WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/GEN/76 
15 December 2008 
 (08-6124) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
IEC ACTIVITIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
(MARCH – NOVEMBER 2008) 
 
  The following information was provided by th e International Electrotechnical Commission
 
(IEC) at the TBT Committee meeting of 5-6 November 2008 
 
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 I. INTRODUCTION 
1. This report to the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee highlights the activities of the 
IEC, its Members and Affiliates, and Regional Cent res, related to increasing the participation of 
developing countries in IEC International Standa rdization and Conformity Assessment activities. 
2. The IEC is the world leading organization that  prepares and publishes International Standards 
for all electrical, electronic and related technologi es – collectively known as "electrotechnology". The 
IEC also administers three global conformity assessment systems, IECEE, IECEx and IECQ, for 
testing, certification and approval of equipment,  systems and components to its International 
Standards. Wherever you find electricity – from ge neration, transmission and distribution, through 
industrial automation, healthcare, transport, multime dia in the home, to the battery in your phone – 
you will find the World of IEC supporting the environment, safety, performance and efficiency. 
II. IEC MEMBERSHIP 
3. Algeria and Qatar joined the IEC as Full Members in August and the Republic of the 
Philippines also joined as Full Member in October. 
4. The IEC Family now comprises 155 countries: 72 Members and 83 Affiliates.  
5. To further encourage membership from devel oping countries who require more services than 
those offered under the IEC Affiliate Country Progra mme, the IEC is planning  to reduce its Member 
dues (annual membership fees) for the third year in succession in 2009. 
III. IEC AFFILIATE COUNTRY PROGRAMME 
6. The IEC Affiliate Country Programme has conti nued to grow, with four new countries joining 
since the last TBT Committee meeting. This bri ngs to 83 the number of developing countries 
participating in the IEC International Standardi zation work (but who are not IEC Members). Since 
March, the Central African Republic, the Republic  of Chad, the Republic of Congo and Suriname 
have joined the Programme. The Central African Repub lic is already sending a delegate to the next 
IEC General Meeting to be held in São Paulo, Brazil, 17-21 November 2008. G/TBT/GEN/76 
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  7. The Affiliate Programme is unique in that it en courages active participation in standardization 
work without the financial burden of membership fees. To date, 6 new countries have identified the 
IEC International Standardization activities in which th ey want to participate. Most recently, experts 
from Venezuela have chosen to participate in th e standardization of hydraulic turbines, whereas 
Gambia and Uganda have selected 10 electrotechnica l fields to participate in IEC technical work. 
8. The Affiliate Programme encourages developi ng countries to use and adopt international 
standards in line with the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement. Brunei Darussalam is the latest 
country to adopt IEC International Standards as national ones as the result of two conformity assessment seminars held in the country by IEC EE – IEC System of conformity assessment schemes 
for electrotechnical equipment and components – and IECEx – IEC System for certification to 
standards relating to equipment for use in explos ive atmospheres. The adoption trend is confirmed 
with Affiliates (Mauritius and Trinidad and To bago) pursuing their adoption process of IEC 
International Standards. 
9. The Affiliate Programme continues to witn ess a high demand for IEC electrotechnical 
standards. A total of 60 Affiliate Countries have st arted a basic electronic lib rary, with the focus on 
standards for cables, lamps, batteries and/or safet y of household appliances. While several countries 
have used their quota of 200 free IEC International St andards, they can continue  to obtain standards at 
substantial discounts. 
10. The IEC Affiliate Country Programme Leader, Carlos Rodríguez from Costa Rica, conducted 
a dialogue on the issue of establishing national elect rotechnical committees in Affiliate Countries. As 
a result six new developing countries have establis hed their national committee and the Affiliate 
Leader is preparing guidelines to help those who reported facing difficulties.  
IV. IEC CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT 
11. The IEC System for certification to standards relating to equipment for use in explosive 
atmospheres (IECEx) held various events over the last months. Amongst others, in March a 
Conformity Mark Committee meeting and a Busine ss Development Group meeting were held in IEC 
Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (IEC-APRC) in Si ngapore with the collaboration of IEC regional 
representative, Dennis Chew. In October, IECEx al so held an Industry Symposium in Paris. 
12. Since May the IEC System of conformity assess ment schemes for electrotechnical equipment 
and components (IECEE) is providing a global mark of quality for the solar energy industry, a key 
issue for developing and newly industrialized countries. Since it was founded in 1906, the IEC has been an ardent supporter of renewable energies, de veloping standards in areas such as wind turbines, 
hydroelectricity and solar energy. With this ag reement between the IECEE and the Global Approval 
Program for Photovoltaics (PV GAP) under the ausp ices of the World Bank, the IEC, through its 
Conformity Assessment System, is taking its commi tment to solar energy one step further. IECEE 
Certification Management Committee (CMC) held its  11th General Meeting on Jeju Island, Korea, on 
11-12 June. The meeting was hosted by Korean IECE E Member Body KATS (the Korean Agency for 
Technology and Standards) and its associated NCBs  (National Certification Bodies). Approximately 
150 delegates participated from some 50 member countries. 
13. A new brochure entitled International Standard s and Conformity Assessment for the PV 
Industry and Government shows how IEC Interna tional Standards for photovoltaics and the IECEE 
provide both benchmarks and proofs of quality for industry and government. The brochure is 
available in high and low resolution electronic file on the IEC website. 
14. Since our last report to WTO/TBT Committee in March, Brazil joined the IEC Quality 
Assessment System for Electronic Components (IECQ).  G/TBT/GEN/76 
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  15. More information about events held by the three IEC Conformity Assessment Systems is 
available online in the IEC electronic newsletter e- tech, in the section dedicated to conformity 
assessment. 
V. IEC REGIONAL CENTRES 
16. The Manager of IEC Latin America Regional Ce ntre (IEC-LARC), Amau ry Santos, attended 
twice the Forum of the IEC National Committees of the Americas held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 
May and in Atlanta, United States of America, in October. In Atlanta new ways were explored to 
increase the participation of Latin American Aff iliates in the IEC Affiliate Country Programme. A 
possible mentoring approach from IEC Members in the region has been envisaged. IEC-LARC 
Manager also took part in the coordinating meeti ng of Affiliate Countries which participate in a 
programme to improve the competitiveness of SMEs  through technical standardization in Central 
America, Panama and the Dominican Republic. He also participated in other events in the region, amongst others the COPANT General Assembly in Bu enos Aires, Argentina; the APEC (Asia-Pacific 
Economic Cooperation) 7th Conference on Standards and Conformance held in Cuzco, Peru or the UNIDO-ABNT (Brazilian Association of Technical St andardization) meeting on Energy Management 
Standards and Industrial Energy Efficiency that took place in São Paulo, Brazil. 
17. IEC Regional Manager’s role also consisted of missions in the region. He visited Argentina, 
carried out several missions in Brazil, one in C uba – a country that joined the IEC in 2007 after 
having participated in the Affiliate Country Progra mme for nine years. He went twice to Chile to 
discuss its future membership in the IEC, and brought IEC support to three Affiliate Countries – El 
Salvador, Peru and Uruguay – particularly in the fi eld of conformity assessment with the collaboration 
of IECEE Executive Secretary, Pierre de Ruvo. 
18. Since the last TBT Committee meeting, the IE C Asia-Pacific Regional Centre Officer in 
Charge, Dennis Chew, participated in a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
(ASEAN) Joint Sectoral Committee on Electrical and Electronic Equipment, held in Brunei Darussalam in May. The meeting hosted by Brune i Darussalam Ministry of Development brought 
together regulators of electrical and electroni c equipment in ASEAN. Among other activities, they 
focused on the use of IEC International Standa rds when implementing the planned harmonized 
regulatory regime of the grouping. 
19. IEC Advisory Committee on Electromagnetic Compatibility (ACEC) held a workshop in 
Singapore on 22 May. This IEC ACEC EMC wo rkshop took place in conjunction with the 19th 
International Zurich Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility. The next symposium will be held 
in Zurich in January 2009. 
20. The IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre is currently planning to offer a series of IEC 
Standards+ 61508 Training Courses in the first quarter of 2009
1.  
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1 For further information, please contact IE C-APRC's Officer in Charge, Dennis Chew.