NBSIR 88-3698

NBS

PUBLICATIONS

A111Q2 75E^5^

A Review of U.S. Participation in

Internationai Standards Activities

Patrick W. Cooke

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

Office of the Associate Director for Industry and Standards

Office of Standards Code and Information

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

January 1988

9

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

J--1DC

100

.U56

88-3698

1988

C.2
i iiI
NBSIR 88-3698

A REVIEW OF U.S. PARTICIPATION IN

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ACTIVITIES

Hesearch Information Center

i^ialional linreau of Standards

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

. U -

r>t' .y

Patrick W. Cooke

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

Office of the Associate Director for Industry and Standards

Office of Standards Code and Information

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

January 1988

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, C. William Verity, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Director

A Review of U.S. Participation in International

Standards Activities

Table of Contents

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Background of Study '

2.1 NBS Responsibilities Regarding Representation

of U.S. Interests in International Standards

Organizations....

3. Role of International Standards

3.1 Impacts on Trade

3.2 The Politics of International Standardization

4. Trends in U.S. International Trade

5. International* Standardization Organizations

5.1 Historical Perspective

5.2 The International Organization for

Standardization (ISO)

5.3 The International Electrotechnical Commission

(lEC)

5.4 Relationship Between ISO and lEC

5.5 Official Languages

5.6 Other International Standardization

Organizations

6. GATT Standards Code

7. Developing Countries and International

Standardization Activities

8. U.S. Member Bodies in ISO and lEC

8.1 ISO Participation

Page

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17

1
8.2

lEC Participation..... 18

9. U.S. Adoption of International Standards 19

9.1 Foreign Use of U.S. Standards........ 21

10. Summary of U.S. Participation in ISO and I EC .......... . 21

10.1 ISO Participation... 21

10.2 lEC Participation 23

10.3 Comparison of Trade Data with U.S.

Participation in I SO/ I EC 24

10.4 Major Product Group Trade Performance and U.S.

Participation in ISO/IEC. 25

11. Findings and Conclusions 37

Appendix. 42

Bi b 1 i ogr aphy . . . 66

2
A REVIEW OF U.S. PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL

STANDARDS ACTIVITIES

Abstract

This report describes the role of international standards, their

increasingly significant importance in world trade, and the

extent of past and current U.S. participation in the two major

international standardization bodies; ISO and lEC. The degree of

U.S. participation covers the 20 year period 1966 - 1986. A

coarse analysis of data indicates some correlation between U.S.

participation and recent export performance for several major

product categories.

1. Introduction

"American Industry's lack of participation in helping

chart the future course of global standardization may

be costing the nation valuable trade dollars that

otherwise might wipe out the balance of payments

problem. For a leading industrial nation to refrain

from participating in global standards work is to state

to the rest of the world that either we don't think the

items involved are important, or we think we have a design or production method which is superior to

everyone else's. We know that neither of these

statements is universally true. If we do not become

more sensitive to trends and if we are not able to

respond quickly, we are inviting serious problems for

our economy."

The above excerpt is from a speech given at an International

Panel on Global Standardization in April 1964 by J. Herbert

Hollomon, the then Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science

and Technology. Dr. Hollomon's warning has become in many ways a self-fulfilling prophecy. Over the past 23 years the United

States has become increasingly dependent on i nternat i onal trade,

but 'has suffered competitively in the world economy. Our trade

balance has turned strongly negative, adversely affecting many of

our Nation's industries.

Although there are many and diverse reasons for this decline,

U.S. concerns about improving its level of involvement in

international standardization activities are as significant today

as they apparently were in 1964. On May 5 , 1987 , the National

Bureau of Standards (NBS) and the Department of Commerce's

International Trade Administration co-sponsored a Conference on

3
Standards and Trade in Washington, D.C.^ The conference

objective was to identify how the United States can increase

exports by eliminating technical barriers to trade and promote

wider international acceptance of standards based on American

technology. Government officials underscored the need to

strengthen our trade position, especially by participating in the

international standards arena, and warned that our domestic

standards will not continue to be accepted worldwide. Conference

participants identified a number of standards-related actions

that should be addressed to improve the country's trade balance.

High on the final agenda were several recommendations for private

sector strategies to achieve more effective represent at i on by the

United States in organizations that develop international

standards.

One of the Administration's major current goals is to "increase

America's competitiveness in the world economy." One Department

of Commerce subgoal for achieving this national priority is

"increasing the acceptance of international technical standards

based on U.S. technology."

A report^ released in August 1987 by the National Academy of

Engineering warns that the Nation's scientists and engineers are

dangerously unaware of advanced technological developments in

other countries and implicates American corporations and

universities in the loss of international competitiveness of U.S.

industry. The report was prepared for the National Science

Foundation (NSF) by a panel of experts from government, industry

and academia. It presents ten principal recommendations for

improved U.S. efforts to advance its national welfare in a technologically integrated world economy. International

standardization participation and the potential benefits to be

derived therefrom are the focus of one of these principal

recommendations, as follows:

"NSF and other concerned agencies should identify the

potential benefits from more assertive and better

coordinated U.S. participation in international

standards development and in international engineering

organizations."

1 Proceedings of Conference on Standards and Trade (NBSIR

87-3573), Walter G. Leight, Editor; National Bureau of Standards,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899; June 1987.

2 Strengthening U.S. Engineering Through International

Coo perat i on : Some Recommendations for Action ; National Academy

of Engineering, Washington, D . C . , 1987 .

4
An earlier NBS report^ described the results of a limited study

to assess the extent to which U.S. industry profits by virtue of

participation in standards committee activities of international

standardization organizations. Although no quantifiable benefits

were identified, the results suggested that planned industry

activities in international standardization programs are an

effective means of producing real economies or for increasing

trade. The intangible benefits from active participation--i.e.,

enhanced markets, informed readiness and economies in operation--

were substantial and could only be achieved via continuing

(stable) representation on appropriate international groups by

committed industry experts.

This report presents historical information on the extent of U.S.

participation and leadership roles (or lack thereof) in the two

primary voluntary international standardization bodies,

perspectives on the organizations involved, the present role of

international standards in world trade, and recommendations for

enhancing the U.S. position in international standardization

activities and in world trade.

2 . Background of Study

U.S. participation in non-treaty international standardization

activities is voluntary. Direct involvement and payment of the

associated expenses depend upon the perceived interests of the

industries that may be affected by resultant standards.

Consequently, some U.S. companies and industries have been very

active in international standards-making committees, while others

have not participated at all. The objective of this study was to

collect, analyze and present data that might summarize on a gross

basis the extent of past and present U.S. participation in the

activities of the International Organization for Standardization

(ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (lEC) over

the 20-year period from 1966 through 1986. The information was

developed to assess how U.S. involvement and future leadership

activities should perhaps be modified to reflect the nation's

productive capacity and market size and to strengthen the U.S.

position in the world economy.

The following sections describe NBS responsibilities, the

significance of international standards in world trade,

background on the major standardizing bodies and how the U.S. is

organized and represented in those bodies. Separate sections

briefly describe the GATT Standards Code and the activities of

^ Benefits Perceived by U.S. Industry From Participating in

International Standards Activities (NBS I R 84-2886 ) , Patrick W

Cooke, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899,

September 1984.

5
developing countries with regard to the influence of

international standards. A review of U.S. participation levels

in ISO and lEC over the 20-year period 1966-1986 is summarized

and a comparison of U.S. exports with U.S. participation in ISO

and lEC is analyzed in the last section of the report.

2 . 1 NBS Responsibilities Regarding Representation of U.S.

Interests in International Standards Organizations

Title IV (on standards) of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979,

under Section 413, directs the Secretaries of Commerce and

Agriculture to keep informed of the adequacy of represen tat i on in

international standards-related activities and -to identify those

activities that might substantially affect the commerce of the

United States.

Title IV also specifies that the United States should be

represented in non-treaty or private international standards

organizations (e.g., ISO and lEC) by a recognized "organization

member." The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the

U.S. member body in ISO and lEC. If the Secretary of Commerce or

Agriculture is informed by any interested party or determines

that U.S. interests are not adequately represented, the cognizant

Secretary is to notify the appropriate organization. If, after

90 days, that organization demonstrates its willingness and

ability to adequately represent U.S. interests, the Secretary

will take no further action. Otherwise, the Secretary is to

arrange to provide for adequate representation of U.S. interests

through the appropriate organization member. There are no

guidelines or definitions given for what is deemed to be

"adequate" representation of U.S. interests.

The Office of the NBS Associate Director for Industry and

Standards (ADIS) has been assigned responsibility for carrying

out several Title IV functions, including the monitoring of

adequacy of representation of U.S. interests in international

standards activities, particularly with regard to the potential

impact on international trade.

3 . Role of International Standards

3 . 1 Impacts of Trade

International standards are more important today than ever

before. In the international marketplace, standards developed

through voluntary processes are highly desirable because they

represent a broad-based consensus of all interested parties--

producers (exporters), users (importers), governments, ultimate

consumers and academia. Those nations that actively participate

in developing international standards may be able to influence

the provisions to favor products which they produce or which they

prefer for their own particular national or common-market

6
benefits. Since trading countries competing in the global

marketplace are inclined to be aggressive in exploiting every

opportunity to favor their products via the standards development

process, it seems imperative that the United States also

participate vigorously in international standardization

activities if it intends to maintain existing trade outlets and

find new markets. In terms of economic development, market size,

and access to that market, the United States ranks in the

forefront among the world's industrialized nations. But in the

areas of export of manufactured goods and the resulting trade

balances, the United States has not kept pace with other

developed countries, and is further threatened by newly

industrializing countries (NIC's). Much of the reason for this

decline in U.S. exports has been attributed to economic factors

(i.e., the strength of the U.S. dollar vs. other currencies, the

lure of low-cost labor, and government subsidies overseas), but

some of the loss may well be due to limited participation and a decline of U.S. influence in the development of international

standards

3 . 2 The Politics of International Standardization

International trade has become an increasingly important factor

in the growth of the world economy. The negotiation and adoption

of technical standards for all classes of products and services

takes on many roles in the global arena - much more than the mere

documentation of technical criteria to facilitate the exchange of

goods and -services among nations. These roles can take such

forms as formation of economic and political coalitions among

nations and regions, market segmentation among major producers,

and even social change among different cultures. National and

regional groups have competing interests, and they intervene or

use regulations and standards for political purposes. This is

particularly true with respect to advancing new technologies.

Standards can be invoked to act as non-tariff barriers,

protecting one country's industry or new technology from other

countries'. Differences in technical standards can be

effectively manipulated by governments to segment markets.

The object of international standardization and related

activities is to facilitate international exchange of goods and

services, and to promote cooperation in the sphere of

intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activities.

4 . Trends in U.S. International Trade

International trade activity has grown steadily in importance (to

the U.S. economy) since World War II. However, domestic

production and the fraction of that production which was exported

both peaked in 1980 and declined steadily until the very recent

pas t

7
The U.S. trade balance for goods and services was positive during

most years in the last two decades. Small negative balances in

1977 and 1978 were primarily related to strong growth of the U.S.

economy and large increases in the price of imported oil.

However, the U.S. trade balance improved and provided a peak

surplus of $28 billion in 1981. Since then, the trade balance

has declined rapidly, becoming negative in 1983 and reaching a deficit of $64 billion in 1984.

In 1985 the United States registered a record trade deficit of

$148.5 billion, and in 1986, for the fourth consecutive year, our

trade deficit set a record at or near $170 billion. The United

States continues to be by far the largest international trader;

however, the U.S. share of total world trade has been declining

since 1980 even though a strong U.S. dollar biases dollardenominated measurements upward. In 1985, the U.S. share of

total world merchandise exports in dollar terms edged down to

11.4 percent from 11.5 percent the previous year and after a high

of 18.0 percent in 1960 (see Figure 1 in Appendix). At the same

time the U.S. share of world imports continued to increase,

reaching 17.6 percent in 1985, following 17.1 percent in 1984, as

indicated in Figure 1.^

The dollar value of U.S. exports declined by 2.2 percent in 1985,

to a level 8.8 percent lower than the 1981 peak. Measured in

local currencies. West German exports increased over the same

period about 35 percent and Japan's about 25 percent (see Figure

2); Nevertheless, theU.S. total in terms of dollars is still

about 20 percent greater than those of West Germany and Japan

though the gap has been narrowing rapidly. Figure 3 indicates

that at $375 billion, U.S. imports were 128 percent larger than

those of West Germany, which still is the second-ranking world

importer, and 177 percent larger than those of third-ranking

Japan

5 . International Standardization Organizations (Non-Treaty

Organizations)"

’

5 . 1 Historical Perspective

International standardization started 80 years ago in the

electrotechnical field. While some attempts were made in the

1930's to develop international standards in other fields, it was

not until the Forties that significant efforts were devoted to

international standardization. During the Fifties and Sixties,

international standards work was devoted almost entirely to the

development of international agreements on standards of a basic

^ "United States Trade Performance in 1985 and Outlook,"

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration,

October 1986.

8
nature, with all other standardization remaining at the national

level. Those early international standards efforts primarily

addressed issues for harmonizing internationally the most

fundamental procedures and requirements of a technical nature

(e.g., interchangeability, vocabularies, standards for units and

symbols, etc.). These activities made a strong contribution to

the technical rationalization needed for an extension of

international commerce. In the late Sixties and Seventies,

growing emphasis was placed on using international standards

instead of national standards. Adoption of the GATT Standards

Code in 1979 reflected wide acceptance of the concept of relying

on international standards for all classes of finished products,

materials, and even services (e.g., banking).

In the international standards arena, there are two primary

private sector standards development organizations: ISO and I£C.

Together, ISO and lEC form the world's largest nongovernmental

open forum for voluntary industrial and technical collaboration

at the international level.

5 . 2 The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO, the largest international standards body, was established in

1947, with an initial membership of 27 national standards

institutes. The present ISO is comprised of standards bodies of

89 countries, 74 of which are participating member bodies and 15

are represented by correspondent members (see listing in Table 1

in Appendix). The scope of ISO covers standardization in all

fields except electrical and electronic standards, which are the

responsibility of the International Electrotechnical Commission

(lEC). The broad range of subjects addressed by ISO ranges from

screw threads to solar energy.

ISO work is carried out through some 2400 technical groups: 184

Technical Committees (TC's), 645 Subcommittees (SC's), and 1536

Working Groups (WG's), which has resulted in the publication of

over 6000 ISO standards to date. See Table 2 for the title,

number designation, and year of establishment for each ISO

Technical Committee (TC).

9
More than 70% of the ISO member bodies^ are governmental

institutions or organizations incorporated by national law. The

remainder are non-governmental standards organizations. ANSI,

the U.S. member body to ISO, is one of the few private sector

member bodies. The U.S. is the only major industrialized nation

that has not taken action to provide for government

representation in the affairs of ISO. The U.S. system is unique

regarding international standards policy--in our pluralistic

society, private sector organizations represent U.S. interests in

many non-treaty international bodies, including ISO and lEC.

In such matters as budgets, sources of financial support and

functional responsibilities, the national member bodies differ

significantly. Annual budgets of ISO member bodies range from

less than 1 million to more than 60 million Swiss francs. In

many countries, such as Japan, Mexico, Korea and most of the

Eastern Bloc (Poland, Yugoslavia, and USSR), the ISO (and lEC)

member bodies are fully financed by their central governments.

In Canada and in most countries in Western Europe and South

America, the national members receive a portion of financial

support, ranging from 15% to 90%, from the central government,

with the remainder from subscriptions, sales of publications,

certification fees, etc. The U.S. Federal Government provides no

funding to ANSI for its domestic or international standardization

activities. ANSI's sources for funds include publication sales,

subscription and membership fees and donations. Travel an-d other

expenses for delegates from other countries are generally paid by

governmental institutions or organizations incorporated by

national law (e.g., BSI in the United Kingdom or AFNOR in

France), whereas ANSI does not pay such expenses for U.S.

delegates to international standards committee meetings.

Tradition, the level of industrialization, the political and

legal system, and other factors shape national standardization

policies and activities and account for the marked differences in

the approach and organizational settings from country to country.

5 A "member body" of ISO is the national body "most

representative of standardization in its country." Member bodies

are entitled to participate and exercise full voting rights on

any technical committee of ISO, are eligible for Council

membership and have seats in the General Assembly. A

"correspondent member" is normally an organization in a developing country which does not yet have its own national

standards body or may not have the resources to participate.

Correspondent members do not take an active part in the technical

work nor can they vote, but are entitled to be kept fully

informed about the work of interest to them. They may attend the

General Assembly as observers. Nearly all the present

correspondent members are governmental institutions.

10
The responsibilities of national standards bodies also differ

from country to country. For example, metrology is regarded as a part of standardization in 37 countries with ISO member bodies,

while this activity is the responsibility of other institutions

in other countries. Likewise, certification and quality control

are primary tasks within many national standards bodies, but not

others. Table 3 in the Appendix compares information on budgets,

resources, and responsibilities for the top 10 U.S. trading

partners which have ISO member bodies.

The ISO Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, helps to

coordinate ISO operations, administers voting and approval

procedures, and publishes international standards.

Any member body that wishes to participate in the work of any of

the 164 Technical Committees may do so. Member organizations

which decide to take an active part in the work of a Technical

Committee or Sub-Committee are known as "P" (participating)

members of that committee or sub-committee; they have an

obligation to participate in meetings and to vote. One of the Pmembers is designated to act as the secretariat of the committee

or sub-committee. Those nations that wish only to be kept

informed of the work of a Technical Committee or sub-committee

are called "0” (observer) members. They have the right to attend

meetings as observers, but not to vote. A request to study a technical subject may be initiated by one or more member bodies

or by an organization outside ISO. If at least five members are

willing to take an active part, a new technical committee will be

formed

Technical specifications for proposed standards are generally

developed by Working Groups (WG), which are given respons i b i 1 i ty

for specific issues. The Working Group's conclusions are

presented to the Subcommittee (SC) in a Draft Proposal (DP). If

approved by the Subcommittee, the DP becomes a Draft

International Standard (DIS) for ballot by the Technical

Committee (TC) with overall responsibility for the subject area.

If the ballot is successful, the DIS is then published as an

International Standard carrying the same number originally

assigned to the DP. Although approval by a TC need not be

unanimous, every effort is made to resolve any negative votes.

If more than two negative votes remain, it is unlikely that the

DIS will be adopted as an International Standard.^ Each ISO

International Standard lists the countries that have approved or

disapproved. The entire balloting process often takes anywhere

^ When the subject in question is still under technical

development or where for any other reason there is the

possibility of an agreement at some time in the future, the TC

may decide that the publication of a Technical Report would be

more appropriate.

11
from 18 to 36 months. Several ballots may be taken at the DP and

DIS level before agreement is reached.

5 . 3 The International Electrotechnical Commission (lEC)

lEC, also based in Geneva, Switzerland, was formed in 1906. The

present lEC is composed of 42 National Committees whose countries

collectively represent some 80% of the world's population that

produces and consumes 95% of electric energy (see listing in

Table 1 in Appendix). The objective of lEC is to promote

international cooperation on all questions of standardization in

the fields of electrical and electronic engineering. The member

"national committees" are required to be as* representative as

possible of all e 1 ectr i ca 1 -r e 1 ated interests in their countries:

manufacturers, users, governmental authorities, educational and

professional bodies. They are composed of delegates from the

various organizations that deal with electrical standardization

at the national level. Most committees are recognized and

supported by their governments.

The U.S. participates in lEC through the U.S. National Committee

of lEC, which is administered by ANSI.

For countries where no National Committee has yet been

established, the lEC operates a Registered Subscribers' Scheme.

This enables subscribers, such as electric power supply

companies, manufacturing enterprises, telecommunication

authorities and national standards bodies, to keep abreast of

developments in international electrotechnical standardization

without part i c i pat i ng as voting members.

The work of the lEC is carried out by 80 Technical Committees and

124 Sub-Committees, each responsible for developing standards for

a well-defined sector of technology (e.g., TC 64D on

Electromedical Equipment). The current committees span a wide

range of electrotechnical sectors. (See Table 4 for the title

and number designation of each lEC Technical Committee (TC) and

Sub-Comm i ttee ( SC ) .

)

Some 1800 international standards have been developed by lEC.

The growth in the cumulative number of lEC standards published

and available during the period 1966 through 1986 is shown

graphically in Figure 7.

5 . 4 Relationship Between ISO and lEC

ISO and lEC have a formal agreement establishing a nonduplicative and cooperative relationship between the two

organizations. In accordance with this agreement, the two

organizations complement each other in the field of international

standardization.

12
Questions related to international standardization in the

electrical and electronic engineering fields are the

responsibility of lEC; other subject areas are the responsibility

of ISO. In matters of international standardization not related

to any particular technology, ISO undertakes the work in

consultation with lEC to safeguard any electrotechnical interests

which may be involved. To ensure the necessary technical

coordination, ISO and lEC have established a joint ISO/IEC

Technical Programming Committee. Various liaisons have been

established between individual ISO and lEC technical Committees.

The two organizations have significantly different structures and

operational procedures, some due to historical developments and

the normal segmenting of major engineering disciplines, along

with a measure of organizational independence.

lEC has substantially fewer members than ISO. Whereas lEC

essentially comprises the industrialized and newly

industrializing countries, a number of lesser developed countries

belong to ISO even though they may seldom participate in

specialized technical work. (See Table 1, which lists each

country's membership status.)

As for working procedures, the t'wo organizations distribute tasks

differently between the official staffs in Geneva and the

secretariats of technical committees and subcommittees. ISO

committee secretariats do most of their own work (e.g.,

distribution of documents, preparation of minutes of meetings,

duplicating, etc.) during the deliberative stages of standards

development. lEC secretariats rely heavily on the Central Office

staff in Geneva for such support.

ISO and lEC have recently undertaken new proposals to harmonize

their procedures and methods of work. Some of the new ISO/IEC

harmonized procedures were approved during 1987.

5 . 5 Official Languages

The official languages of ISO and lEC are English, French, and

Russian. Documents are developed and distributed in both English

and French. TC and SC meetings may be conducted in both English

and French; WG meetings generally are not bilingual. The member

body for the USSR provides all interpretation and translation

into or from the Russian language.

13
5 . 6 Other International Standardization Organizations

In addition to ISO and lEC, more than 165 other international

organizations develop and publish international standards^.

Standards are also developed and issued by private regional

organizations. International and regional standards

organizations adopt their own membership rules, which may or may

not permit representation by or from the United States.

About 25 international treaty or gan i zat i ons are concerned with

standards, two of which are of primary importance in world trade.

0 The Treaty of the Meter, adopted in 1875, harmonizes

measurement standards among virtually all developed nations.

This treaty provides for the establishment and maintenance

of a permanent International Bureau of Weights of Measures

(located near Paris, France), under the control of an

international committee elected by the General Conference on

Weights and Measures.

0 The International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)

is an intergovernmental organization, created in 1955, with

the main scope of harmonizing and coordinating on the

international level the administrative and technical

regulations on measurements and measuring instruments issued

in various countr i es .

6 . GATT Standards Code

Differences between nations' standards, product testing and

approval procedures, and certification systems often hinder the

free flow of goods in international commerce. In 1979 , as part

of the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, the

Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade --"The Standards Code"--

was concluded, the first i n ternat i onal agreement recognizing the

importance of standards-related activities in international

trade. The Code is designed to eliminate the use of standards

and certification systems as barriers to international trade by

establishing a framework of common rules. It does not attempt to

create standards for individual products, nor to set up specific

testing and certification systems. The Code does promote the

adoption of relevant international standards as a basis for new

national standards and encourages signatories to participate in

international standardization organizations with a view towards

harmonizing technical regulations of the signatory countries.

The Code does not restrict a nation's right to adopt standards or

certification systems which are necessary to protect human.

^ NBS Special Publication SP-649, "Directory of

International and Regional Organizations Conducting StandardsRelated Activities," April 1983.

14
animal or plant life or health, or the environment; or to prevent

the use of deceptive practices.

Each GATT Standards Code signatory must notify the GATT

Secretariat of any draft mandatory standard or certification

system that might have a significant impact on trade, allow for a comment period on the proposal, and take those comments into

account. Each signatory must also establish an inquiry point to

respond to inquiries from other signatories concerning standards

and certification systems in effect. Most important, signatories

are prohibited from adopting standards or certification systems

that discriminate against foreign products. Table 1 lists the

countries that have signed the GATT Standards Code.

The Code applies to both agricultural and industrial products.

It does not apply to standards involving services, technical

specifications included in government procurement contracts, nor

standards established by private companies for their own use.

The Code encourages, but does not require, signatories to enter

into arrangements for the mutual acceptance of test data.

7 . Developing Countries and International Standardization

Activities

In recent years, more and more countries have engaged in the work

of international standardization. When ISO started in 1 947 , approximately 80% of the 26 member bodies were from the

industrialized countries of the world. Even today, the ISO and

lEC technical work is based almost exclusively on the experience

and knowledge of industrialized countries, and will probably

remain that way in the future. But more and more developing

countries have an interest in ISO and lEC; these countries now

actually constitute the majority (65% counting correspondent

members) of the ISO membership. (See Table 1 for listing by

coun try groups .

)

The contributions of developing countries to the technical work

of ISO and lEC may be limited, but these countries are greatly

interested in the resultant international standards as they

become available. Standards represent a politically and

economically neutral transfer of technology of significant

importance to them. This is a primary reason why developing

countries adopt international standards. Developing countries

lack the industrial and economic infrastructure needed to

establish their own standards development system, so they look to

ISO/IEC to broaden their limited industrial and technological

base in their evolving international trade activities.

The emergence of developing countries illustrates the

interrelationship of international standards activities and trade

opportunities. Industrialized countries, primarily those in

Western Europe, have recognized the direct relationship between

15
their export trade and the standards developed or adopted in

developing countries. Many European nations have moved quickly

to help standards-making bodies of other nations develop their

standards and standards -re 1 ated activities. In the process, they

have provided a bias favoring their own economic position. In a recent report^, an official of the Brazilian Technical Standards

Association (ABNT) indicated that Brazil maintains close working

relationships with the French and German national standards

organizations: France and Germany are the most active of all

nations in both ISO and lEC. If U.S. interests are not

adequately represented in international standardization forums,

then there is great danger that specifications written for

procurements by developing nations will be less favorable to the

U.S. in rapidly growing markets. This concern becomes more

significant as the world economy encourages a progressively

protectionist attitude toward trade matters.

The GATT Standards Code provides for technical assistance to be

given by industrialized member bodies to other Code signatories

upon mutually agreed terms and conditions. Such assistance may

consist, for example, of advice on how to establish a national

standards institute or a product certification system.

Recognizing that developing countries may face institutional or

infrastructural problems in preparing and applying technical

regulations, standards, test methods, and certification systems,

the Code provides for special and differential treatment for

developing countries. Developing countries that wish to join the

Code may even request specific, time-limited exceptions from

certain Code requirements.

8 . U.S. Member Bodies in ISO and lEC

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the United

States National Committee of the International Electrotechnical

Commission (USNC/IEC) are the U.S. members of ISO and lEC.

Technically, the USNC is an independent organization; however, it

is attached to ANSI through its Electrical and Electronics

Standards Board. ANSI was formed in 1913 and evolved through

many forms until it adopted its present form and name in 1969.

ANSI is a private sector non-profit federation (chartered in the

State of New York) of some 240 technical, professional and trade

organizations interested in standards. Standards developed by

these organizations are designated as national or “American

National Standards" after ANSI determines that they have been

2 “Standards Writing in Brazil" by Alberto Cotrim; ASTM

Standardization News, January, 1987, p. 42.

16
approved in accordance with its consensus procedures^. Thus ANSI

acts as a coordinating agency for voluntary standardization

activities in the U.S. For example, a product standard developed

by members of the National Electrical Manuf acturer s Association,

a standard reflecting producer needs and interests, can be

processed through ANSI procedures, which require that the views

of consumers and users are considered.

At international standards committee meetings, important

decisions are made affecting the characteristics (e.g.,

acceptance criteria, test methods, design and/or performance,

interchangeability, etc.) of many products or technologies. In

these deliberations, delegations from most' other countries,

represent their governments' official positions and negotiate

accordingly. The U.S. delegates have no official government

standing, but generally represent public interest views.

8 . 1 ISO Participation

ANSI coordinates U.S. participation in ISO Technical Committees

through technical advisory groups-“TAGs--which are administered

by trade associations, technical or professional societies, or

government agencies. TAGs develop technical positions and assume

responsibility for selecting qualified people to represent U.S.

interests at international standardization meetings. ANSI

establishes the TAG usually naming as a technical advisory group

the committee or organization that is developing parallel

domestic standards: that group directly represents the materially

affected U.S. interests and possesses the required technical

expertise. ANSI generally appoints the secretariat or sponsor of

the national standards-developing group as the TAG admi n i s tr ator

For example: committees of the Society of Automotive Engineers

(SAE) that develop domestic standards for internal combustion

engines, hydraulic braking systems, and other equipment serve as

U.S. technical advisory groups for the ISO technical committee on

road vehicles and its many subcommittees. SAE administers the

TAG with its own staff.

ANSI Accredited Committee X3 on Information Processing Systems is

the U.S. TAG for ISO Technical Committee 97, which is producing

international standards for information processing. The Computer

9 Summary data reported in NBS Special Publication 631,

"Standards Activities of Organizations in the United States,"

August 1984, indicates that "....as of 1983 approximately 420

non-governmental organizations maintained an estimated 32,000

U.S. voluntary standards. Of this amount , approximately 8,500

standards or 25% of all the non-governmental standards have been

processed through ANSI to be designated as "ANS" or American

National Standards."

17
and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (CBEMA),

secretariat of the X3 Committee, is the TAG administrator.

Federal agencies administer some technical advisory groups.

Thus, the U.S. Geological Survey supervises the development of

the U.S. viewpoint for ISO work on measurement of liquid flow in

open channels. The National Bureau of Standards administers the

TAG for a subcommittee of the ISO committee on industrial

automation systems.

ANSI provides technical advisory groups with:

0 criteria and procedures to guide them in their

operations and in reaching consensus on positions for

international standards activities;

0 advice from staff and communication on those ISO

technical committee and subcommittee matters on which

the Institute needs the TAG'S recommendations; and

0 guidance from ANSI standards boards on coordination

between parallel national and ISO international

standards

8 . 2 lEC Participation

The U.S. National Committee of lEC (USNC/IEC) manages U.S.

participation in the technical work of the International

E 1 ectrotechn i ca 1 Commission. It takes part in the Commission's

entire technical program and holds secretariats of some thirty

technical committees and subgroups. Among them are committees

that develop international recommendat i ons for solar photovoltaic

energy systems; safety of data processing equipment and office

machines; cables, wires, and waveguides for telecommunication

equipment; and safety of household and similar electrical

app 1 i ances . The USNC appoints a technical advisor and a technical advisory

group to develop the U.S. viewpoint for the work of each lEC

committee and subcommittee. Advisors are drawn from U.S.

prof ess ional /techn i cal societies, trade associations, companies,

government agencies, and testing laboratories concerned with the

development of national electrotechnical standards. The

technical advisor develops- the U.S. position on lEC committee

matters by consulting with the advisory group. The technical

advisor is also responsible for having the U.S. position

presented to the appropriate lEC Technical Committee, hence must

select knowledgeable delegates and assure that financial support

is available for attending lEC meetings. Delegates are selected

from U.S. professional/techn ical societies, trade associations,

industrial companies, government agencies and testing

18
laboratories that are also involved in the development of

national electrotechnical standards.

ANSI provides secretariat services to the USNC, its Executive

Committee, technical advisors, and technical advisory groups.

9 . U.S. Adoption of International Standards

Through 1987, ISO had published some 6400 standards^^ and lEC had

published an additional 1800 standards. Similar numbers of

proposed standards are in various stages of development within

each organization.

A large and growing number of ISO and lEC standards are being

adopted directly by many countries as national standards. In

accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 3, these are "identical standards"

and are identified by the basic international standards number,

e.g., BIS-ISO 3506 or DIN/IEC 383. It is difficult to obtain

authoritative information on the extent of direct adoption by

various countries, but at a 1986 conference on implementing

international standards^^ the scale of adoption in selected

European countries was reported as follows:

As of July 1987 , 6401 ISO standards were published per

the 1987 ISO Catalogue, p. III.

Per information provided by lEC and ANSI.

Presentation by Gerald A. Price "Implementing

International Standards on a Regional Basis;" Joint Standards

Engineering Society (SES) and International Federation for the

Application of Standards (IFAN) Conference; Philadelphia, October

1986.

19
Portion of Total

National Standards

Identical To

Country Internati onal

Denmark 43%

France 37%

Nether 1 ands 22%

United Kingdom 16%

Germany (FRG) 5%

Only 15 of the approximately 8500 American National Standards

have the designation "ANSI/ISO" to indicate Identity with the

corresponding international standard. These are in the area of

photography and micrographics, and are for the most part U.S.

standards that were proposed and subsequently approved as ISO

standards. In photographic products, film speeds have been

designated as "ISO speed" in place of "ASA speed" since 1982 when

the ANSI standard was adopted by ISO (i.e., ANSI/ISO 2240-1982).

(See Table 5 for list of ANSI/ISO standards.)

Some countries, such as the U.K., identify degrees of conformity

between their national standards and the corresponding

international standard. The British Standards Institution

designates conforming standards as "identical," "technically

equivalent" or "related." At a recent GATT Standards Code

Committee meeting (October, 1987) it was reported that

approximately 40% of Chinese standards are based on international

standards . National differences can affect the degree of direct adoption of

international standards. Different cultures and philosophical

traditions and approaches to safety or to regulation may affect

the degree of harmonization among national, multi-national,

regional and international standards. The differing

characteristics of electric current and nominal supply voltages

prohibit direct adoption in the U.S. of many lEC Standards which

are based on European frequency (50 cycles vs. U.S. 60 cycles)

and voltages (120/240 volts vs. U.S. 110-225 volts). Obviously,

the U.S. was not persuasive enough in the development of these

lEC standards to have the international standards incorporate or

even "accommodate" standard U.S. electrical current

char ac ter i St ics . In the area of product performance, however.

^ ^ It should be pointed out that some international

standards are endorsed as national standards as they stand, while

others are translated for publication as national standards. As

a result, equivalent texts are often available in two or more

other languages. ISO standards are always published in both

English and French and may be endorsed without change to become

an AFNOR (France), DIN (Germany) or SFS (Finland) standard.

20
there is opportunity for greater harmonization. Also in the

areas of new technology, the opportunities are greater.

9 . 1 Foreign Use of U.S. Standards

The standards of several U.S. organizations are used extensively

by traders in other countries and in many cases have become "de

facto" international standards. The American Society of

Mechanical Engineers (ASME) codes and standards, particularly the

ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, enjoy broad recognition and

acceptance around the world. ASTM, the largest U.S. standardswriting organization, which concentrates heavily in the areas of

petroleum, metals, coal, concrete and plastics, is also

recognized worldwide for the high quality of its standards for

test methods and material specifications. Many ASTM standards,

especially for petroleum products and plastics, have formed the

basis for standards issued by promulgated by ISO and regional

standards bodies. In 1982, ASTM commissioned a study conducted

by Humberside College in Hull, England, to examine the role that

standards play in international trade, particularly from the

users' perspective.^'^ That study concluded that, in the five

countries surveyed, ASTM standards were either the standards of

choice or second only to the national standards.

10 . Summary of U.S. P ar t i c i pat i on in ISO and lEC

10.1 ISO Participation

In 1966, the U.S held ISO secretariats on ten of the 118

technical committees that then existed. These secretariats were

as foil ows : TC-11, Unification of Boiler Code (U.S. still holds secretariat

i n 1987 ) TC-28, Petroleum Products (U.S. still holds secretariat in 1937)

TC-36, C i nema togr aphy (U.S. still holds secretariat in 1987)

TC-42, Photography (U.S. still holds secretariat in 1937)

TC-61, Plastics (U.S. still holds secretariat in 1937)

TC-66, Determination of Viscosity (This TC has been dissolved)

TC-85, Nuclear Energy (Secretariat now held by Federal Republic

of Germany)

TC-97, Computers and Information Processing (U.S. still holds

secretariat in 1987)

TC-104, Freight Containers (U.S. still holds secretariat in 1987)

TC-108, Mechanical Shock and Vibration (U.S. still holds

secretariat in 1987)

See "The Use of ASTM Standards in International Trade;"

Parts 1 and 2; ASTM Standardization News , May and June 1984,

ASTM, Philadelphia, PA.

21
The U.S. in 1966 had little interest in participating in

technical committees on building construction, concrete, mining,

rivets, fire safety tests, and textile machinery. These areas

were focused domestically, and foreign markets were not then

exploited.

Figure 4 indicates that the percentage of ISO secretariats held

by the U.S. has remained fairly constant over the last 20 years.

In 1966 the U.S. ranked third, with about 9% of secretar i ats , and

in 1986 was fourth, with 12% of ISO secretar i at s . The United

Kingdom, Germany and France hold more TC and SC secretariats then

the U.S. today.

In 1986 the U.S. held 16 secretariats of the 164 ISO Technical

Committees (9.8%) as follows:

TC-11, Boilers and pressure vessels (since 1947)

TC-20, Aircraft and space vehicles (since 1976)

TC-28, Petroleum products and lubricants (since 1947)

TC-31, Tires, rims and valves (since 1966)

TC-36, C i nematogr aphy (since 1947)

TC”42, Photography (since 1947)

TC-61, Plastics (since 1947)

TC-68, Banking (since 1972)

TC“97, Information processing systems (since 1960)

TC-104, Freight containers (since 1961)

TC-108, Mechanical vibration and shock (since 1963)

TC-127, Earthmoving machinery (since 1968)

TC-131, Fluid power systems (since 1969)

TC-153, Valves (since 1984)

TC-161, Control and safety devices for heat generating systems

(since 1985)

TB-189, Ceramic tile (since 1986)

In 1986, the U.S. held the secretariats for 69 of the 645

subcommittees (10.7%) and the U.S. was the convenor of 212 of the

1556 ISO Working Groups (13.6%). Thus, U.S. held 297 out of the

2365 leadership positions available (12.6%) within ISO.

The U.S. was designated as an active participant in 113 of 164

(68.8%) ISO Technical Committees in 1986 and as an "observer" for

48c The U.S. was designated as "not represented" in three ISO

Technical Committees:

0 glass containers

0 tobacco and tobacco products

0 jewelry

ANSI estimates that in 1986, 466 U.S. delegates participated in

132 ISO standards committee meetings (i.e., TC and SC meetings).

The U.S. hosted seven ISO TC and/or SC meetings in this country.

U.S. delegates are drawn primarily from private companies (75%),

22
the remainder coming from government, trade associations, and

academia.

10.2 lEC Participation

Until after World War II, the U.S. electrical industry maintained

a largely passive role in the activities of lEC. National

standards were more prominent in world trade than the then

available international standards.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's, the U.S. electrical industry

began to be more active in developing lEC standards. However,

the U.S. delegates had limited effectivene-ss due to lack of

delegate continuity, language differences, and limited

understanding of European history, culture and traditions. It

was a time of frustration and learning. In the meantime, it

became clear that the Europeans knew far more than U.S. producers

about American customers. They learned our language, studied our

markets, and joined our standards-making organizations. They

also participated on a long-term basis in the American standards

scene with knowledgeable, effective, dedicated representatives.

In the middle 1970's, the U.S. electrical industry made a renewed

effort to take a more active role in the lEC. Several firms made

experts available for lEC activities. Goals were established,

one of which was to introduce U.S. test methods and performance

criteria into lEC standards.

A comparison of lEC standards and U.S. standards showed many

similarities, especially in concepts of safety criteria.

However, in product areas, it was apparent that arbitrary product

"design" requirements in lEC standards and U.S. standards made it

highly unlikely that compromises could be reached. A new

approach was needed to obtain "harmonization," moving from

"design" criteria to "performance-based" criteria. Most lEC

participants agreed to this change in direction and work began in

earnest. U.S. delegate participation was expanded to include all

levels of standards development. U.S. delegates were asked to

make at least a three-year commitment for service on I£C

committees and subcommittees to assure continuity. U.S.

technical advisory groups were enlarged, and U.S. input was

provided at each level of lEC standards work.

As indicated in Figure 6, the fraction of lEC TC and SC

secretariats held by the U.S-. increased from about 9 % in 1966 to

16% in 1986. Only France with 19% holds more. In overall

ranking, the U.S. was fourth behind the United Kingdom, France

and Germany in 1966; in 1986 the U.S. ranked second.

The U.S. currently holds the secretariat for the following lEC

TC ' s and SC's:

23
Classification of insulation systems for rotating machinery

(since 1931)

Hydraulic turbines (since 1966)

Equipment used in the mobile services (since 1972)

Endurance tests (since 1966)

Semiconductor power converters for adjustable speed electric

drive systems (since 1982)

Quantities and units, and their letter symbols (since 1966)

Flameproof enclosures (since 1984)

Apparatus for use in the presence of ignitable dust (since 1966)

Surge arresters (since 1966)

Cables, wires and waveguides for telecommunications equipment

(since 1971)

Waveguides and their accessories (since 1966)

Connectors for r.f. cables (since 1982)

Electromechanical components for electronic equipment (since

1968)

Connectors (since 1968)

Printed circuits (since 1985)

Electric dishwashers (since 1966)

Microwave appliances (since 1972)

Safety of household and similar electrical appliances (since

1967 ) Safety of household microwave ovens (since 1970)

Appliances for air-conditioning for household and similar

purposes (since 1973)

Safety of projectors (since 1983)

Electromedical equipment (since 1970)

Elements of systems (since 1973)

Oscilloscopes (since 1969)

Analyzing equipment (since 1975)

Automatic controls for household use (since 1971)

Safety of data processing equipment and office machines (since

1973)

Laser equipment (since 1973)

Solar photovoltaic energy systems (since 1982)

Measuring equipment for basic electrical quantities (since 1985)

Radio interference measurements and statistical methods (since

1975 )

In 1966 the U.S. held but seven lEC secre t ar i at s

In 1986, the U.S. was represented by 143 delegates at 45 lEC TC

and SC meetings. lEC delegates are predominantly from private

industry (85%), with the remainder from trade associations and

government agencies. The U.S. hosted 4 lEC meetings in this

country in 1986.

10.3 Comparison of Trade Data With U.S. Participation in ISO/IEC

This section provides a rough evaluation of U.S. participation in

ISO/IEC by major product groupings utilizing 1986 U.S. trade data

24
obtained from DoC's International Trade Administration. The data

compiled in Table 6 ranks 34 major product groups by the dollar

value of 1986 U . S . exports. Also shown are the correspond i ng

dollar value for 1986 imports and the resulting trade balance for

each product group. These 34 product groups accounted in 1986

for 68 percent of U.S. exports and 71 percent of our imports.

Corresponding ISO and lEC technical standards committees whose

work relates directly or indirectly to each major product

grouping were identified using various ISO and lEC documents

(e.g., catalogues, directories, memento, etc.) Some ISO/IEC

committees are active in standards development for more than one

product within a single group or, in some CcLses, relate to more

than one product group. Unfortunately, the aggregation of trade

data reports and product classification definitions make it

extremely difficult to exactly match export product groupings

with ISO and lEC standardization committees, especially since

many committees concentrate on specific technical disciplines

(e.g., acoustics, air quality, mechanical vibration and shock,

etc.) rather than products. The data compiled in Table 7

represents the best subjective matching of product groups with

the scopes of international standards committees. Information on

TC chairmanships held by the U.S. and participant or observer

status are also indicated. Similar information for lEC

secretariats and chairmanships is presented in Table 8.

The product groups were divided into four data sets based on

export values as presented in Table 9. The corresponding figures

for all ISO/IEC secretariats and those held by the U.S. were also

aggregated within their respective data sets. The data on

secretariats were also averaged for all product groups covered

and the average for U.S. held secretariats to all ISO/IEC

committees for 1986 is also indicated. This compilation,

although rough in many respects, indicates that U.S.

representation and level of effort in ISO/IEC international

standardization activities correlates well with trade value,

favoring higher technology product groups over those in basic

product categories. The largest monetary value export group is

made up of but 4 product codes, whereas the smallest monetary

value group (and the lowest ISO/IEC secretariat level) is

composed of 15 product codes. The average percentage of all U.S.

held secretariats for 1986 in ISO/IEC was 12.9% while the average

for the 1986 U.S. held secretariats related to the 33 product

categories in the four product groups was 12.6%.

10.4 Major Product Group Trade Performance and U.S.

Participation in ISO/IEC

The following discussion provides a group- by -group summary of the

categorization of products within the corresponding two-digit

Schedule E Commodity Codes and a synopsis of U.S. participation

activities in the corresponding ISO and/or lEC standards

25
committees whose technical work directly or indirectly relates to

a particular product group. The order of product groups

generally follows the 1986 export rankings given in Table 5.

Commodity Code 73 - Road Vehicles -- This group includes

passenger cars, trucks, buses, tractors (on-road), motorcycles,

bicycles, special purpose vehicles and parts and components for

these items.

ISO Technical Committee 22 on Road Vehicles is the major

international group concerned with all questions of

standardization (e.g., compatibility, interchangeability, safety,

test procedures, performance, etc.) for this commodity group. TC

22 also is probably the largest technical body within ISO having

24 separate subcommittees and 77 working groups covering

everything from "electrical interferences" to "fuel consumption

measurement" to "brake systems and equipment." In 1986 the U.S.

held the secretariat for thirteen (13%) of these 101

subcommittees and working groups. There were 17 less

subcommittees and working groups in TC 22 during 1978. The ISO

Memento for 1978 indicates that the U.S. held the secretariat for

sixteen (or 19%) of these 84 subcommittees and working groups.

This represents a loss of three U.S. -held secretariats within TC

22 during a period of standardization growth and technological

change. Germany and France hold a significant number of

secretariats in TC 22.

The other ISO Technical Committee with standardization interests

relevant to this product group is TC 149 on Cycles. The U.S. is

registered as an "0" member (i.e., "non-voting observer") for TC

149.

Commodity Code 75 - Office Machines and ADP Equipment -- U.S.

export trade in this category is dominated by automatic data

processing machines and parts of both ADP machines and office

machines.

The U.S. maintains a strong position in ISO/IEC standardization

activities involved in information technology systems. ISO TC 97

- Information Processing Systems, lEC TC 83 - Information

Technology Equipment and lEC SC 47B - M i croproces sor Systems are

the primary committees working on technical standards relevant to

this product group. The activities of these three committees

have recently been integrated into the first ISO/IEC Joint

Committee ever to be convened. The new joint committee has been

designated as "ISO/IEC JTC 1 - Information Technology." The U.S.

through ANSI, will administer the international secretariat of

JTC 1. The U.S. holds the secretariat of ISO/TC 97 and four of

its subcommittees -- on open systems interconnection,

telecommunications, magnetic media, and text and office systems.

It will carry out these same responsibilities under the new

ISO/IEC JTC 1 organization. In lEC, the U.S. also holds the SC

26
chairmanship for lEC/SC 47 B - Microprocessor Systems and the

secretariat for lEC/TC 74 - "Safety of Data Processing Equipment

and Office Machines."

Commodity Code 79 - Transport Equipment -- This category consists

mainly of aircraft, although ships, boats, railway vehicles, and

trailers are included as well. Aircraft sales constitute the

major component of this product group.

ISO has two technical committees with primary interest in this

product sector. They are: (1) TC 20 - Aircraft and Space

Vehicles, and (2) TC 8 - Shipbuilding and Marine Structures. lEC

has activity related to rail transport equipment via TC 9-

Electric Traction Equipment and other TCs and SCs involved in

navigation, instrumentation, lamps, and shipboard electrical

installations. U.S. standards interests are concentrated on

aircraft by virtue of its presence in TC 20 where it holds 13 of

the 46 secretariats including the TC secretariat. This

involvement is the result of a study in the early 1980's by the

Aerospace Industries Association to assess the future impact of

international standardization on the U.S. aerospace industry.

The study resulted in a program to develop a sound industry

strategy to play an active leadership role in international

standardization activities and to promote the adoption of

standards favorable to U.S. technological achievements.

Commodity Code 77 -- Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, Appliances

and Parts -- This commodity class consists of a wide range of

electrical equipment including electronic components (e.g.,

semiconductors), circuit breakers, connectors, electromedical

equipment and household appliances.

Standards development at the international level is predominantly

within the sphere of the lEC for this product group. Sixty lEC

TCs and SCs were identified as having direct or indirect

standards programs that impact this category of electrical

products and equipment. Of these 60 TCs and SCs, the U.S. holds

10 secretariats and 4 chairmanships. The TC secretariats held

are

(1) TC 61 - Safety of Household and Similar Electrical

Appliances. (The U.S. also holds 3 of the 8 SC

secretariats and one SC chairmanship in TC 61.)

(2) TC 72 - Automatic Controls for Household Use and

(3) TC 52 - Printed Circuits

The only ISO activity to directly affect this product group is TC

86 - Ref r i ger at i on . The U.S. holds 3 of the 7 subcommittees

secretariats in TC 86. The last plenary meeting was in 1985.

27
Commodity Code 71 - Power Generating Machinery This product

class is largely automotive and aircraft engines and parts, but

also contains steam and vapor boilers and generators and electric

motors and generators.

Both ISO and lEC have significant standards development

activities that impact products in this trade category. U.S.

participation levels and leadership roles are well represented in

both standards bodies. Among lEC secretariats available, the

U.S. holds 3 of the 13 secretariats (23%) and 4 chairmanships in

lEC as follows:

TC 5 “ Steam Turbines - secretariat and chairmanship (holding

both secretariat and chairman for the same TC or SC in

lEC is unusual)

TC 4 - Hydraulic Turbines - secretariat

SC 2J - Classification of Insulation Systems for Rotating

Machinery - secretariat

SC 2A " Turbine-Type Generators - chairman

SC 2G - Test Methods and Procedures - chairman

The U.S. holds 10 of the available 58 TC, SC, or WG secretariats

in ISO for the following 3 technical committees:

TC 11 - Boi 1 ers and Pressure

WG secretariats.

TC 70 - Internal Combustion

one WG secretariat.

TC 85 - Nuclear Energy -- secretariats.

Vessels -- U.S. holds tne TC and 2

Engines -- U.S. holds one SC and

U.S. holds one SC and four WG

Commodity Code 72 - Specialized Machinery for Particular

Industries -- This class contains a wide variety of industrial

machinery such as agricultural machinery, construction and mining

equipment, textile machinery, tractors, and printing and

bookbinding equipment.

U.S. international standards interests for this product group are

concentrated in the following ISO Technical Committees:

(1) TC 23 - Tractors and Machinery for Agriculture and

Forestry - where the U.S. holds 3 SC and 2 WG

secretariats from among the 38 such secretariats

in place.

28
(2) TC 127 - Earth moving Machinery - where the U.S. holds both

the TC secretariat and chairmanship, and

(3) TC 67 - Materials and Equipment for Petroleum and Natural

Gas Industries - where the U.S. holds one SC and

two WG secretariats from among 9 available

positions.

Among the other standards development activities within ISO with

technical work relevant to this trade category, the U.S. is a non-voting observer in the following ISO technical committees:

(1) TC 72 - Textile Machinery and Allied Machinery and

Accessories (last plenary meeting was in 1985),

and

(2) TC 82 - Mining (last plenary meeting was in 1962).

Within lEC, the only directly relevant activity is covered by TC

71 -- Electrical Installations for Outdoor Sites Under Heavy

Conditions (Including Open-Cast Mines and Quarries) where the

U.S. holds the chairmanship of the TC.

Commodity Code 74 - General Industrial Machinery, Equipment and

Parts -- This is a group of disparate products which includes

such items as heating and cooling equipment, pumps, air and gas

compressors, fans, mechanical handling equipment, refrigeration

equipment and miscellaneous machinery parts.

The technical standardization work of ISO for this diverse

product group covers 18 individual technical committees made up

of 75 subcommittees and 143 working groups -- the most standards

development units for any of the Schedule E Commodity Codes. lEC

has but two technical committees -- TC 69 -- Electric Industrial

Trucks and TC 27 -- Industrial Electroheating Equipment -- with

direct standards interests bearing on this product group. The

U.S. holds 14% (32 of 236 ) of the secretariats and participates

in 16 of the 18 ISO technical committees. Within the 18 TCs, the

U.S. dominates in TC 131 -- Fluid Power Systems where it holds

the TC secretariat, 3 of the 9 SC secretariats, *and 10 of the 36

working group secret ar i at s . The U.S. also holds 5 of the 9 SC

secretariats in TC 4 -- Rolling Bearings but holds no

secretariats in TC 123 -- Plain Bearings. In addition to the TC

secretariat for TC 131, the U.S. also holds the TC secretariat as

well as the TC chairmanship for the following two TCs:

(1) TC 104 - Freight Containers

(2) TC 153 - Val ves

The TCs in which the U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer

member are:

29
(1) TC 101 - Continuous Mechanical Handling Equipment

(last meeting was in 1986), and

(2) TC 128 - Glass Plant, Pipeline and Fittings

(last meeting was in 1975)

Commodity Code 87 - Professional, Scientific, and Controlling

Instruments -- This group includes various kinds of instruments

including optical instruments, medical instruments, meters and

counters, surveying instruments, automatic pilots, precision

balances, and seismographs.

I n t e r n at i ona 1 standardization activities for this product group

cuts across a number of technical committees in 'both ISO and lEC.

Participation levels and leadership roles of U.S. interests are

stronger in the lEC committees than in ISO, although the lEC

committees concerned are more high-tech oriented than are the ISO

groups. The U.S. holds 3 of 19 secretariats (TC 85 - Fiber

Optics, SC 65 B - Elements of Systems, and SC 66 D - Analyzing

Equipment) and four TC or SC chairmanships in lEC. In ISO, the

U.S. holds 4 of 59 SC or WG secretariats and no chairmanships.

The ISO technical committees in which the U.S. holds a secretariat are:

(1) TC 172 - Optics and Optical Instruments; WG 4 - Test

instruments and test methods for contact lenses

(2) TC 121 - Anaesthetic and respiratory equipment; SC 3-

Breathing Machines, and WG 1 - Laryngoscopic

Fittings

(3) TC84- Syringes for medical use and needles for

injection, WG 1 - Reusable syringes and needles.

The U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer member of ISO TC

170 - Surgical Instruments. The last plenary meeting of TC 170

was in 1985. Federal Republic of Germany holds the secretariat

of TC 170; there are no subcommittees or working groups listed

for TC 170.

Commodity Code 51 - Organic Chemicals and Related Products -- Organic chemicals are products mainly derived from petroleum or

natural gas, with additional inputs from coal or agricultural

products

For this product group, the U.S. maintains a dominant position in

ISO standards work through its long-term leadership roles and

active participation in TC 28 - Petroleum Products and

Lubricants. The U.S. holds the TC secretariat, two of the six

30
subcommittee secretariats and nine of the 24 working group

secretariats in TC 28. This high level of participation is

diminished by U.S. inactivity in a related committee: TC 47-

Chemistry where the U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer

member

Commodity Code 76 - Telecommunications and Sound Recording and

Reproducing Equipment -- This group contains radio and television

communications equipment, broadcasting equipment, and detection

apparatus, -- items still relatively competitive in export

markets -- and consumer electronic products, most of which are

imported either from foreign firms or from U.S. assembly

operationsoverseas.

International standardization activities for this product group

take place in various lEC technical committees and subcommittees.

The major lEC Technical Committees are TC 12-

Radiocommunications, TC 46 - Cables, Wires and Waveguides for

Telecommunication Equipment, TC 60 - Recording, TC 48-

El ectromechan i cal Components for Electronic Equipment, TC 86-

Fiber Optics, and several other related subcommittees. The U.S.

reportedly participates actively in all 25 of the lEC committees

and subcommittees and holds 9 secretariats (4 at the TC level and

5 at the Sc level) and 2 ch a i rman sh i ps among the 25 committees.

Commodity Code 58 - Synthetic Resins, Rubber, and Plastic

Materials -- The U.S. has active participation and leadership

roles in the ISO Technical Committees with international

standardization responsibilities for this product group. The

U.S. holds the secretariat for TC 61 - Plastics and 10 of the 74

subcommittee and working group secretariats in TC 61. The U.S.

also holds five of the 22 working group secretariats in TC 45-

Rubber and rubber products.

Commodity Code 54 - Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Products - - There are no ISO or lEC standardization activities for this

product group. The World Health Organization sets standards at

the international level for the quality control of drugs,

vaccines, and other substances affecting health.

Commodity Code 69 - Miscellaneous Metal Manufactures -- This

diverse group contains such items as: metal structures (doors,

roofing, building sections and shapes); storage and

transportation containers; wire products; nails, bolts, etc.;

tools; cutlery and flatware; household articles (cookware,

sanitary fixtures, etc.); and, safes and locks.

There are an array of ISO Technical Committees whose

standardization activities relate to this diverse product group.

The U.S. participates in seven of these TCs, holds five

subcommittee and working group secretariats in four of these TCs,

31
and has a non-voting observer registration in 2 of the TCs. The

TCs on which the U.S. has a secretariat role are:

(1) TC 2

- Fasteners

(2) TC 29 - Sma 1 1 Tools

(3) TC 100 - Chains and Chain Wheels for Power Transmission and

Con veyor

The U.S. i s registered as a participant in the following 4 TCs:

(1) TC 105 - Steel wire ropes

(2) TC 111 - Round steel link chains, lifting hooks and

accessories

(3) TC 164 - Mechanical Testing of Metals

(4) TC 167 - Steel and Aluminum Structures

The two TCs i n which the U.S. is an observer are:

(1) TC 52 - Metal Containers (last meeting in 1985)

(2) TC 186 - Cutlery and Table and Decorative Metal Hollow-ware

(last meeting in 1984)

Commodity Code 52 - Inorganic Chemicals -- For purposes of trade

classifications, inorganic chemicals are elements and compounds

produced primarily from chemical processes. Major items in U.S.

exports include enriched uranium compounds and sodium salts.

Among the largest imports were uranium compounds and alumina.

There are a mix of ISO Technical Committees dealing with various

international standardization aspects that directly or indirectly

relate to this product group. The more significant TCs are TC 47

- Chemistry, TC 85 - Nuclear Energy and TC 79 - Light Metals and

their Alloys. The U.S. only holds a "non-voting" observer

registration in TC 47; in TC 79 the U.S. holds four of the 23

subcommittee and working group secretariats. In TC 85 the U.S.

held the overall TC secretariat until 1 9 79 when the Federal

Republic of Germany took over the position. In 1986, the U.S.

held 5 of the 28 subcommittee or working group secretariats in TC

85.

Commodity Code 59 - Chemical Materials and Products -- This

product group covers various chemical products including

pesticides, cornstarch, adhesives, turpentine, gum inhibitors for

fuel oil and lubricants, waxes, preparations for fire

extinguishers, and prepared solvents.

32
The U.S. participates in four ISO technical committees with work

related to this group. These are in the areas of pesticides (TC

81), surface active agents (TC 91), petroleum products and

lubricants (TC 28). The U.S. is particularly active in TC 28

where it holds the TC secretariat and chairmanship along with

eleven out of thirty SC and W6 seer et ar i ats

As mentioned previously in the Organic Chemicals and Inorganic

Chemicals discussion, the U.S. is registered as a non-voting

observer member of ISO/TC 47 on Chemistry.

Commodity Code 65 - Textile, Yarn, Fabric, and Related Articles -

- This category consists of natural and man-mad'e yarns, threads,

and fabrics as well as articles such as towels, bedding, and

floor coverings.. Clothing is not included here, but in Commodity

Code 84 on Wearing Apparel and Clothing Accessories.

International standardization activities for this product

category are carried out by ISO Technical Committee 33-

Textiles. The U.S. holds 6 of the 55 subcommittee and working

group secretariats in this large technical committee. The United

Kingdom is the TC secretariat and the last plenary meeting was in

1985.

Commodity Code 64 - Paper, Paperboard and Manufactures Thereof -

The cognizant ISO Technical Committee for this product group is

TC 6 - Paper, board and pulps. The U.S. holds four of the 23

(14%) subcommittee or working group secretariats. The last

plenary meeting was in 1986 and Canada holds the secretariat for

the overall technical committee.

Commodity Code 88 - Photographic Equipment and Supplies and

Optical Goods -- In addition to the obvious cameras, projectors,

photographic films, lenses and other associated photographic and

optical supplies, this product group also includes watches and

clocks, their movements and parts thereof.

The U.S. holds the TC secretariats for the two predominant ISO

committees involved in international standards for the product

group. These are ISO/TC 36 - Cinematography and ISO/TC 42-

Photography. It participates in related ISO and lEC committees

involved with optics (ISO/TC 172), recording (lEC/TC 60) and

audio/video engineering (lEC/TC 84). In the area of time keeping

and time measurement, the U.S. is registered as a non-voting

observer member of ISO/TC 114 - Horology.

Commodity Code 66 - Nonmetallic Mineral Manufactures - - This

category contains a wide variety of products, including cement,

stone building materials, insulation, asbestos products, glass,

glassware, pottery, and diamonds and other precious and

semiprecious stones.

33
U.S. participation levels and leadership roles in the 14 separate

ISO technical committees with interests in this product group are

not strong with two notable exceptions.

(1) The U.S. holds the secretariat and chairmanship of

TC 189 on Ceramic Tile. This TC was recently

established in 1985; and,

(2) The U.S. holds 6 of the 28 (or 21%) of the

subcommittee and working group secretariats in TC 163

on Thermal Insulation.

The U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer member of the

following 5 ISO Technical Committees:

(1) TC 56 - Mica (last meeting was in 1965)

(2) TC 74 - Cement and Lime (last meeting was in 1965)

(3) TC 77 - Products in Fiber Reinforced Cement (last meeting

in 1983) - This TC covers asbestos cement

products

(4) TC 152 - Gypsum, Gypsum Plasters and Gypsum Products (last

meeting was in 1972)

(5) TC 175 - Fluorspar (last meeting was in 1986)

The U.S. is listed as "not represented" (i.e., not a participant

nor an observer) in ISO Technical Committee 63 - Glass

Containers. This committee last met in 1984 and is primarily

concerned with the s tandar d i zat i on of glass containers used as a means of packaging.

The

the

U.S. holds one subcommittee or working group secretariat in

following three technical committees:

(1) TC 9

00 1 Laboratory Glassware

(2) TC 160 - Glass in Building

(3) TC 166 - Ceramic Ware, Glassware, and Glass Ceramic Ware in

Contact with Food

The U.S. is registered as a participant in the following three

technical committees:

(1) TC 33 - Refractories (last meeting in 1985)

(2) TC 71 - Concrete, Reinforced Concrete and Pre-stressed

Concrete (last meeting in 1985)

34
(3) TC 179 - Masonry (last meeting 1983)

Commodity Code 56 - Fertilizers and Fertilizer Materials -- The

U.S. is a participant member of ISO/TC 134 - Fertilizers and Soil

Conditioners, but does not hold any of the ten SC or WG

secretariats. France holds the TC secretariat and the last

meeting was in 1984. The U.S. is a non-voting observer member of

ISO/TC 190 - Soil Quality.

Commodity Code 68 - Nonferrous Metals -- Aluminum, nickel, copper

and silver are the primary nonferrous metals in this category.

The U.S. participates in 4 of the 5 ISO Technical Committees with

interests in the area of nonferrous metals. The U.S. is a nonvoting observer member of ISO TC 18 on Zinc and Zinc Alloys. The

last plenary meeting of TC 18 was in 1978. For the other 4 TCs

(copper, nickel, light metals and alloys) the U.S. holds 8 of the

65 (12%) of the subcommittee and working group secretariats.

Major TC secretariats for these committees are held by Belgium,

Germany, France, Canada, and Australia.

Commodity Code 73 - Metalworking Machinery -- This category

consists of metalworking, metalcutting, and metalforming machine

tools, as well as metal foundry machinery, rolling mill

machinery, welding/soldering equipment and parts.

The U.S. is registered -as a participant in 5 of the 7 ISO and lEC

Technical Committees relating to this product group -- it only

holds non-voting "observer" status in ISO TC 14 on "Shafts for

Machinery and Accessories." France and Germany hold the major

secretariats for the primary TCs in this group - Machine Tools

(ISO TC 39), Welding (ISO TC 44), Limits and Fits (ISO TC 3), and

Electric Welding (lEC TC 26). ISO Technical Committee 184 on

"Industrial Automation Systems" is a high technology sector

committee and was only established in 1983. The U.S. holds 5 of

the 18 (or 28%) secretariats in TC 184. France holds the main TC

secretar i at

Commodity Code 67 - Iron and Steel -- Th*e U.S. currently holds 6

of the 35 (17%) secretariats fn ISO Technical Committee 17 on

"Steel" covering standardization of cast, wrought, and coldformed steel. In 1978 the U.S. held only 2 of the 35 (or 6%)

secretariats in TC 17. Japan currently holds the main TC

secretariat. The U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer

member of Technical Committee 25 on Cast Iron and Pig Iron.

Commodity Code 84 - Wearing Apparel and Accessories -- The ISO

activity most related to this product group is TC 133 entitled,

"Sizing Systems and Designations for Clothes." The U.S. is

registered as a voting participant in this committee. South

Africa holds the secretariat and the last plenary meeting was in

1979.

35
Commodity Code 55 - Essential Oils and Perfume Materials -- This

category includes toilet, polishing and cleansing preparations as

well as flavor oil mixtures and blends, cosmetics, and soaps.

In ISO, the relevant technical committees are TC 54 - Essential

Oils and TC 91 - Surface Active Agents. The U.S. is registered

as a non-voting observer member of TC 54, whose last meeting was

held in 1986 and a participant in TC 91 which also met last in

1986. As previously identified under other product groups, the

U.S. is registered as observer on TC 47 - Chemistry which also

relates to this product group.

Commodity Code 63 - Cork and Wood Manufactures, Excluding

Fur n i t ure -- This export group includes cork and wood-based

sheets and strips, wood manufactured products, builders woodwork,

prefabricated building products, panels, plywood, veneers and

cooperage products.

For U.S. interests, participation in the ISO technical committees

for standardization work relevant to this product group is in

need of improved performance. The U.S. participates in only 1 of

the 8 ISO technical committees with technical work affecting this

product group. This is ISO/TC 89 - Wood-based Panels. The U.S.

is registered as a non-voting observer member in the following 6

ISO techn i ca

commi ttees

U) TC 55 - Sawn Timber and Sawlogs (last meeting in 1982 )

(2) TC 59 - Building Construction (last meeting in 1986)

(3) TC 87 - Cork (last meeting in 1985)

(4) TC 99 - Semi-manufactures of Timber (last meeting in 1982)

(5) TC 162 - Doors and Windows (last meeting in 1982)

(6) TC 165 - Timber Structures (last meeting in 1986)

C 0 mmo d i ty Code 82 - Furniture -- ISO standards work for

furniture is the responsibility of ISO/TC 136 - Furniture. The

U.S. is a non-voting observer member of TC 136. Sweden holds the

TC secretariat, chairmanship and three of the 20 SC and WG

secretariats.

Commodity Code 61 - Leather, Leather Manufactures and Dressed

F u r s k i n s -- ISO/TC 120 - Leather covers standardization of

terminology, test methods and sampling for this product group.

The U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer member of TC 120.

India holds the TC secretariat; the last meeting was in 1984.

36
Commodity Code 53 - Dyeing, Tanning, and Coloring Materials -- Paints, varnishes, lacquers, stains, pigments, dyeing extracts,

and tanning materials of natural or synthetic origin make up this

product group.

ISO/TC 35 - Paints and Varnishes conducts international

standardization work relative to this product category. It has

28 subcommittees and working groups on various aspects of paints,

varnishes and related products, including raw materials. The

U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer member of ISO/TC 35.

the last plenary meeting was in 1985 and the Netherlands holds

the TC secretariat.

Commodity Code 62 - Tires and Tubes for Tires -- In ISO/TC 31-

Tires, Rims and Valves - the U.S. maintains a strong position.

The U.S. holds the TC secretariat and chairmanship and eleven of

the 29 SC and WG secretariats.

Commodity Code 81 - Sanitary, Plumbing, Heating, and Lighting

Fixtures -- This category covers furnaces, cooking apparatus,

plumbing and lighting fixtures, fittings and parts.

The U.S. participates in four of the six ISO and lEC standards

committees involved in setting standards that impact this

category of trade merchandise. The two ISO committees in which

the U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer are:

(1) TC 109 - Oil Burners and Associated Equipment

(2) TC 116 - Space Heating Appliances

Commodity Code 85 - Footwear -- ISO Technical Committee 137,

"Sizing System, Designations and Marking for Boots and Shoes,"

covers this product category with regard to standardization of

sizing ranges, foot measurements, last equipment and terminology.

The U.S. is a non-voting "observer" member of this ISO committee.

The committee meets infrequently -- the last plenary meeting was

in 1980. South Africa holds the TC secretariat.

11 . Findings and Conclusions

Findings

1. U.S. participation levels (as evaluated in terms of

secretariat strength) in both ISO and lEC grew over the 20 year

period 1966-1986 in terms of percentage gain in U.S. -held

secretariats and improved rankings among member countries.

Performance in lEC has been greater than in ISO. Data from

Figures 5 and 6 for 1966 and 1986 indicate the following:

37
1966 1986

% U.S. -held % U.S. -held

secretar i at

Ranked secretariats Ranked

ISO 9.0 3r d-beh i nd

UK and France

12.6 4th-behind

UK, France,

Germany

lEC 9.4 5th-behind UK,

Nether 1 ands

,

France and Germany

16.2 2nd-beh i nd

Fr ance

After a decline of U.S.-held secretariats in lEC from 1976 to

1980, U.S. secretariats gained 5% since 1980. The U.S. has

secured 10 TC or SC secretariats in lEC since 1980 including two

in the 10 most recently established technical committees or subcommittees. These are lEC/TC 82 - Solar Photovoltaic Energy

Systems and lEC/TC 86 - Fiber Optics. ISO gains have not been as

significant according to the data compiled for this report.

U.S. -held secretariats in ISO have increased approximately 2%

since 1983. ISO has established 13 new technical committees

since 1980 which created 99 new TC, SC and WG secretar i at s . The

U.S. was named secretariat for 13 of these new standards groups

(1 TC, 4 SC and 8 WG). The only new U.S. -held secretariat at the

TC level is for ISO/TC 189 - Ceramic Tile. Five of the new U.S.-

held secretariats are in ISO/TC 184 - Industrial Automation

System - a field where U.S. leadership has been of international

significance. The U.S. is registered as a non-voting observer

member in 5 of the 13 new TCs. They are: ISO/TC 179 - Masonry;

ISO/TC 182 - Geotechnics; ISO/TC 181 - Safety of Toys; ISO/TC 186

- Cutlery and Table and Decorative Metal Hollow-ware; ISO/TC 190

- Soil Quality.

2. As discussed in section 5.2, ISO member bodies from each

member country are registered by voting or non-voting status in

each ISO Technical Committee. Voting is limited to

" par t i c i pat i ng" members; non-voting to "observer" members. ISO

annually publishes a country-by-country listing indicating

membership status in each ISO technical committee. The

part i c i pant-obser ver mix (which may also be calculated as the

participant: observer ratio -- "P:0") varies from country to

country depending on many factors -- among them are extent of

industrial development, value placed on influencing standards

development (a "Participating" delegation) or value it places on

obtaining information (an "Observer" delegation). In 1986, P:0

ratios ranged from 0.1 for Yugoslavia (16 "P" memberships to 139

"0" memberships) to 17.2 for Federal Republic of Germany. The

P:0 ratio for the U.S. in 1986 was 2.4 - an improvement over the

1.9 for 1966 . Japan showed the greatest increase in P:0 ratio

over the 20 year period -- in 1966 Japan was 0.2, and in 1986 it

increased to 1.4.

38
3. The general improvements in U.S. participation levels and

secretariat strength in ISO and lEC from 1965 through 1986 cited

in the first two findings above appear to correlate inversely

with the gradual decline in the overall U.S. share of world

exports (see Figures 1, 2, 4 and 6). U.S. involvement in

international standards activities seems to correlate more

directly with the sustained growth of world trade overall rather

than on the level of U.S. exports - including export of

manufactured goods which have also deteriorated over the same

period. There exists the possibility that U.S. participation

gains in international standards activities and the benefits that

may accrue therefrom best serves the interests of U.S. -based

multi-national corporations whose business enterprises have

become increasingly international and whose profits relate to

global markets where production facilities, commodities, goods

and services and money cross various national borders.

4. Although the effect of such economic factors as tariffs and

quotas on U.S. exports can be quantified, it is difficult to

estimate the effect of any direct benefits that accrue from

participation in international standardization activities. As

previously cited in Section 1 of this report there are

significant intangible benefits which accrue to those industries

that do participate. 15 U.S. companies have indicated that

various benefits accrue to them from participation in

international standardization activities. Such participation:

0 Contributes to the development of a broader market base for

exports

0 Provides source of state-of-the-art knowledge on foreign

technology

0 Results in the development of higher quality standard

benefitting U.S. products.

0 Provides the basis for defensive actions to counter foreign

competition.

0 Promotes universal product or test method standards to

enhance economies in manufacturing operations.

0 Provides for professional growth and face-to-face contact

with authorities from foreign product approval agencies

(minimizes possible regulatory surprises).

However, the section of this report comparing 1986 export data

with U.S. participation in ISO/IEC (Section 10.3) indicates that

15 Cooke, op. cit.. p . 4

39
the U.S. level of effort tends to favor those product groups with

newer technologies and higher export values. Those product

groups that predominate as export strengths for the U.S. appear

to be those with electrical and electronic-related content which

are primarily lEC-related subjects. Overall participation

levels, U.S. -held secretariat strengths, and interest by U.S.

companies favor lEC activities across the board more than they do

ISO subject areas. ISO subject areas are more diverse than lEC

subjects, and more fully span the interests of the industry

sectors with strong and weak U.S. trade performance.

5 . U.S. export success and part icipa^t ion in ISO/IEC

standardization activities are evident in certain product

sectors. The apparent strengths regarding standards

participation and dollar volume of U.S. exports are in:

0 office machines and ADP equipment

0 the aircraft segment of transport equipment

0 electrical machinery, apparatus, and appliances

0 power generating machinery

0 earthmoving machinery, agricultural machinery and

specialized equipment for petroleum and natural gas

industries

0 electro-medical equipment segment of professional,

scientific and controlling instruments

0 petroleum products and lubricants segment of organic

chemicals and related products

0 telecommunications equipment

0 synthetic resins, rubber and plastic materials

Exports for 1986 are lower for some of the more basic product

groups where there also exists an apparent underrepresentation of

U.S. interests in ISO-related international standardization

activities:

0 wood manufactured products - particularly pref abr i cated

building components and materials

0 footwear

0 space heating appliances, oil burners and associated

equ i pmen

0 paints, varnishes, lacquers, etc.

0 leather goods

0 furniture

0 essent i al oils

0 fertilizer products

0 toys

Conclusions

1 . Information on U.S. participation levels in ISO and lEC may

not be completely accurate and trade data is subject to many

economic factors such as changes due to currency exchange rates.

40
differential economic growth in foreign countries, and structural

shifts in industry sectors. Improved recor d-keep i ng and followup by ANSI and better liaison with NBS Office of Associate

Director for Industry and Standards would assist NBS in

monitoring the adequacy of U.S. participation in international

standardization activities.

2. ANSI, U.S. industry, trade associations, standards developers

and other interested parties should maintain U.S. gains and

comparative advantages held in current ISO/IEC affiliations.

Steps can be taken to strengthen the U.S. position in

standardization technical committees dealing with products where

U.S. can exploit its potentials for exporting. .

3. A national educational and motivational program by ANSI and

industry trade groups could be developed to make people more

aware of the role of international standards and the benefits to

the U.S. economy and trade balances that can result from improved

U.S. participation. Such a program is crucial at this time of

increased emphasis on competitiveness, the prospects of

protectionist legislation, and the many changes underway in U.S.

i ndustry--downs i z i ng , res tructur i ngs , mergers, takeovers, etc.

4. In order to analyze, understand, and better publicize the

benefits of U.S. participation in international standards

activities, anecdotal experiences of successes (or failures) are

essential. These should be communicated to the NBS/AOIS at the

following address

Office of Standards Code and Information

Attn: Mr. Patrick W. Cooke

National Bureau of Standards

Building 101, Room A629

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

41
Appendix

Figure 1 U.S. Share of World Exports and

Imports 1960-1985. 43

Figure 2 Change in Exports and Imports of Selected

Countries, 1981-1985.... 43

Figure 3 Merchandise Exports and Imports of Leading

Trading Nations in 1985..... 43

Figure 4 ISO Secretariats Held by Var i ou s' Countr i e s , 1966-1986 . . . 44

Figure 5 ISO Standards Development Activities,

1966-1986. 45

Figure 6 lEC Secretariats Held by Various Countries,

1966-1986 . 46

Figure 7 lEC Standards Development Activities,

1966-1986 . . . . 47

Table 1 Membership of Countries in ISO, lEC, and

GATT Standards Code Activities 48

Table 2 U.S. Status in ISO Technical Committees 53

Table 3 Basic Data on Top 10 U.S. Trading Partners

ISO Member Bodies

with

56

Table 4 Chronological Distribution of U.S. -Held

Secretariats of lEC Technical Committees

and Subcommittees 57

Table 5 Listing of International Standards Directly

Adopted in the United States as "ANSI/ISO"

Standards 61

Table 6 1986 U.S. Trade Data 62

Table 7 ISO Secretariats/Chairmanships and

Participation Levels Applicable to Major

Product Groups 63

Table 8 lEC Secretariats/Chairmanships for lEC Tcs

and SCs Applicable to Major Product Groups... 64

Table 9 Analysis of 1986 U.S. Exports and U.S. Held

ISO/IEC Secretariats by Data Sets 65

42
Figure 1» U.S. SHARE OF WORLD EXPORTS <Sc IMPORTS

1 960-85

Perc^n t

Percent

Figure

CHANGE IN EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF

SELECTED COUNTRIES. : 981 -85

(in National Currencies)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

-10

United Canada Japon EC— 10 West Fronce United U.S.S.R. States Germany Kingdom

Billion

Figure

MERCHANDISE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS

OF LEADING TRADING NATIONS IN 1985

(Exports, f.o.b.; Imports, c.i.f.)

Dollars

400

350

300

250

200

1 50

1 00

50

0

United Japan West France United Canada U.S.S.R.

States Germany Kingdom

Source; "United States Trade Performance In ] 985 and Outlook",

U.S, Dept, of Commerce, International Trade Administration,

Oc t . ,1 986

43
Figure

A

ISO

SECRETARIATS

HELD

BY

VARIOUS

COUNTRIES,

1966-1986

(S.OM

QNV S.OS ‘S.OI) SailHVcI ONliraOM OSI TVIOl HO %

44

YEAR
Figure

5

ISO

STANDARDS

DEVELOPMENT

ACTIVITIES

I

966-1986

45
Figure

6

lEC

SECRETARIATS

HELD

BY

VARIOUS

COUNTRIES,

1966-1986

46

YEAR
Figure

7

lEC

STANDARDS

DEVELOPMENT

ACTIVITIES

1966-1986

47
TABLE 1

MEMBERSHIP OF COUNTRIES IN ISO^ lEC, AND GATT

STANDARDS CODE ACTIVITIES

COUNTRY ISO lEC GATT STANDARDS

CODE

INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES

AUSTRALIA M M 0

AUSTRIA M M M

CANADA M M

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY M 1/

BELGIUM M M M

DENMARK M M M

FRANCE M M M

WEST GERMANY (FRG) M M M

GREECE M M y

IRELAND M M M

ITALY M M M

LUXEMEMBURG M

NETHERLANDS M M M

PORTUGAL M M M

SPAIN M M M

UNITED KINGDOM M M M

FINLAND M M M

JAPAN M M M

NEW ZEALAND M M M

NORWAY M M M

SOUTH AFRICA M M

SWEDEN M M M

SWITZERLAND M M M

UNITED STATES M M M

ICELAND C

TURKEY M M 0

NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZING COUNTRIES( NIC S ) ARGENTINA M M M 1/

BRAZIL M M M

CHILE M M

COLOMBIA M 0

HONG KONG C M

INDIA M M M

ISRAEL M M 0

SOUTH KOREA M M M

SINGAPORE M M

TAIWAN M

MEXICO M M M

48
TABLE 1, CONT'D

COUNTRY ISO lEC GATT STANDARDS

CODE

LESSER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDC' 1

AFGHANISTAN

ALGERIA M

ANGOLA

ANGUILLA

ANTIGUA

ARUBA

BAHAMAS

BAHRAIN C

BANGLADESH M 0

BARBADOS C

BELIZE

BENIN

BERMUDA

BHUTAN

BOLIVIA

BOTSWANA

BR IND OCEAN TERRITORY

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

BRUNEI

BURKINA (UPPER VOLTA)

BURMA

BURUNDI

CAMBODIA (KAMPUCHEA)

CAMEROON C

CAPE VERDE

CAYMAN ISLANDS

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

CHAD

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

CUCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

COMOROS

CONGO

COOK ISLANDS

COSTA RICA

CYPRUS M

DJIBOUTI

DOMINICA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

ECUADOR 0

EGYPT M M M

EL SALVADOR

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

ETHIOPIA M

FALKLAND ISLANDS

FIJI

FRENCH GUIANA

FRENCH IND OCEAN AREAS

FRENCH PACIFIC ISLANDS

FRENCH POLYNESIA

49
TABLE 1, CONT’D.

COUNTRY ISO lEC GATT STANDARDS

CODE

FRENCH WEST INDIES

GABON 0

GAMBIA

GAZA STRIP

GHANA M 0

GIBRALTAR

GREENLAND

GRENADA

GUATEMALA

GUINEA

GUINEA-BISSAU

GUYANA

HAITI

HEARD ISL & MCDONALD ISL

HONDURAS

INDONESIA M M 0

IRAN M

IRAQ M

IVORY COAST M 0

JAMAICA M

JORDAN C

KENYA M

KIRIBATI (GILBERT ISL)

KUWAIT C

LAOS

LEBANON C

LEEWARD & WINDWARD ISLES

LESOTHO

LIBERIA

LIBYA M

MACAO

MADAGASCAR

MALAWI C

MALAYSIA M 0

MALDIVE ISLANDS

MALI 0

MALTA

MAURITANIA

MAURITIUS C

MONTSERRAT

MOROCCO

MOZAMBIQUE C

NAMIBIA

NAURU

NEPAL

NETH ANTILLES

NEW CALEDONIA

NICARAGUA 0

NIGER

NIGERIA M 0

NIUE

50
TABLE 1, CONT’D.

COUNTRY ISO lEC GATT STANDARDS

CODE

NORFOLK ISLAND

OMAN C

PACIFIC TRUST TERR.

PAKISTAN M M M

PANAMA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA M

PARAGUAY

PERU M 0

PHILIPPINES M M

PITCAIRN ISLAND

QATAR

RWANDA m”T7

SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE

SAUDI ARABIA M

SENEGAL 0

SEYCHELLES

SIERRA LEONE

SOLOMON ISLANDS

SOMALIA

SRI LANKA (CEYLON) M 0

ST CHRISTOPHER-NEVIS

ST HELENA

ST LUCIA

ST PIERRE AND MIQUELON

ST VINCENT AND GRENADINES

SUDAN M

SURINAME

SWAZILAND

SYRIA M

TANZANIA M 0

THAILAND M 0

TOGO C

TOKELAU ISLANDS

TONGA

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO M 0

TUNISIA M M M

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

TUVALU

UGANDA

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES C

URUGUAY C

VANUATU (NEW HEBRIDES)

VENEZUELA M

WALLIS AND FUTUNA

WESTERN SAMOA

YEMEN (ADEN) (S YEMEN)

ZAIRE 0

ZAMBIA M

ZIMBABWE (RHODESIA)

51
TABLE 1, CONT'D.

COUNTRY ISO lEC GATT STANDARDS

CODE

NON-MARKET ECONOMIES (NME’S)

ALBANIA M

BULGARIA M M 0

CHINA M M

CUBA M 0

CZECHOSLOVAKIA M M M

ESTONIA

EAST GERMANY (GDR) M

HUNGARY M M M

LATVIA

LITHVANIA

MONGOLIA M

NORTH KOREA M M

POLAND M M 0

ROMANIA M M M

USSR M M

VIETNAM M

YUGOSLAVIA M M M

LEGEND : "M" indicates that country is represented as a Member Body in

ISO, a National Committee in lEC, or a signatory to the GATT

Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the "Standards Code")

as of June 1986.

"C" indicates that country is a Correspondent Member in ISO

(generally indicates that the country does not yet have its own

national standards body).

"0" indicates that country has "observer" status in GATT

Standards Code Committee. ISO and lEC are among seven

international organizations that attend meetings in an "observer"

capacity.

FOOTNOTES : The European Community is a signatory to all the GATT

agreements. Individual European Community member states are

signatories to the Standards Code and Civil Aircraft Code as

these Codes go beyond European Community authority.

IJ Signed subject to ratification.

SOURCES :

1. "ISO Participation," ISO, Feb., 1987 ; "ISO Memento 1987 ,"

ISO, 1987 . 2. "lEC Yearbook, 1987 ," lEC, June 1987 . 3. "Composition of the Committee on Technical Barriers to

Trade," GATT Document, Sept. 25, 1986.

4. Major country groups derived from information provided by:

0 U.S. Dept, of Commerce, International Trade

Administration, Office of Trade and Investment

Analysis.

0 U.S. International Trade Commission, Tariff Schedule of

the United States, annotated (TSUSA), 1986.

52
Yi

7^&le Z

as Status Jv Z50 CoMMirrESsCrC^

ISO Technical Committees' -/CM/ A /or-

“1 ^ /9i<s. /9S3 /9f^ /9es /9S<^

Screw threads TC 1 Fasteners TC 2

Limits and fits TC 3

Roflino beannos TC 4

Ferrous metal pioes and metallic fittinas TC 5

Paoer, board and duIos TC 6 Shipboildmg and marirte structures TC 8 n n a

Technical drawings TC 10

Boilers and pressure vessels j£/ TC 11 r<s) 7S5

Quantities, units, symbols, conversion factors and TC 12

Shafts for machinery and accessories TC 14 o o o o o

Steel TC 17

Zinc and zinc alloys TC 18 o o " o Preferred numbers TC 19

Aircraft and space vehicles TC 20 ^

255 ^ 25

Eguipmenl for fire protecbon and fire fighting TC 21 ' Road vehicles TC 22 i Tractors and machinery for agnculture and forestry TC 23 i Sieves, sieving and other sizing methods TC 24 i Cast iron and pig iron T(1 2S Q. r>

Copper and copper alloys TC 28

Solid mineral fuels TC 27

Petroleum products and lubricants TC 28 <$) 27—fST

Small tools TC 29

Measurement of fluid flow in closed conduits TC 30

Tyres, nms and vafves iU Jl j3) '£}

Refractories TC 33

Aqncultural food products TC 34

Paints and varnishes TC 35 O o O O gCinematography TC 38 (S)

( Terminology (phnciples and co-ordination) Tcl 0 o O o o

1 Textiles TQ dS

I Machine tools I C d9

1 Pulleys and belts (indudirtg veebeltsl TC 41

Photography TC 42 S 3D 3) '$) s>

Acoustics TC 43

Welding and allied prtxssses TC 44

Rubber and rubber products TC 45

Documentation TC 48

Chemistry Td 47 C O U S" 25"

Laboratory glassware and related apparatus I C 48 ' Lac rC 5d ' O n o C" “PT

Pallets for unit load method of materials handling TC 51

Light gauge metal containers TC 52 —

O

Essential oils TC 54 Q Q o n Sawn bmber and sawlogs 1 C bb n o ^ ^

Mica TC 56 o o o o o

Metrology and properties of surfaces 1 Q b/ Gas cylinders T^58

Build^ cortstructioo TC 59 T n a c ?5

Gears TC 60.

' Plastics TC 61 1. ® 27

Glass containers TC 63 X >r~

- Manganese and chromium ores TC 65 n ~ A Materials and equipment for petroleum and natural TC 67

gas industries Banlung TC 68 c5)

Applicaoons of statistical methods TC 69

Internal combustion engines TC 70

Concrete, reinforced concrete and pre-strassed concrete TC 71 o o . Textile machinery and alliod machinery and accessories 1 G /Z c> n n 25” Cement and lime TC 74 o H

^

o

n4-' ^fSC05/fy 7T66

Ot/rK>jf Sibft 5 o4 Ujrtwiif /tte/dJ. ~TCCA

'>>0<sXv. Consume^ Qu^onS ' TC73 —

—

a

~mr

r

if * 9^9

I

/95<i

~mr

a /9S0

53
^ ^ CoATT ^s>. - 6/ 5« Status /m ZSQ /£CH/^/q^l Co^Hnrr^^s

54
C^.5^Sr/iro5

/v

xso

Techa//c/^l

Co/^/^rrr^srs

KJ ^ $ ^ N^ \N^ 'f> \: I6

'0?S•%0

V)

55
TABLE 3-

BASIC

DATA

ON

THE

TOP

10

U.S.

TRADING

PARTNERS

WITH

ISO

MEMBER

BODIES

0£

P<

X [X

H

f—X

X

X

ro

•f» oo

UJ

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X t^

<4- s: X XX o 1 3

GO cy

X

X

X

O)

4-J c

COz <C->

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

XX ro

i. o O) ON

o.CO

u-}

X

X

X

XX

X

X

X

X 3O

4-^ 3

CO

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X 1^4 O) 3 to

fel e «-/ o •** <D QJ n o <cJ 4-4 3

CD LT> CO ro CO

DD >» ro 1—

OO c 3 to— O.

4*4 c_> [CSJ CO CT* / D o 3

CkJ ro CO 0> 3

tA

g o

LU QJ OJ C. 4-4 > CO CO CO CO CO 4-> O) ro

U-l CO CVJ CO 4-J

C ro >> PJ to O) S- o •—

u. ,—

•4-^ Qu ro 3* G> CO CD to CO D L. s. ro ON 04 •to— <VJ «—

CVJ ro ro zr o o 3 4-4 CO O) O. CJ CJ =»» D 3 tA tA

U-i o> c 3 04 4-4 OJ J3

c_>

D c. > 3 L4 ae CD ON o o CD D CO r*^ D 3 O O) ro S. ZD oo o CSJ <=> «—

D CVJ ro o cr 3 O 4-4 0£ C. tA 3 ro o V"“ < o o •g* CJ CO 3 tA o OJ to cr J-iJ «>f—

4-4 QJ tbO 3 •to— tA o cr 4-> 4-4 »•— OO o 4-4 •to— o 4-4 OJ o»

4-> s PsI PJ ON QJ tA O) CL 4U C4 3 c •to-* O -i-» o» g rO • to— O

O c c 3 o rO C4 3 L. C4 ti. ro

OJ ON O) rO ro o> > &. S. C4 • to— • to— Ul 4to4 tA

,pmm > ON S. •«— 3 04 tA to— 4-4 04 rO OJ S.

V|-> <v tA o Si. &. &. o > -£D s. Z C4 C4 44

fG c= o - D CD <u CO o CD ex. oo

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D to— >> 3 CO tM« o CVJ ro cn CVJ CO ro M D J CO OO 4C 1 1 8 1 1 3 <? M CO O. Q» 3. 4« CO oo CU cu D 3 OJ 3

ro o <=> CVJ G> CO [O CO o» CO 3 b«4 CJ QJ cn oo cr> e© CVJ oo D o

Oi CO oo o F**=< 9—^ “O o o «fc4 44 04

•»«« Oto— ro •to— CS Oj to— L4 to— to— rO 3 3.

ro 3 3 3>

C/N8 UJ 8 e 8 w tA

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c-> <X)

O 04 C4 o tA -o cr o C3 e=> CD D CO D D D CD D • to- 3 •to— • to— 04 CO 3 c 'TS oo CD d <D D CO CD D <D CD 4-» 4-4 O j3 4-4 “to— CO GO C. CD CD CD D ro D D D CD ro • to— C4 3 4.4 ON

u«> s tA VJ OJ 4-4 • to— to—

ON

O CD COD CO roD <—

s •to— ro h— •1— to— «o CO CD CO o D CVJ D ro CO OO D o to— C4 4-4 44 •f— *=. 3 CO CO ON CO CD CO CO •—

D CO ON CO CO rO •to— 3 tA tA • C g tb- 3 rO 3 • to— 3 C X cO CD D CO CVJ CO ro ON CO to tA ON 4-4 g —to <A LU

«*: to CO CNJ CO « 3 3 3 o 3 S- 3 • C- 3 O 3 :3 4U o tA o 3 tA <o ro s tA tA ^E 3 3. 44

O) 3 3 S. ro 4-4 tA 04 •to— 3 t- tA tb- 3 o € 3 3 3 3 •#— 04 ro 04 •to— 3 C z S. 4-4 &- 1 3 3 a; u. o o •— ro 04 O OJ ro 3 «

CO <—

OO S- Z 4-4 3 tA 3 • — rO •M 3 tA 3 • to- ro 4-4 4-4 4C tA

W tb- 1— tb» 0> 3 rO ro •to— ro •to— oo 4C 04

w. OJ o ro 3 — 4-> C4 tA O) 3 • to— 3 OI <ie •*«> 4-» OO 3 rO •to— to— to— O 3 «3 W A >»* 5 S. 3 tA ro 4-> to— •to— rO •to— O

tG o s “3 j a CO

a j D CO CO OO CO to o»

b

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W O)

O o. CO CO o. CD Qu eu o. cu cx. z CJ tA fc. s. o g roO ro CO z: CO c 3 4-4 OJ ro OJ S. L. S. - QC o o 3 3 Of 3 ro o ro rO o. « <—

D h—

e—

C—

CO «3 OJ •e— 3 O Z 04 3 g

>> CO SE! z OO 3S z z OO tA 4-4 L» 4-4 o tA rO

W o 04 o» c^ CO CO LU. z z CO e tA 03 tA C CO 3 ro •to— 3 C4 3 3. z to a D CO 2>i£ «« D •a: < o o tA OJ o CO P4 3 rO ro 4-4 >*>-o tA ««09 <3J C4 rO ro • to— tj tA r« >> o -o -Q TD 4-> ro 3 o CJ tA 3 o to— C4 •to— 3 O ON oo o D-1 c 3 ro tA o «to- ro tA V. o L. C. •f— o ON b—

CO e cr ro

C o. 4-4 OJ 4-4 <u tA o> 04 tA OJ rO to— 3

CD >% 03 s «— > ro ro 3 Stoto S. •a: 4-4

D tA

g T3

O • to— to • <o c. c» o D O <u <— *3 tA 3 4-J 3 <u i. o 3 O) •a: •a: 3 44 s. 44 a»

^-5 O) -o c c. CJ <v -a it3 t-J 3". <X) O) O) C. oO

O CO o£ LU SC 1 ro L. 44 tA C4 -O e fO <u •»— •w CT <D c ¥— M 4-J 4-J JO C.3 1 1 1 o H- 1—4 4-4 o> OJ 04 S-» s 3 C CL CO X •’- c rrj (T3 rO r?3 «_? OO Z: « OO z b.^ ta-4 z OO OO <_> z h— 3

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3e: CJ 3 D ^ ll. Z CO ZD OO oo

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56
57
I

kj

58
T/fSljE 4

CONT’D.

59
\5

Cn. \

I

I

5

V

0

% ^

\

Jj

60

A^r

ykr-

£l3-r/:)&u^H&7:>.
TABLE 5

LISTING OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS DIRECTLY ADOPTED

IN THE UNITED STATES AS "ANSI/ISO" STANDARDS

1. ANSI/ISO 5/1 - 1984, ANSI PH 2.16-1984, Terms, Symbols, and

Notations - Density Measurements.

2. ANSI/ISO 5/2 - 1985, ANSI PH 2.19-1986, Density

measurements-Geometr i c Conditions for Transmission Density.

3. ANSI/ISO 5/3 - 1984, ANSI PH 2.18-1985, Spectral Conditions.

4. ANSI/ISO 5/4 - 1983, ANSI PH 2.17-1985, Density

Measurements, Geometric Conditions for Reflection Density.

5. ANSI/ISO 2240 - 1982, ANSI PH 2.21-1983, Method for

Determining ISO Speed of Color Reversal Films.

6. ANSI/ISO 3028 - 1984 , ANSI PH 2.28- 1985 , Camera Flash

Illuminants - Determination of ISO Spectral Distribution

Index.

7. ANSI/ISO 3334 - 1979, Microcopying - ISO Test Chart No. 2-

Description and Use in Photographic Documentary

Reproduction

.

8. ANSI/ISO 4341 - 1978, Magnetic Tape Cassette and Cartridge

labeling and File Structure for Information Interchange.

9. ANSI/ISO 6053 - 1979, ANSI PH 3.107-1983, Shutter Cable

Release Tip and Socket, Dimensions for.

10. ANSI/ISO 6328 - 1982, ANSI PH 2.33-1983, Determining the

Resolving Power of Photographic materials. Method for.

11. ANSI/ISO 6728 - 1983, ANSI PH 3.607-1985, Camera LensesDetermi nation of ISO Colour Contribution Index.

12. ANSI/ISO 6846-1983, ANSI PH 2.2-1984, Black and White

Continuous Tone Papers - Determination of ISO Speed and

Range for Printing.

13. ANSI/ISO 7137 - 1983, ANSI PH 2.47-1984, Direct Positive

Color Print Camera Materials - Determination of ISO Soeed.

14. ANSI/ISO 7589 - 1984, ANSI PH 2.29-1985, Illuminants for

Photographic Sensitometry: Daylight and Incandescent

Tungsten .

15. ANSI/ISO 8211 - 1985, Information Processing-Specification

for Data Descriptive File for Information Interchange.

SOURCE : ANSI Catalog, 1987

61
«=s:

<=c

<C

oc

oo

cy>

asu> . CO • C --H -H —< m o b 01 a C<i> 3—• «»-i « o « > -*J C9 a 01 c

«-e

OO

C • «o

—

QQ «—4 • C8 3 0 s:

(S

ce c o « o -«-» OJ b 3 4-1 0-^0

Oc aa fl > CO •-o C • o e 4-t 09 • *"4

cj 2:

CO

H

U

-*-f CO

—-4 o c —«

—4 o 9C O M 0)3 4-t o « CO > CO a c

S-* • o

te • V ^

09 CO • « —4 s cb« ac

C-J

OT(

C3 C3> CU

cj-i s: o 3= s:

c_>

C3

<-o C_J

mO

rsiI

00m

to

(m

62
ISO

SECRETARIATS/CHAIRMANSHIPS

AND

PARTICIPATION

LEVELS

APPLICABLE

TO

MAJOR

PRODUCT

GROUPS

Participation

CXC z -

C3 -- CNJ ro » ! CNJ C3 CNJ ro - LO -- -- - - VJD -- — CNI

Q_ - ro CSJ ro LT> CO

^ — 4 CO CNJ ro CO - - OO ro -- CNJ - ro

t- cn

•r- Q.

ro •*—

C_? OOc

ra H- e

Held

By

US

C3 - o CD <=> CNJ o p 4 - o o - CD <=» <=> - CD <=) CD CD CD CD CD <D> <=> CD - CD o

c/> ro

Total ro

« ' < CsJ ro ro <=> <=> CNJ ro

CNJ r-* LO lO CO CD

»—

1

CD oo VO NO CD CD ro CD CD CD CNJ

F '"H CD

«T3

-4-3 -O

OJ

CJS CO cr> o o ro cr> ro ro

p'—4 CNJ CNJ r-*.» <=) LO ro O CD CNJ CD CD CD CD ro CD

o> O ^ O)

c_> ooLT> <x> CNJ ro CNJ CO CNJ

t 4 CNJ ro CNJ ro CNJ CNJ <=> CD CNJ CD CNJ ro CNJ CD CD r—*4 CD CD CD - CD CD

OO C-J) <=) <=> ro •o <=> o CD CNJ <Z> CD o <CD CD CD CD O CD CD - CD

Total r—

4

o^

o>

oo CNJ OO

t_o CO

CO

ro

CNJ

CD^ COCO CNJ

CNJ

<=> cn ro r-. LO

o^

CNJ

<D^ LO

NO

CNJ LO

CO

OO

f H LO

GO CNJ CNJ oro

<y> LO

CNJ

oo

4-» CD <T3 C/^ *f— ^ iCJ3 :* oo

CO

ur> LT>

CNJ CNJ ro CNJ ro CNJ

c=>

c=> CD

to

CO ro

CNJ CNJ

cr> VO CNJ CNJ CNJ LO

CD CNJ cn

LO

CNJ

CNJ CNJ ro

03

C-> oo CNJ 1 < ou

ro ooro

CO

CNJ

cr>

» ro CNJ ro <=> CNJ

C=> ro

CT» CO LO

CNJ CNJ VO COCNJ VO CNJ NO CO <=> CNJ CD

o o

1— <D UOCNJ ro CVi ro oo CO ro ro crv LO » — 4 p 4 LO CNJ LO LO CNJ CNJ oo p < r—

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LO

COMMODITY

CODE

MAJOR

PRODUCT

GROUP

78

ROAD

VEHICLES

75

OFFICE

MACHINES

&

ADP

EQUIPMENT

79

TRANSPORT

EQUIPMENT

77

ELECTRICAL

MACHINERY.

APPARATUS

&

APPLIANCES

71

POWER

GENERATING

MACHINERY

72

SPECIALIZED

MACHINERY

FOR

PARTICULAR

INDUSTRIES

74

GENERAL

INDUSTRIAL

MACHINERY

&

EQUIP.

&

MACHINE

PARTS

87

PROFESSIONAL.

SCIENTIFIC

&

CONTROLLING

INSTRUMENTS

51

ORGANIC

CHEMICALS

&

RELATED

PRODUCTS

76

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

&

SOUND

RECORDING

&

REPRODUCING

EQUIP.

58

SYNTHETIC

RESINS:

RUBBER

i

PLASTICS

MATERIALS

54

MEDICINAL

&

PHARMACEUTICAL

PRUDUCTS

69

MANUFACTURES

OF

METAL oo

1 -a: C_}

s

LU

c_> z«*: CD

OHo

CSJ

ur> 59

CHEMICAL

MATERIALS

(

PRDUUCTS

65

TEXTILE

YARN.

FABRICS.

MADE-UP

ARTICLES

&

RELATED

PRODUCTS

64

PAPER.

PAPERBOARD

&

MANUFACTURES

THEREOF

88

PHUTUGRAPHIC

EQUIP.,

SUPPLIES,

DPTICAL

GQUDS,

WATCHES,

CLOCKS

66

NONMETALLIC

MINERAL

MANUFACTURES

56

FERTILIZERS

&

FERTILIZER

MATERIALS

68

NONFERROUS

METALS

73

METAL

WORKING

MACHINERY

67

IRON &

STEEL

84

WEARING

APPAREL

&

CLOTHING

ACCESSORIES

55

ESSENTIAL

OILS &

PERFUME

MATERIALS;

CLEANSING

PREPARATIONS

63

CORK &

WOOD

MANUFACTURES.

EXCLUDING

FURNITURE

82

FURNITURE

&

PARTS

THEREOF

61

LEATHER.

LEATHER

MANUFACTURES

53

UYEING,

TANNING,

&

CULURING

MATERIALS

LO

LU

OLi. LO

LU

CO

f—

OO

LU

Q-:

CNJ LO

81

SANITARY.

PLUMBING.

HEATING

&

LIGHTING

FIXTURES.

&

PARTS

85

fUUTWEAR

-

NEW

EXCEPT

MILITARY

&

URTHUPEUIC

57

EXPLOSIVES

&

PYROTECHNIC

PRODUCTS

83

TRAVEL

GOODS.

HANDBAGS^

OTHER

PERSONAL

GOODS

63

LEGEND:

"P"

=

Participant

Status

"0"

=

Observer

Status

"nr"

=

Not

Rpnreqented
lEC

SECRETARIATS/CHAIRMANSHIPS

FOR

lEC/TCs

AND

SCs

APPLICABLE

TO

MAJOR

PRODUCT

GROUPS

COo.

_c: ~o

CO r— r—

CD CO f—fl CD z CSJ OsJ z z C3>

• cr O) e rO

• e

=> s_

oz

Jd

CO

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64
ANALYSIS

OF

1986

U.S.

EXPORTS

AND

U.S.

HELD

ISO/IEC

SECRETARIATS

BY

DATA

SETS

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65
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Breitenberg, Maureen A., editor, Directory of International and

Regional Organizations Conducting Standards-Related Activities

( SP-649 ) , National Bureau of Standards , Gai thersburg , MD 20899 , Apr i 1 1983 . Cooke, Patrick W., Benefits Perceived by U.S. Industry From

Participating in International Standards Activities ( N B S I R 84-

2886 ) , National Bureau oT Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899,

September 1984.

Cotrim, Alberto, "Standards Writing in Brazil," A S T M

Standardization News , January 1987, p. 42.

Crane, Rhonda, J., The Politics of International Standards , Ablex

Publishing, Norwood^ i^j'j 1979 . ~

F 1 eckenste i n , Donald C., Why lEC Support ?, Presentation at ANSI

Seminar, Arlington, VA, American National Standards Institute,

New York, March 1987.

Gorton, Keith, et al, "The Use of ASTM Standards in International

Trade" ASTM Standardization News , May and June 1984.

Hogan, Dorothy, "ANSI's Role in National and International

Standardization," Standards Engineering , February 1986, pp. 4-5.

lEC Publications:

lEC Catalogue of Publications , 1987

lEC Directory, 1987

lEC Yearbook , 1987

International Electrotechnical Commission, Geneva 20,

Sw i t zer 1 and

ISO Publications:

ISO Catalogue , 1987

ISO Member Bodies , 1985, 5th edition

ISO Memento , 1987

ISO Participation , 1987

International Organization for Standardization, Geneva 20

Sw i t zer 1 and

Impact of International Standardization Trends on the U.S.

Aerospace Industry , Aerospace Industries Association of America,

Inc., Washington, D.C. 20036, June 1982.

Leight, Walter G., editor. Proceeding of Conference on Standards

and Trade (NBSIR 8 7 - 3 5 7 3j~, National Bureau oT Standards

,

Ga i t her s bur g , MD 20899, June 1987.

66
Price, Gerald A., "Implementing International Standards on a Regional Basis," Proceedings of Joint Standards Engineering

Society and International Federation for the Application of

Standards Conference , Philadelphia, October 1986.

Ritterbusch, Gerald H., Why Support ISO? , Presentation at ANSI

Seminar, Arlington, VA, American National Standards Institute,

New York, March 1987.

Sturen, Olle, Standards in the International Market , International Organization for Standardization, Geneva 20,

Switzerland, 1984.

Sturen, Olle, International Technology as Codif-ied in Standards , International Organization for Standardization, Geneva 20,

Switzerland, 1985.

Sturen, Olle, International Standards Can Open Up New Markets , International Organization for Standardization, Geneva 20,

Switzerland, September 1982.

Strengthening U.S. Engineering Through International Cooperation : Some Recommendations for Action , National Academy of Engineering

and Office of International Affairs, National Research Council,

Washington, D.C., July 1987.

Toth, Robert B., editor. Standards Activities of Organizations in

the United States ( S P 681), National Bureau of Standards , Gaithersburg, MD 20899, August 1984.

Toth, Robert B., "Putting the U.S. Standards System into Focus

with the World," ASTM Standardization News , December 1984.

Toth, Robert B., International Standardization Trends Affecting

Electric Utility Companies , Report prepared for Edison Electric

Institute, November 1982

.

United States Trade Performance in 1985 and Outlook , U.S.

Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration,

Washington, D.C., October 1986.

Vadelund, Eric A., editor. Proceedings of Conference on

International Standards (NBSIR 85-3228), National Bureau oT

Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, August 1985.

67
NBS«114A (REV. 2 -ac) U.S« DEPT. OF COMM.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET (See m structions)

1. PUBLICATION OR

REPORT NO

2. Performing Organ. Report No. 3. Publication Date

NBSIR 88-3698 131 JANUARY 1988

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

A Review of U.S. Participation in International Standards Activities

5, AUTHOR(S)

Patrick W. Cooke

6c PERFORMING ORGANIZATION (If joint or other than NBS, see instructions)

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

GAITHERSBURG, MD 20899

7o Con tract/ Grant No.

8. Type of Report & Period Covered

9.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS (Street. City, State, ZIP)

10.

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

r I Document describes a computer program; SF-185, FIPS Software Summary, is attached.

11.

ABSTRACT (A 200-^word or less factual summary of most significant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here)

This report describes the role of international standards, their increasingly

significant importance in world trade, and the extent of past and current U.S.

participation in the two major international standardization bodies; ISO and lEC.

The degree of U.S. participation covers the 20 year period 1966 - 1986. A coarse

analysis of data indicates some correlation between U.S. participation and recent

export performance for several major produst categories.

12.

KEY WORDS (Six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only proper names; and separate key words by semicolon s)

13. AVAILABILITY

I Unlimited

I I For Official Distribution, Do Not Release to NTIS

I I Order From Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

20402.

55 Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, VA. 22161

14. NO. OF

PRINTED PAGES

69

15. Price

$13.95

USCOMM'OC 6043*P80
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