Standards: Industry Resources

Source: Trade Information Center, U.S. Commercial Service
Date: 11/12/04

U.S. industry input has clearly shown significant concern with China and its development and promotion of domestic standards. Industry representatives reported that China’s rulemaking and standards development process lacks transparency. Additionally, a 2004 U.S. General Accounting Office survey of U.S. companies with a presence in China found that standards and certification issues ranked first in importance on a list of specific China WTO implementation commitment areas, above customs procedures, tariffs, and intellectual property rights.

U.S. companies have several means of monitoring standards for the Chinese market, commenting on standards development, and contributing to the United States’ efforts to monitor China’s compliance with its standards obligations:

1. Stay Informed: Register for the Export Alert! service for China.

Export Alert! is a free web-based service that provides U.S. industry with the opportunity to review and comment on proposed foreign technical regulations that can affect their businesses. Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report proposed technical regulations that may affect trade to the WTO Secretariat, who in turn distributes them to all WTO Members.

Register for Export Alert! at http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/ncsci/export-alert.htm

By registering for the Export Alert! service U.S. companies receive, via e-mail, notifications of drafts or changes to foreign regulations for a specific industry sector and/or country. The industry sectors are defined by the International Classification for Standards (ICS) designation developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Notifications of the proposed foreign regulation contain a description of the regulation, the country issuing the regulation, and a final date for comments. Copies of the full text are available upon request from:

National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
100 Bureau Drive, MS 2150
Gaitherburg, MD 20899-2150
Telephone: (301) 975-4040
Fax: (301) 926-1559
http://ts.nist.gov/ncsci
E-mail: ncsci@nist.gov

If you plan to comment on a regulation, please contact NCSCI for guidance. If there is insufficient time to review and comment on the regulation, NCSCI staff will request an extension of the comment period.

Other contacts on standards at the U.S. Department of Commerce:

Global Standards Program
National Institute of Standards and Technology
100 Bureau Drive, MS 2100
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-2100
Tel: 301-975-6094; Fax: 301-975-4715
E-mail: gsp@nist.gov, Website: http://www.ts.nist.gov/gsp

Office of the Chinese Economic Area USDOC/ITA/MAC 14th St. & Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20230
Tel: 202-482-5681
E-mail: Jenny_May@ita.doc.gov

2. Be Proactive: Report a technical barrier to the Trade Compliance Center.

The Trade Compliance Center helps American exporters overcome foreign trade barriers and works to ensure that foreign countries comply with their commitments to the United States. Report a trade barrier online at: www.export.gov/tcc

3. Stay Involved: Be an active industry partner in the DOC Standards Initiative.

In March 2003, The Department of Commerce launched a Standards Initiative, an eight-point endeavor to ensure that the Federal Government works effectively to eliminate standards-related market barriers that undermine trade and, as a result, threaten the international competitiveness of U.S. industry. For regular updates on the Department’s Standards Initiative, contact Jennifer_Stradtman@ita.doc.gov.

As a result of its Departmental Standards Initiative, on May 18th, Commerce released the report entitled “Standards and Competitiveness – Coordinating for Results, Removing Standards-Related Trade Barriers through Effective Collaboration.” For the complete report refer to the following link: http://www.technology.gov/reports/NIST/2004/trade_barriers.pdf

Additional Resources:

www.ita.doc.gov/standards
www.technology.gov