Standards Outreach and the U.S. Government

1. Standards Outreach and the U.S. Government Faraaz H. Siddiqi Senior Counsel Commercial Law Development Program Office of the General Counsel United States Department of Commerce

2. Standards Outreach and the U.S. Government • Agenda • Why do stakeholders need to get involved in standards outreach to developing countries? • How do stakeholders interface with the U.S. Government to conduct such outreach?

3. Commercial Law Development Program • a joint project between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Agency for International Development that provides technical assistance to 50 developing countries on a bilateral or regional basis • aims to reform the legal and regulatory infrastructures of these countries by establishing transparency in the areas of standards and conformity assessment, intellectual property rights, and other disciplines covered by various World Trade Organization agreements, thereby increasing business opportunities for foreign and domestic investors

4. Commercial Law Development Program • Standards and Conformity Assessment Projects • Increase the efficiency of operations of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality Control • Assist the Government of Moldova in upgrading its Standards Section to support its application for WTO accession • Help the countries of Southeast Europe remove non-tariff barriers to trade when implementing Free Trade Agreements

5. Why do stakeholders need to get involved in standards outreach to developing countries?

6. Because it is good, proactive business practice.

7. Importance of Standards Outreachto Developing Countries • Stakeholders need to proactively influence the standards development process to protect their business interests • Developing countries are key to the standards development process • ISO – one country / one vote • European advantage • Africa has 50 countries • Important to present standards options directly to developing countries

8. Importance of Standards Outreachto Developing Countries • Developing Countries have the fastest growing economies • Fixing the issues below can open up lucrative markets • Typical problems: • Cannot meet conformity assessment requirements in export markets • Limited resources for national conformity assessment • Difficulties in establishing internationally recognized accreditation bodies • Difficulties in implementing ISO Guides • Lack of interministerial coordination

9. Importance of Standards Outreachto Developing Countries • The standards infrastructure in developing countries is often in flux and therefore amenable to change • Technical assistance provides the best mechanism for dialogue to effect change

10. Importance of Standards Outreachto Developing Countries • Outreach provides the best information of the standards practices in developing countries, which, more often than not, lack operational Enquiry Points • Companies can get a sense of the standards infrastructure for a region by providing standards outreach to a leading country in that region

11. Why should stakeholders interface with the U.S. Government to conduct such outreach?

12. Because working with the U.S. Government provides high level access to officials and policymakers in the U.S. and in developing countries who can effect change.

13. Working with the U.S. Government • Industrial Functional Advisory Committee on Standards • Private sector provides input to U.S. trade officials (USTR, DOC) • U.S. Embassies • State Department Economic Affairs Officers • United States Commercial Service Officers • Foreign Agricultural Service Officers • National Institute for Standards and Technology

14. Working with the U.S. Government • United States Agency for International Development • Millennium Challenge • Core assistance to developing countries will increase by 50 % over the next 3 years • Priority of Standards and Conformity Assessment

15. Working with USAID • Consultancy • Members of the Private Sector are all equal • Cooperative Partnerships with Associations • Working with USAID-funded assistance programs like CLDP • Limitations • No marketing for private purposes

16. Working with USAID-Funded Initiatives • CLDP helped to link the the U.S. and Egyptian standards communities • Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality Control (EOS) • Develops Egyptian Standards • 4000 Egyptian Standards / 10% mandatory • ASTM International signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EOS based on an initial meeting of officials during a CLDP-sponsored visit of EOS staff to the United States • ANSI and EOS have also agreed to future cooperation based on an ANSI official participating in a CLDP-sponsored seminar in Cairo

17. Conclusion • Standards outreach benefits both the provider and recipient • It is in a company’s interest to work closely with the U.S. Government to modernize the standards infrastructure of developing countries Faraaz Siddiqi Commercial Law Development Program U.S. Department of Commerce Fsiddiqi@doc.gov (202) 482-2400 (f) 202-482-3430