilateral Arrangement (EA MLA). 
85. Currently, EA gathered 32 full members – among which 24 EA MLA signatories – and 
2 associate members, representing 34  European countries;  16 contracts of cooperation had been 
signed with accreditation bodies representing 14 count ries outside Europe.  The EA organizational 
structure consisted of an advisory board, a gene ral assembly, an executive committee, a number of 
technical committees (among which the EA MAC Co mmittee ruling the EA MLA) and a permanent 
secretariat with three full time staff.  At the level of single national economies, accreditation created 
                                                      
19 Mr. Lorenzo Thione, Chairman, European Co-operation for Accreditation.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 19 
 
 
confidence in the accredited conformity assessment  services and the corresponding results.  At the 
European level, the EA MLA confirmed and enhanc ed such confidence and eliminated (or limited) 
multiple assessments.  To ensure  the effectiveness of the EA MLA,  each signatory was subject to 
rigorous routine evaluations by peer assessment teams, in order to verify continuous conformity to the 
provisions of international standards and guides,  as well as to ad-hoc EA application documents. 
86. The development of EA was linked to expected  developments, in respect of conformity 
assessment, at the European level.  The Europ ean Commission was going to present a proposal for a 
new horizontal legislative approach to technical ha rmonization in Europe with the aim of providing a 
legal basis for a number of activities, such as accreditation and market su rveillance.  This new 
legislation should represent the basis for the juridical recognition of accreditation in Europe, by 
legally formalizing its function of service of general public interest. 
87. It was expected that EA would be formally  recognized by European institutions through 
agreements with the European Commission and EFTA.  In order to properly perform such tasks, EA 
was called to: (i)  strengthen its corporate infr astructure and its administrative and technical 
organization, including a more effective and wider involvement of European stakeholders;  (ii) 
improve its peer evaluation system;  (iii) invigorat e its contribution to the consistent and coherent 
interpretation and application of the standa rds for accreditation, by providing optimized 
supplementary guidance;  (iv) strengthen the cooperation with Europ ean and international 
standardization bodies;  (v) reinforce its cultural ro le, both in terms of contribution to the continuous 
improvement of the competence of its members and of support to the building up of conformity assessment infrastructures in devel oping European and non-European countries;  (vi) strengthen its 
capability of supplying technical expertise to the European Commission;  and (vii) reinforce its 
capacity of influencing the activities of internati onal organizations like IAF and ILAC in order to 
promote the diffusion of the "European way of accreditation". 
88. European accreditation was looking towards a future of growing success and greater 
achievements, provided it would be capable to prope rly manage the outstanding challenges.  One of 
the major threats currently at EA was to safeguard the value and credibility of management 
certification but in particular of ISO 9000 accredite d certification.  There was worldwide about one 
million of ISO 9000 accredited certification;  about half  of this certification was in Europe.  The goal 
was that this certification be a real indicator of the capability of the certified organisation to consistently provide products and services able to fulfil the applicable requirement.  EA was going to 
enhance the activities of its accreditation system, to introduce new criteria in order to safeguard the 
value and the credibility of this management system  certification.  To achieve this, EA needed 
feedback from the market, cooperation with the indus try, users and consumers and stakeholders.    
89. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was noted that the issue of multiple 
accreditation was not so critical in Europe.  Accred ited conformity assessment attestation in Europe 
could freely circulate without the need to have di fferent accreditation.  EA was doing its best at the 
European level to harmonize the operation of the di fferent accreditation bodies so as to ensure full 
confidence in the accredited attestation of conform ity.  Following a question on whether the activities 
in Europe should be accredited by EA or if be ing accredited by European accreditation bodies was 
enough, it was noted that the general trend was that  conformity assessment attestations in Europe 
were being issued by CABs accredited by EA memb ers or by ILAC or IAF members.  EA was trying 
to extend its multilateral agreement in order to have all European accreditation bodies inside the 
multilateral agreement.  The EA was also establishing  a contract of cooperation with a number of non-
European accreditation bodies.  Following a question on the assessment of ISO 9001 certified 
companies, it was clarified that EA was looking not  only at the operation of the certification body, its 
organisation, its procedure but also at the real c onditions of the management system being certified.  
This was important as if EA did not enhance its c ontrol on the ISO 9000 certification, there would be 
a serious risk of disqualifying the value and credibility of such certification on the world market.   G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 20  
 
Government A
CABs in Country  B CABs in Country  AGovernment B
Designation in 
accordance with 
the technical 
Regulations and 
procedure of 
country BDesignation in 
accordance with 
the technical 
Regulations and 
procedure of 
country ACertificateAcceptance
Certificate
< Equivalent
>Conformity Assessment 
in accordance with the
technical Regulations of 
country AConformity Assessment 
in accordance with the
technical Regulations of 
country BTraditional Mutual Recognition [JPN-EU/SGP]MUTUAL ACCEPTANCE OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT RESULTS  
90. Speakers were asked to address the merits  and possible difficulties in negotiating 
government-to-government mutual recognition agreements , and to discuss ways to promote 
acceptance by regulatory authorities of results by c onformity assessment bodies participating in 
voluntary arrangements . 
Experiences in Formal Mutual Recognition Agree ments:  Sectors Covered, Possible Difficulties 
Faced in the Negotiations and Key Elements for a Successful Conclusion20 
91. To recall, Article 6.1 stipulated that Members shall ensure that results of conformity 
assessment procedures in other Members were acce pted even when those procedures differed from 
their own on the condition that they were satisfi ed that those procedures offered an assurance of 
conformity with applicable technical regulations or  standards equivalent to their own procedures.  
From the viewpoint of MRA negotiators and regulatory authorities, this article was very restrictive.  
Article 6.3 was proposing concrete actions, i.e. to en ter into negotiations for the conclusion of a MRA 
but with a very restrictive precondition, i.e. that su ch agreements fulfil the criteria of Article 6.1 and 
give mutual satisfaction regarding their potential fo r facilitating trade.  Based on Article 6.3, Japan 
had concluded MRAs with the Eur opean Union and with Singapore. 
92. This graph showed the MRA 
mechanism.  In the case of the MRA with the European Communities, the Japanese government designated its own domestic CABs located in the territory of Japan.  In 
such a process, the government of Japan had 
to completely understand and manage the rules, regulations and procedures of the European Communities.  However, in this case, the government of Japan had not visited 
directly European CABs since it only had to 
communicate with Japanese CABs.  Therefore, there was less cost involved and Japanese CABs were designated by the Japanese government in accordance with the EU Directives.  These Japanese CABs conducted the conformity assessment activities in accordance 
with European rules and the Japanese industri es were only in contact with Japanese CABs.   
93. Four areas were covere d by this MRA:  electrical produc ts, telecommunication products, GLP 
for chemicals, and GMP for medicinal products.  In the field of electrical products, Japanese 
designated CAB issued less than 40 certifications.  In the field of telecom equipments, no CABs were designated in Japan.  On the European Communities side, in the field of electrical products, no CABs 
were designated by European authorities on behalf of  Japan.  In the field of telecom equipments, two 
CABs were designated and about 600 ce rtifications issued in the last 3-4 years.  To summarize, in the 
field of telecom equipments, the MRA had contribut ed to the export from the European Communities 
but no contribution to the export from Japan.  On the other hand, in the electrical products, this MRA mechanism had not contributed to exports for both sides. 
94. Regarding the MRA with Singapore, two areas were covered:  electrical products, and 
telecommunications terminal equipment and radio e quipment.  However, for this MRA, there was no 
concrete results and no contribution to the tr ade between Japan and Singapore so far.   
                                                     
 
20 Mr. Shinji Fujino, Director, International Affairs Office of  Technical Regulations, Standa rds and Conformity Assessment 
Policy Unit, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 21 
 
 
What MRAs are in place?
Note: PECAs or ACAAs with accession countries were
withdrawn on their accession to the EU.1 July 2004 United States
(marine equipment)1 December 1998 United States1 June 2002 Switzerland1 January 1999 New Zealand1 January 2002 Japan1 May 2000 Israel1 November 1998 Canada1 January 1999 AustraliaEntry into force Country95. Another trade promotion mechanism was referred to in Article 6.4, which stipulated that 
Members were encouraged to permit participation of CABs located in  the territories of other Members 
in their conformity assessment procedures and u nder conditions no less favourable than those 
accorded to bodies located within thei r territories.  This basically encouraged Members to treat CABs 
in other Members as equally as possible to domestic CABs.  In the field of electrical products, under 
the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety La w, a Japanese designating authority could also 
designate foreign CABs as equally as Japanese CA Bs.  From the viewpoint of trade facilitating 
functions, this contributed to prom ote exports from foreign countries to Japan.  If anot her country also 
conducted such cross-border designations, it would be a kind of mutual cross-border designation 
mechanism.  The main difference with the tr aditional mutual recognition mechanism was who 
designated the CABs in each country.   
96. For the industry, there were no differences be tween these two types of mechanisms because 
companies only had to directly contact its own domestic CABs.  For the government, traditional 
MRAs were more costly, in particular their negotiation.  Implementation costs depended on who 
designated CABs, domestic authority or trade pa rtner authorities.  There were two types of 
mechanisms available between Japan  and the European Communities:  the traditional MRA and direct 
designation under their cross-border designations.  Fr om the viewpoint of the European Communities, 
under the traditional mutual recognition, there were  no concrete results, th ere were no CABs under 
this MRA.  On the other hand, under the cross-bor der designations, there were  two CABs, which were 
designated by Japanese authorities directly and about 120-140 certifications had already been issued.  The conclusion was that European CABs preferre d cross-border designations even though they were 
well aware that there existed a traditional MRA betw een Japan and the European Communities.  Such 
a cross-border designation worked well.  However, this  was just an example in the field of electrical 
products and it was not sure that the comparison w ould have the same result in other field.   
97. To conclude, cross-border designation worked well for electrical products, compared to 
traditional MRAs,;  also private network mechanis ms worked better, including commercial networks 
and mutual recognition mechanism like IECEE-CB scheme.  Therefore, from the point of view of 
policy planners, before negotiating MRAs, it would be better to promote the awareness of private 
mechanism networks.  Even though, it was needed to negotiate for some mechanisms, the possibility 
of cross-border designation mechanism would be a pr omising, concrete and pr actical choice.  Japan 
was now negotiating with some Asian countries b ased on this cross-border designation mechanism. 
Mutual Recognition Agreements and Regulato ry Cooperation:  Some EU Experiences
21 
98. MRA involved the recognition of results 
of compulsory certification required by a party where the certificates were issued by CABs in the territory of another party.  Such an MRA did not itself  imply harmonisation of technical 
regulations or standards.  Currently, the 
European Communities had MRAs in place with Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and two with the United States.   
99. There were different types of MRAs.  
First, traditional MRAs were without alignment 
of rules or standards.  Such traditional MRAs 
were in place with the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and part of th e MRA with Switzerland was also based on that 
principle.  Second, some agreements were based on the acquis  of the European Community, pre-
                                                     
 
21 Mr. Paul De Lusignan, DG Trade and Mr. Brian Jenkinson, DG Enterprise, European Communities. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 22  
 
accession, i.e. the set of European legislation.  That was the case with protocols to European 
agreements (PECAs).  Countries that were candidate  for entry into the European Union had the right 
to negotiate agreements that brought their legisla tion in line with the Eur opean Community ahead of 
their accession in order to get free movement of goods.  Third, based on the acquis , but without 
foreseeing accession, were the agreements on conf ormity assessment and acceptance of industrial 
products (ACAAs):  they worked the same way but for countries in the European neighbourhood 
wishing to align their legislation and standardization with that of the European Union and gain access 
to the European market on the same terms as member States.  Finally, there were agreements based on 
international rules or standards, for instance  the agreement on marine equipment with the 
United States.  This implied that the US coast guard s were in effect recognized as one of EC notified 
bodies, so the European Communities had in effect adopted some of the Japanese approach of cross-
border designation.  Equally, European Union CA Bs could mark their products approved by the 
US coast guard.  A traditional MRA enabled certification to the other party's rules by a local CAB rather than by a CAB located in the other part y.  An MRA based on common rules and standards 
eliminated duplicate testing and improved market access for both sides.  PECAs and ACAAs 
recognised in addition progress towards adoption of European legislation. 
100. Concerning the results of MRAs, the exampl e of the MRA with Japan showed some 
substantial activity in the area of telecommunicati ons certification.  Also, in the area of marine 
equipment, the MRA had a lot of activity and a certa in amount of certification from both sides.  It was 
working well and the EFTA recently made a parall el MRA so as to improve trade in the marine 
equipment area.  On the other hand, the EMC ag reement with Canada was in a way a success as it 
would soon be obsolete because both sides were moving to  SDoC.  On electrical safety, there were no 
compulsory third party certification requirements so this was purely one-sided and the MRA had no 
effect on trade to Europe.  To conclude on these e xperiences, PECAs and ACAAs were of interest for 
potential partner countries in the European neighbour hood.  A positive consequence of MRAs was the 
development of a dialogue between MRA partners' re gulatory authorities.  Little or no trade had been 
observed under some MRA sectors.  A last finding w as that MRAs were ineffective if they did not 
cover all requirements for a product.   
101. In relation to conformity assessment, the Eur opean Communities had a four-fold strategy:  
(i) support the TBT Agreement;  (ii) bilateral agr eements at government level;  (iii) regulatory 
cooperation activities;  and (iv) technical assistance.  In  an ideal world, the best way to eliminate trade 
barriers was harmonization.  However, harmonization might be fairly difficult for several countries to 
achieve together.   
102. Regulatory cooperation could be viewed as a part  of good regulatory practice.  It was a long 
term process but it contributed to avoiding unnecessary obstacles to trade.  It could help to achieve 
better understanding between regulators, especia lly concerning the objectives and scope of a 
legislation.  Typically regulatory cooperation wa s voluntary and informal.  Regulators in different 
countries consulted each other, on a bilateral or multilat eral basis, and this could result in more formal 
agreements.  There were three elements of regul atory cooperation:  (i) good governance, which was 
tied up to the concept of good regulatory practice;  (ii) trade policy in order to reduce trade barriers;  
and (iii) competitiveness of industry by reducing, or if  possible eliminating, duplicative requirements.   
103. Some examples of bilateral cooperation included cooperation with the United States, China, 
Canada and Japan.  With the United States, a trans-Atlantic economic policy was in place and 
produced some regulatory cooperatio n guidelines, which had been applied in a number of sectors.  
There was a regulatory policy dialogue with China on 12 different areas.  There were working groups 
for example on conformity assessment, on standards a nd on several industrial sectors.  With Canada, 
the regulatory cooperation was just starting.  Wi th Japan, a Standard and Conformity Assessment 
Working Party was meeting annually for about 10 y ears and it had been a very productive forum to 
exchange information and to learn from each ot her.  Some examples of multilateral cooperation 
included:  cooperation in the area of medical devi ces;  UNECE was active in regulatory policy and in  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 23 
 
 
the automobile sector;  OECD on good laboratory prac tice for chemicals;  the EuroMed cooperation;  
and the European/Asian meeting.   
104. Regulatory cooperation actions were often pr oductive as they could help to converge 
regulations and procedures.  For instance, the telecommunication sector had deregulated over years 
both in the United States and in Europe.  However, it was time consuming and not possible to have 
dialogues with all potential partners.  Prioritisati on was necessary as it might be a problem to apply 
this in a general sense in developing countries with limited resources. 
105. In the Questions and Answers Session , it was further noted that EC's experience demonstrated 
that about five conditions needed to be considered  for a traditional MRA to work:  (i) the possibility 
of a substantial trade between parties;  (ii) a ge neral commitment to the use of the MRA by regulators 
concerned;  (iii) a compulsory third party certifi cation being a substantial obstacle to trade in the 
goods concerned;  (iv) regulatory convergence needed  to be possible;  and (v) the MRA had to cover 
all the mandatory requirements for placing the prod uct on the market in both parties.  In the case 
where an MRA did not cover all requirements, ther e was an assessment to be made to see whether 
complying with additional requirements was too trade restrictive to justify an MRA on certain 
requirements only.  It was also stressed that implementation issues were important because some 
sectors required a lot of confidence-building, partic ularly sectors that related to health, such as 
medical device, and pharmaceuticals.  These were probably the type of sectors where it was most difficult to negotiate an MRA because it took a very  long time for regulators on both sides to have the 
confidence to trust the second party in the MR A to designate conformity assessment bodies. 
Sector-Specific Examples of Arrangements Between Conformity Assessment Bodies ("Peer 
Assessments")
22 
106. The electronics and IT industry sector was one of the biggest users of conformity assessment.  
Concerning safety requirement for TV broadcastin g receivers, there were 74 countries and regions 
stipulating regulatory requirements.  All these countries and regions had transposed, or made 
reference to, the IEC safety standard for th eir conformity assessment.  32 countries/regions 
implemented mandatory certifications prior to pr oduct marketing (for instance CIS, Middle-East & 
Far-East Asia, etc).  42 countries/regions implemented SDoC (for instance Australia, New Zealand, the European Communities, Eastern Europe, etc.).  Product design conformity to IEC standard was an 
essential tool for worldwide one-stop testing.   
107. There were three essential elements in conf ormity assessment activities:  assessment quality, 
cost effectiveness, and global acceptance.  Various  tools were used for conformity assessment: 
product standards;  the TBT Agreement;  the IECE E-CB scheme;  conformity assessment standards;  
mutual recognition agreements and arrangement s;  laboratory accreditation;  and SDoC.   
108. Concerning Japan's contribution to the IECEE-CB scheme, 60 per cent of the total number of 
CB certificates issued worldwide were for electronics  and IT products and 22 pe r cent of them were 
from Japan.  Another tool was the use of labor atory accreditation.  For product safety the MLA 
integration scheme was a much finer tool.  On the other hand, in the EMC areas, the laboratory 
accreditation scheme was based on ISO/IEC 17025.  Th e big advantage of promoting MLA was that it 
was a cost effective conformity assessment and it mean t a shorter time to market with credible data 
and also a maximum use of resources for the assessment of new safety technology. 
109. Some of the main findings from the conform ity assessment experience in the company in 
relation to the TBT Agreement, included:  (i) conformity assessment was a lengthy procedure but 
drastic regulatory reform was possible, like the Ch inese CCC scheme;  (ii) it was expected that Russia 
                                                     
 
22 Mr. Toshiyuki Kajiya, Senior manager,  Engineering Administration Group, Corpor ate R&D Strategy Office, Matsushita 
Electric Industrial Co., Ltd, Panasonic, Japan. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 24  
 
became a Member of the WTO;  (iii)  reference to international standards/guides as a basis for CA 
procedures should be more binding.  Findings on mutual recognition agreement and arrangements 
included:  (i) Lengthy procedure and limited to selected countries appropriate for FTA/MRA;  and 
(ii) in some cases, MRAs were limited to products  domestically manufactured in both countries and 
did not cover the ones manufactured in third-countries. 
110. Concerning the use of IECEE-CB scheme:  (i) the scheme enabled one-step testing among 
National Certification Bodies (NCBs), but a full cer tification scheme including factory inspection was 
still not in full operation;  (ii) EMC as a new t ool box of CB Scheme was welcome, but countries 
implementing mandatory certification did not participate;  (iii) the new NCBs and the CB test laboratories from developing countries were welcome but this should not hinder the sound operation 
of the scheme.  On laboratory accreditation:  (i) some accreditation bodies did not accept MTL due to 
reasons of neutrality and independency;  (ii) sp ecification of ISO/IEC 17025 was management system 
oriented and not appropriate for specific technology sectors such as EMC;  (iii) accreditation forum such as ILAC should approach closely the nationa l regulators to influence their legislation. 
111. To conclude, possible improvements to achieve  one standard, one test accepted everywhere 
included for regulators:  the promotion of good regulatory practice with a minimum intervention of 
conformity assessment procedure prior to product marketing;  the transposition of international 
schemes into national legislation;  and the desi gnation or accreditation of CABs under the national 
legislation to be based on technical competence only, not dependent on physical location.  For 
standard developers, the following achievements co uld be made:  speed up the standardization to 
catch up technology development; and standardiza tion activities should be more appropriate for 
proper conformity assessment.  Finally to CA providers, improvements could include:  further 
promotion of homogeneous implementation among CA Bs;  the establishment of equal partnership 
with CA users by offering value-added CA ser vices as a means of supplementing SDoC.   
IEC Experience in Arrangements Between Confor mity Assessment Bodies Used by Regulators
23 
112. The IEC was celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.  There was one national committee 
per country.  IEC national committees had a certain number of rules to follow but no organizational 
requirements.  Therefore, there was a large variety of organizations in the national committees.  IEC was both developing standards and providing confor mity assessment services.  However, IEC itself 
did not actually test any product but organized conformity assessment bodies worldwide in the area of electronics, electricity and related technologies,  so that mutual recognition could occur. 
113. IEC clearly encouraged everybody to adopt IE C standards because they were industry-driven 
and drafted by experts in the field.  IEC standa rds were designed to be useful in all kinds of 
conformity assessment, including SDoC.  The confor mity assessment board was in charge of three 
conformity assessment schemes, each of which was a third party scheme.  The three schemes were respectively in the area of electrical equipment,  explosive atmospheres and quality assessment system 
for electronic components.  The last one was almo st entirely on a voluntary basis and had very little 
connection with regulations.   
114. The acceptance of certification bodies and testin g laboratories into IEC schemes was done by 
peer assessment.  Certification bodies typically asse ssed each other.  Neither IEC nor the schemes 
carried out testing or issued certificates.  The tes ting was carried out by laboratories and certificates 
were issued by certification body members of th e schemes.  Openness was a basic principle in the 
IEC.  Schemes were open to any manufacturer anywhere in the world:  a country did not have to be in 
an IEC member country to enjoy the benefits of  the schemes.  IEC schemes were product-based, not 
system-based, although IECQ had a system comp onent.  That was almost exclusively product 
certifications that were mutually recognized:  once is sued in one country, recognized in all countries.   
                                                     
 
23 Mr. Gabriel Barta, Secretary of the IEC Conformity Assessment Board and Head of  Technical Coordination.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 25 
 
 
115. Industry used IEC schemes even though comparatively few regulators today rely directly on 
IEC schemes.  IEC schemes gave them a lot of c onfidence in the quality of the products supplied to 
them by their suppliers.  This was not IEC business to know whether regulators relied on its schemes 
or not.  The IECEE-CB scheme was a big seller:  41 000 certificates were issued in 2005.  There were 
many categories in which the CB scheme was active.   
116. The process was as followed.  A manufacturer made an electrical product and sent it for 
testing so it could be certified.  A laboratory test ed the product for conformity to IEC standards and 
issued a test certificate.  If the manufacturer wished to sell the product in another country, it sent the 
certificate to a test lab in the second country.  The second laboratory issued its certification mark without having to test the equipment because it r ecognized the testing and assessment that had already 
been done.  The manufacturer was then able to a ffix the national mark of conformity of the second 
country to the product and export the product to that  country.  Therefore, it was the certificate that 
made the trip and not a person.  This was obvi ously important to industry for cost reasons. 
117. The IEC Scheme for Certification to Standa rds for Electrical Equipment for Explosive 
atmospheres (IECEx), was a much smaller scheme.  IECEx was a Type 5 ("full") CA system because 
explosive atmospheres were very dangerous.  It included systems, competence, and surveillance.  
There were already several regulators relying on IECEx test certificates as satisfying the regulations.     
SESSION III – BUILDING A CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT INFRASTRUCTURE IN 
DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS 
T
HE CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT INFRASTRUCTURE OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS  
118. This session examined ways to put in place an  effective conformity assessment infrastructure 
in developing country Members, taking into consid eration the resources available to them and their 
technical and infrastructural concerns. 
Nigeria's Example of a Conformity Assessment  System in a Developing Country Member:  
Concerns and Challenges24 
119. The Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) was in charge of inspection of products and 
factories.  About 97 per cent of domestic consumption in Nigeria was imported.  These products had 
to be tested in order to protect the safety of cons umers, and the protection of the environment.  SON 
concluded a partnership with UNIDO and establishe d an infrastructure for testing, calibration and 
certification.  It started with the certification of policy management systems and the training of 
personnel in ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, and then th e establishment of testing laboratories. 
120. For all products that were manufactured locally in  Nigeria, conformity was expected with the 
Nigerian industry standard (NIS) or any other accep table international standard.  By so doing, SON 
facilitated international trade, prevented the sale of substandard products to the country, protected 
health and property, and prevented pollution of th e environment.  This had inspired consumers' 
confidence in purchased goods and created a level pl aying ground where products were competitive in 
the market and able to stand the dumping of substandard products especially from the eastern market.  
This had been one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria.  The government was putting an emphasis on 
diversification to agricultural products rather than oil.   
121. Facilities and means to check fo r compliance included:  standards elaborated by a national 
standards body and used for evaluating products;  and since there were no accredited laboratories, a 
process was put in place to establish a national accred itation system through technical assistance from 
UNIDO.  There were similar programmes with other countries such as Uganda.  Under the UNIDO 
                                                      
24 Mr. John Ndanusa Akanya, Director-Gener al, Standards Organization of Nigeria. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 26  
 
agreement on technical cooperation, a big laborator y was commissioned in April 2006, a textile and 
leather laboratory was established and an engineering lab in the eastern part of the country for testing 
materials and other technical products.   
122. Imports of products from the eastern market had become an economic threat in recent times.  
A conformity assessment programme (SONCAP) was set up to use special agencies that had the 
competence to certify products offshore before they ca me in the country.  In line with this, there was a 
mandatory conformity assessment program (MANCA P) for all the manufactured products.  Although 
standards were not mandatory but voluntary, once im plemented, they became de facto mandatory as it 
was necessary to ensure the conformity with those standards.   
123. Metrology was very crucial to sustainable ec onomic development.  Therefore, with the 
collaboration of UNIDO, calibration laboratories for mass, length, volume and force were established 
in the country.  Staff were currently undergoing training in different parts of the world in order to gain 
experience and come back to the country to r un these laboratories.  MANCAP was checking and 
ensuring that products manufactured in Nigeria me t both domestic and intern ational standards.  
Products that did not conform were not allowed to be shipped out of Nigeria and even to neighbouring 
West African countries. 
124. In order to face the challenges of the establishment of the accreditation system, 
SON partnered with the South African Accreditation System (SANAS) to benefit from its experience.  
PTB in Germany also organized some training with the aim of establishing an accreditation system for 
the ECOWAS sub-region.  It was very expensiv e to establish laboratories and there were no 
laboratories downstream that were competent enough to go for accreditation.  However, things were 
changing and about 29 laboratories would be accredited for different types of tests.   
125. The non-existence of standards for certain products  had led to the adoption of all international 
standards so that once laboratories would be accredite d, they would be acceptable internationally.  
The goal was to establish an ECOWAS region accred itation system which would be responsible for 
the accreditation of the whole West African sub-region.   
126. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further indicated that in case imported 
products did not meet the requirements of Nigeri an standards or any comparable international 
standards, there was a process to return these pro ducts back to their destination.  Nigeria was 
undergoing an MRA with Niger for products which we re transhipped especially from eastern markets.  
With the MRA, it would be possible to identify Ni gerian products and almost all the products would 
carry the NIS mark, which was already on most of th e products that were manufact ured in Nigeria.  In 
order to gain experience, SON was working very  closely with regional bodies like SANAS in South 
Africa, UNIDO and countries from the Pacific Ocean region. 
Overview of the Conformity Assessment Procedures in India:  Role of the BIS
25 
127. There was no discrimination between domestic and imported products, they were treated 
equally.  An inspection body for exports ensure d that exported products were of good quality.  
Concerning the conformity assessment infrastructure in  India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) 
was a member of ISO/IEC.  India had an independent accreditation system.  The objectives of BIS included:  the harmonious development of activi ties of standardization;  marking and quality 
certification;  providing new thrust to standardi zation and quality control;  and developing the national 
strategy for according recognition to standards and integrating them with gr owth and development of 
industrial production and exports. 
                                                     
 
25 Mr. Rakesh Verma,  Additional Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards, India.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 27 
 
 
CERTIFICATION PROCESS
MONITORING/SURVEILLANCE
LICENCEELICENCEESurprise 
visits
Testing in 
Factory
Market 
Samples
Complaint/Feedback
Investigation Renewal 
of LicenceReview 
of 
Performance
Testing in 
Independent 
Labs128. The main activities of BIS, apart from standard formulation, were the following:  certification 
for products hallmarking of gold jewellery, quality management system, environmental management 
systems, occupational health and safety management  systems, international activities training services 
and other services.   
129. In the BIS certification schemes, there were at present about 20000 licences issued, out of 
which 18900 belonged to products, 860 to foreig n products, 200 to hallmarking, 1400 to quality 
management system and the remaining ones to EMS.  Certification activities were voluntary in nature, 
except 109 products which needed mandatory certificati on due to reasons of human health and safety, 
and were operated through 38 offices of BIS locat ed throughout the country.  There were around 
19000 licences in operation, 2000 pro ducts and 8000 industrial units  covered by it.  For product 
certification, ISO type 5 scheme was followed which was basically modelled on ISO Guide 28 and 
conformed to ISO Guide 65.  It was voluntary and al most 1200 products were covered.  This system 
was satisfying not only for consumers but also for the industry.   
130. In the certification process, a preliminary in spection assessed the in-house testing capability, 
then some samples were tested.  Once the 
samples conformed to BIS requirements, the 
company was asked for acceptance of Scheme 4 testing and inspection and of course the marking fee.  Only then, the licence was granted.  
In addition, there was also a continuous monitoring and surveillance system.  The system 
included surprise visits and testing in the factory 
itself, just to ensure that the laboratory in the factory was functioning well.  If a complaint was received from any consumer throughout the country, there was a real and in-depth checking 
of the complaint and a review of the performance 
before renewing the licence.  A very good laboratory infrastructure was available in the c ountry:  eight captive laboratories which were under 
BIS;  and 100 accredited laboratories recognized by BIS.  Therefore, 108 laboratories in the country were carrying out tests for almost all categories of products.   
131. Two BIS certification schemes existed for products manufactured overseas:  one for foreign 
manufacturers and one for Indian importers.  Any manufacturer had to apply to BIS, which would 
inspect the office, the factory and test or ac cept the testing.  If products were fulfilling BIS 
requirements, the licence was granted.  Therefore, the prime objective of this scheme was to increase 
good quality imports.  This certification scheme fo r foreign manufacturers already had a lot of 
success.  BIS had already given 60 licences to c ountries such as France, South Korea, Nepal, 
Switzerland, Thailand, Bhutan, China and products  certified included packaged drinking water, 
cement, wood products, steel products , milk products, clinical thermometers and other products.   
132. Critical issues in relation to conformity assessment included:  the reduction of technical 
barriers to trade, acceptance of inspection and test reports, acceptance of certification of other countries, and acceptance of accreditation of other countries.  Several steps were being taken with 
other countries for that matter.  First, there was a continuous interaction with industrial units in India 
and outside, and an interaction w ith other standard bodies located outside India and especially in the 
south region.  Second, before entering into a MRA, the first step to build interest and confidence in 
each other was to enter into a MoU.  Then, BIS ha d developed a five-stage model designed on gradual 
confidence building amongst two or more MRA partners.   
133. The five-stage model for MRAs was:  (i) carry  out surveillance inspections of samples for 
independent testing on request;  (ii) authorize each  other for carrying out pre-certification evaluation G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 28  
 
Weak standardization 
infrastructure
Enhancing Enterprise 
CompetitivenessLack of Quality Policy at 
the National Level
91%
68%Lack of conformity 
assessment system
89%79%
Metrology
38%EXPRESSED 
NEEDTBT-Related Technical Assistance Needs According to UNIDO ServicesTBT-Related Technical Assistance Needs According to UNIDO ServicesUNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION - UNIDOof applicant units, this was the stage of confiden ce building;  (iii) then acceptance of results of 
samples tested in each other’s accr edited laboratories to importing country’s standards (at this crucial 
stage, recognition of each others' standards was starting);  (iv) the acceptance of inspection and test reports of each other (after harmonization of standards and practices) for taking certification 
decisions;  and (v) granting the licence based on a similar licence granted by a MRA partner.     
134. This model was presently under negotiation with Sri Lanka and would be proposed to other 
South countries for mutual acceptance of product cer tification results both in mandatory as well as 
voluntary sectors.  India had already entered into  MoUs and MRAs with Cuba, Israel, Mauritius, 
Turkey, Armenia, Bhutan, Nepal, Ukraine and Singapore and the process was already on with 
Germany, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afgha nistan, Thailand and Bangladesh.   
135. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further explained that the 5-stage model for 
MRAs concerned government-to-gove rnment MRAs.  The Phase 4 or 5 meant that India accepted 
tests and inspections of each other after harmoniza tion of standards and practices.  This model had 
now been in force for quite some time and there we re many countries which had already entered into 
MoUs.  Replying to a question on whether any MR As had reached Phase 5 yet, the example of 
Sri Lanka was provided which was at Phase 4 for 85 products.  In the context of the foreign 
manufacturers certification scheme, it was possible fo r manufacturers to request that BIS visit their 
factory to assess the management system, the laboratory system and examine whether that particular system had been duly accredited or not.  Once BIS was satisfied, the licence would be granted and these manufacturers would be able to export its goods to India with the BIS mark.   
Specific Needs and Technical Considerations Id entified in Relation to the Conformity 
Assessment Infrastructure of Developing Country Members Through the Analysis of the 
Responses to the WTO Questionnaire
26 
136. UNIDO analysed the WTO questionnaire on de veloping country Members' needs in the 
TBT field.27  There were five main needs expressed:  the lack of quality policy at the national level, 
the lack of conformity assessment system, a weak st andardization infrastructure, the need to enhance 
enterprise competitiveness, and 
metrology.  It came out from this survey that the private sector needed to know the TBT and SPS Agreements and their implications. Therefore, UNIDO was working for business association, data 
association to spread that knowledge.  
UNIDO tried to focus on those sectors that had a potential for export.  UNIDO carried out a number of enterprise level surveys and tried to understand what were the key 
problems enterprises faced in terms of 
infrastructure and other related problems.  Clearly, the most common problems related to customs, conformity, their productivity and their ability to really produce goods that could be exported.   Another important element was that for enterprises, producers 
and exporters, conformity assessment costs were  not easy to understand and usually conformity 
assessment related costs were treated as overheads.  The costs of complying with differing technical 
regulations in Europe, USA and Japan were estimate d to add up to 5-10 per cent to product cost.   
                                                     
 
26 Mr. Gerardo Patacconi, Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO. 
27 The questionnaire is contained in G/TBT/W/178;  responses  are compiled and summarised in G/TBT/W/186 and Add.1.  
An analysis by the WTO Secretariat is contained in G/TBT/W/193.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 29 
 
 
137. One survey carried out in Lebanon with 100 food manufacturers showed that the top 
problems were price competition, test certificates, and accreditation.  In fact, many of the respondents said they lost an opportunity in the market becau se tests and certificates were not recognized.  To 
conclude, it was clear that there was an important need for technical assist ance and capacity-building 
activities and that harmonized solutions were required.   It was important to prioritize the needs and 
that answers responded to actual needs. 
138. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further noted, concerning the lack of 
national quality policy, no model probably existe d.  A number of countries needed to harmonize 
activities related to quality.  That did not mean that it was necessarily a regulatory practice but rather 
an overall objective to move the country towards a higher quality.  For example, UNIDO had been 
working with Mozambique recently on a national polic y.  Different actors dea ling with quality related 
issues were brought together in relation to cer tification, inspection, and enterprise work. 
Accreditation:  Role of ILAC and IAF
28 
139. ILAC and IAF were two international sister orga nizations:  ILAC in the area of laboratories, 
IAF for certifying bodies.  The main tasks of IL AC and IAF included:  (i) harmonize accreditation 
practices and methods between members of the two bodi es;  (ii) set up mutual recognition agreements 
based on peer evaluation;  (iii) promote accreditation as a tool for facilitating trade, as accreditation was not very well known, even in developed countries ;  and (iv) help developing countries to establish 
their own accreditation system. 
140. The harmonization of accreditation practices was a vast area.  For instance, for the 
ISO/IEC 17011 standard on general requirements for accreditation bodies, ILAC and IEC were 
working together.  Standards of the series ISO/IE C 17011 were the very basis of the work of ILAC 
and IAF but it was necessary to train assessors, i.e.  the peer evaluators, and some training courses 
were organized for the evaluators.  There was a jo int committee of ISO, ILAC and IAF to enable good 
mutual understanding among accreditors on the way to apply standards. 
141. The principle of mutual recognition agreements  was that country A recognized country B's 
certificates as equivalent.  The point there was that a test or a certificate done in country A should be 
recognized in country B as if it had been done under country B's system.  The advantage of mutual recognition agreements among different CABs was that  it made them more standard, more universal 
to cover conformity assessment areas, not just on food  or electrical appliances.  The core job of ILAC 
and IAF was to reach mutual recognition agreements .  ILAC had 52 signatories and IAF, 35.  These 
two organizations worked together for the mana gement of their MLAs because many members 
belonging to ILAC also belonged to IAF so that th ere was one and the same peer evaluation for both. 
142. On the third task of promoting accreditation as a tool to facilitate trade, a new joint working 
group had been set up recently between ISO, ILAC and IAF.  It met twice a year and addressed the 
problem of laboratories' understanding of the objectives and functions of accreditation based on 
ISO/IEC 17025 (General requirements for competen ce of testing and calibration laboratories) and 
certification of laboratories based on ISO 9001.  The goal was to avoid the accreditors being the 
certifiers.  ILAC, IAF, ISO, UNIDO  and IEC cooperated together, and ILAC also cooperated with the 
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIP M) and the International Organization of Legal 
Metrology (OIML).   
143. Developing countries truly needed to have access to a recognized accreditation system, either 
by setting it up themselves in their country or by us ing the one of a neighbouring country or a regional 
one.  Today, it was essential to be able to get t ests and certificates recognized through accreditation.  
                                                     
 
28 Mr. Daniel Pierre, ILAC (In ternational Laboratory Accreditation Coopera tion) and IAF (International Accreditation 
Forum),  ILAC Chair. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 30  
 
To set up an accreditation system, developing countries needed to have competent and trained evaluators.  At the basis of such a system, it was ne cessary:  to have basic metrology so as to ensure 
the traceability to a basic measurement unit;  and to ha ve access to reference materials to be able to 
calibrate the machines.  Another problem was the access to proficiency testing schemes, because in 
developing countries there was no organizer of these schemes and they had to call on organizers from 
far away with the problems this implied for trade.   Together with UNIDO, IAF and ILAC organized 
pre-peer evaluation so that organizations be ready for the real evaluation.  IAF and ILAC also organized training of assessors, produced publicati ons, translations, and organized seminars.   
144. To conclude, there was a lot still to be done as this was a long-term activity and in the short-
term, the focus would be on pre-peer evaluations because results were already good.  A number of 
organizations considered that this was a very go od way of helping them to have access to ILAC/IAF 
recognition.   
145. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further noted that the Joint ILAC/IAF 
Inspection Committee addressed the activity of accre ditation inspection bodies and its task was to 
harmonize the way to accredit inspection bodies.   
E
STABLISHMENT OF A CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT INFRASTRUCTURE  
146. Presenters were invited to share ideas on ways  to put in place an effective conformity 
assessment infrastructure in developing country Members. 
The Experience of Brazil in Establishing a Co nformity Assessment System and Existing 
Educational Programmes on Conformity Assessment29 
147. In Brazil, the conformity assessment system consisted of a council that established the 
policies and INMETRO, the national institute of metrology and industrial quality, which was the 
central executive of the system in relation to th e activity of conformity assessment.  INMETRO was 
the accreditation body and coordinated the establishm ent of the conformity assessment procedures.  
Mechanisms of conformity assessment were trad itional ones and included certification, labelling, 
inspection and a software to analyse risk and cons ider technical, social, economical and legal factors 
in order to choose the best option for conformity assessment.  There were 68 families of products with 
conformity assessed compulsory, 198 in the voluntary field, and more than 18000 ISO 9000 certificates issued and more than 1700 ISO 14000.   
148. Several programmes followed certified products in  the market.  One was inspection, which 
was carried out by police officers.  They looked for the mark of conformity assessment on the product 
and had the power to prohibit the sale of the produc t if the mark could not be identified.  Another 
important programme was market surveillance.  In this case, somebody collected samples of the 
product, sent them to the labs, which analysed them.  Another programme was the follow-up by 
competition.  In 2005, almost 70 million of units were inspected and 1.46 per cent of irregularities 
found.  In the market surveillance programmes, 14 families of products were penalized and in six 
cases an opportunity to improve the conformity assessment procedures was identified.   
149. In Brazil, a programme was in place to provide education on conformity assessment to 
consumers.  The last survey showed that 84 per cent of Brazilians accepted conformity assessment.  
The focus of the education programme was on regulat ory authorities, manufacturers and consumers.  
The first action in terms of education was to pr ovide information to consumers, including on the 
objectives of conformity assessment, such as the protection of health, security, environment, etc.  There were many publications about conformity  assessment, educative campaigns on TV, a Sunday 
programme providing information about quality pr ogramme and quality of products.  Conformity 
                                                     
 
29 Mr. Alfred Lobo, Director, Department of Quality, INMETRO, Brazil.  G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 31 
 
 
assessment concepts had been intr oduced in the Brazilian educational system.  Today, there were 
more than 1000 professional trainers in the country constituting a large network to spread information 
about conformity assessment. 
150. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further noted that INMETRO had 
established procedures for inspection and organized th e training of inspectors to be prepared to 
inspect all kinds of certified products.  In relation to  education, there was also a website for consumers 
to find information about conformity assessment and products.   
The Example of Technical Assistance Provided to Costa Rica on Conformity Assessment30 
151. Set up in 1995, the quality control system in Costa Rica was both voluntary and mandatory in 
nature.  From 1996 to 2001, a draft legislation w as elaborated and its objective was to set up a legal 
system that would provide support to the Costa Rican accreditation system.  In May 2002, this 
legislation on national quality contro l was approved.  This legislation was elaborated together with the 
private and public sectors and with academic circles.   
152. The Costa Rican accreditation body, known as ECA in Costa Rica, had representatives from 
all stakeholders in the area of conformity assessment,  i.e. the government, the private sector as well as 
consumers, users and academic circles.  Be tween 2003 and 2004, ECA worked on developing 
regulations and approved fees for accreditation.  In 2005, fees were established, this was a change as 
consumers were used to having these government se rvices free of charge.  ECA was actually bearing 
70 per cent of the costs for accreditation.   
153. One of the objectives of ECA was to become a full and active member of the IAAC.  ECA 
had been chair of the Information Committee and th e Training Committee.  This had meant a lot of 
work but ECA also gained a lot of experience.  ECA put an emphasis on sharing experiences with 
regional organizations.  An important element of ECA cooperation activities was that those who 
received training should pass it on and put it in a written document for ECA.  There were a number of cooperation projects:  with the Organization of American States;  with an accreditation organization;  with China and Taiwan;  and some multilateral proj ects.  Capacity-building projects were in place 
with a German organization, the PTB and with  AGACE, which was the quality infrastructure 
development project.   
154. The secretariat of ECA had grown to seven peopl e in 2006 at a very high professional level.  
A pre-assessment had been carried out in 2006 by IAAC.  In April 2006, a final assessment was 
prepared aiming at signing a MLA in August 2006.  The goal of ECA was to be a full member of IAAC.   
Establishment of Conformity Assessment Sc hemes in Developing Countries:  UNIDO's 
Experience
31 
155. There were methods and systems to analyze the needs but the key was to identify real 
problems of developing countries and LDCs, in partic ular.  UNIDO was a key service supplier in this 
field.  Two main issues had to be considered:  wh at was actually needed in terms of conformity 
assessment infrastructure;  and what were the minimum requirements for a country in certain 
conditions at a certain economic development.  Fo r a laboratory, an accreditation body, for improving 
standardization, it was far more difficult to decide  what was the best option.  The regional dimension 
was also essential to consider.  UNIDO was trying to define a model under which it was possible to 
decide what was the best option for conformity asse ssment in a given country.  UNIDO also worked 
together with other partners.  There was, for instance, a joint exercise of UNIDO and ITC.   
                                                      
30 Ms. Maritza Madriz, Manager, Ente Costarricense de Acreditación, Costa Rica. 
31 Mr. Gerardo Patacconi, Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 32  
 
156. Coordinated and harmonized action was essential to respond to developing countries' needs.  
Needs had to be identified for the different parts of the society, of the economy, both for export and consumer protection.  Countries needed specific so lutions within the international context.  The 
sequence of actions was also important.  The establishment of an accreditation body required a 
gradual and moderate approach:  what was the dema nd, the investment, the cost required, what was 
the impact on the economy and on the society.  UNIDO funding had increased from $7.6 million in 
2002 to $70 million in 2006.  It was essential to  make sure that these resources were properly 
channelled and that they really produced the e xpected results.  UNIDO carried out a number of 
regional projects.  They were difficult to manage bu t they could be effective.  It was important to 
really balance what should be done at a national level vis-à-vis  the international level.   
Building a Quality System at the Regional Level in the UEMOA Zone
32 
157. The West African Economic and Monetary Un ion (UEMOA) zone included the following 
countries:  Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gu inea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.  This 
region had a common currency and a common economic policy.  Within this economic policy, a trade 
policy was in place concerning relations between th ese countries and third countries.  Because there 
was a common market for all products, it was necessary to a have a common strategy for conformity 
assessment.  This had led UEMOA members to work towards conformity, not just to ensure quality 
for products manufactured within the Union, but also  to allow for access to the international market.   
158. With regard to promoting quality, countries real ized that companies did not yet have a system 
in place and that there was no accreditation body.  Th erefore, there was a need to undertake a regional 
initiative in this area.  UNIDO carried out regional initiatives to draw up a quality control programme.  
This was financed by the European Union and th is programme dealt with three specific areas: 
(i) accreditation;  (ii) standardization;  and (iii) quality promotion.  There was also a metrology project financed by the government which was carried out  by the German metrology organization.  The 
objective of these initiatives was to facilitate trade with in the region and at the international level and 
allow for quality promotion and metrology programmes and standardization.   
159. On accreditation, it was decided to set up one structure in the Union as it would not make 
sense for each individual country to have its own accreditation service.  With regard to 
standardization, the Union undertook to harmonize national regulations and standards, to enhance 
countries' participation in standardization activities,  and help the creation of national standardization 
bodies or support the activities of existing nationa l standardization bodies.  Concerning quality 
promotion, companies and consumers were involve d in awareness-raising campaigns.  The Union was 
also promoting the use of metrology services in the ec onomy in general and in SMEs in particular.   
160. Concerning achievements, a number of activities had been undertaken in terms of regional 
coordination of standardization bodies.  For countr ies that did not have national structures, national 
standardization bodies had been set up.  All national bodies were linked up on line so that the information was readily accessible.  There were national documentation centres and in these centres, 
information was exchanged about all member c ountries of UEMOA.  There was now a regional 
database on standardization which coul d be found on the UEMOA website.
33  Some legal texts and 
regulations had been harmonized and this was done in the context of the common market and with 
major stakeholders in order to foster trade re lations between countries.  Common UEOMA standards 
were prepared for a number of products, in accordance w ith international standards, for instance:  oils, 
food salt, cashew nuts and shea butter.     
161. With regard to achievements in the promotion of quality, the UEMOA had trained experts in 
various countries and carried out pilot projects in companies.  There were a number of training 
                                                      
32 Mr. Abdou Seyni, Director of Industry, We st African Economic and Monetary Union. 
33 www.uemoa.int   G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
 Page 33 
 
 
seminars organized for companies in order to get th e necessary expertise at a local level.  Experts had 
been trained from 2001 to 2005.  In order to strengt hen this promotion of quality, centres were set up 
to ensure that quality be developed at the regional leve l so that no country be left behind and that all 
countries could move forward together.   With regard to metrology, achievements included the 
provision of equipments to legal metrology ser vices.  The metrology project extended beyond the 
Union with countries such as Ghana and Guinea.   
162. With regard to accreditation, since there w as no accreditation system, the UEOMA had to 
work together with laboratories and test centres.  There was a database of laboratories, also available 
on the internet.  All member states committed to work  towards a joint infrastructure at a regional level 
for accreditation.  The idea behind the establishment of the West African accreditation system was to 
speed up accreditation.  An agreement was signed wi th the French accreditation organization so as to 
benefit from its expertise.  The West African accr editation system also started a process to become 
affiliated members of both ILAC and IAF.   
163. During the Questions and Answers Session , it was further stressed that member states of 
UEMOA were fully behind a strategy to develop a high quality infrastructure and had undertaken this 
through an additional instrument signed by heads of  states.  It would be extended to the whole of 
West Africa, i.e. 16 countries.  The European Co mmunities financed this project and UNIDO was the 
executing agency.   
Building a Conformity Assessment Infrastructu re at the Regional Level in the Caribbean 
Region:  the Experience of Trinidad and Tobago34 
164. At the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Sta ndards (TTBS), conformity assessment practices 
were traditional.  TTBS provided both product certifi cations and batch certific ations services.  TTBS 
had developed its own quality management system and did not use the ISO 9001:2000 system because 
since companies were quite small Guide 53 was used.  Trinidad and Tobago was moving from voluntary certification to compulsory certification th rough regulations.  For management systems,  
TTBS followed ISO 9001:2000 and 14000 and developed an  integrated system with certification for 
small and medium sized enterprises.  TTBS also offered tourism certification.  TTBS was contracted 
by the tourism development company as a certificati on body for tour guides, tour operators and car 
rentals.  TTBS had entered into the Green Gl obe System, which was an accredited service for 
environmental and social responsibility.  In the future, TTBS would engage in personnel certification 
(ISO/IEC 17024: 2003) and enter into MRAs.   
165. With regards to inspection, Trinidad and To bago had to face a significant import of illegal 
tyres and electrical appliances, and because of that  Trinidad and Tobago had become very active in 
the ISO's Committee on consumer policy (COPOLCO).  Trinidad and Tobago played an influential 
role in developing standards for second hand good s and developed its own national standards for 
second hand and used goods, in particular tyres.  Fo r new items, marks or certificates of conformity 
from accredited institutions or acceptable institutions were accepted as equivalent.  Inspections were 
conducted at ports of entry, wholesalers and import premises.   
166. With regards to testing, domestic testing a nd calibration laboratories used internationally 
accepted methods and procedures.  The laborat ories were accredited by the United Kingdom 
Accreditation Service.  There was a fairly good tr aceability for metrology and TTBS as the custodian 
of national weights and measures;  in fact TTBS was the national measurement institute.  
TTBS offered testing services in the chemical area, metrology, fibre, electrical and materials.   
167. Lastly, TTBS was a national standards body, a cer tification body within the national standards 
body, a testing body but also an accr editation body, and this raised some challenges.  thirty steps were 
                                                     
 
34 Mr. Terrence Awai, Head, Certification Divisi on, Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards. G/TBT/M/38/Add.1 
Page 34  
 
required for international recognition as a National Accreditation Body (NAB).  These included:  
national policy on quality, management structure,  equipment, quality documentation, independency, 
lead assessors, technical assessors, metrology support in country, and MLA/MRA.  Almost half of the 
steps had been completed or nearly finished.  TTB S expected to sign the MRA with ILAC and IAF at 
the end of 2006.   
 
__________