For the large, multinational companies, the issue of standards is troublesome, but it does not impede them from international trade. For the small and medium-sized businesses, such barriers can prohibit entry into the market. Small and medium-sized businesses do not have the resources to maintain multiple inventories or the money to find individuals who can interpret the regulations for them. As a result, these companies are unable to grow. Conformity assessment bodies, another aspect of standards, are the entities that certify a product as being in compliance with the regulations governing a product's safety, performance, and compliance with standards.
Companies depend on conformity assessment bodies to ensure their product is fit for sale.
Today, the FTAA does not have mutual recognition of conformity assessment bodies. As a result, companies are forced to have their products tested for every country in which they want to sell the goods. Establishing mutual recognition of conformity assessment bodies would permit goods to be tested in one country and their approval would then be accepted in any of the 34 FTAA countries. I thank the members for their time and remain confident that the areas of customs, rules of origin, and standards will be well served by the FTAA negotiations' process.