These trends also could affect the acceptability of ISO 9000 and QS 9000 certificates in the global market. National accreditation bodies also are becoming privatized. ANSI is alarmed because accreditation is supposed to confer credibility to certification or testing practices. Companies also must pay substantial amounts to earn certificates. Accreditation has a lot to do with how companies design their products and run their companies.
Accreditation can provide market power.
Protectionist accreditation rules can be technical barriers to trade. The U.S. and world industry protested in 1995 when Japan attempted to enforce specialized national-registration requirements aimed only at the software industry. Japan backed off from adopting these requirements. There's a perception that we have to be policemen and that the stakeholders want that. Accreditation bodies are leery about discussing industry practices, especially negative ones, in front of industry executives.