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The Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance |
Harmonised standards and conformance procedures improve the efficiency of production and facilitate the conduct of international trade, resulting in more rapid trade flows, reduced costs and greater integration of production networks.
Thus the Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) was established in 1994 to assist the Committee on Trade and Investment to achieve APEC's trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation agenda by working to reduce the negative effects that differing standards and conformance arrangements have on trade and investment flows in the region.
The promotion of open regionalism and market-driven economic interdependence through a number of activities including encouraging greater alignment of APEC Member Economies' standards with international standards is another area of work.
Achievements
Standards and Conformance
The 7th Conference on Standards and Conformance was held in Cusco in August 2008. Sessions were held on assessment, education and trade facilitation and there was a dialogue with the business sector. APEC member economies were recommended to develop technical infrastructure on standards and conformance related to measurement and testing. Member economies were also encouraged to participate more actively in the SCSC's Standards Education Initiative (SEI) to increase awareness and knowledge among the region's stakeholders. SCSC members are able to share standards education related information by uploading case studies, lessons, and references on the online SEI library.
Food Safety
The SCSC established the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum in 2007, recognising that food safety and internationally harmonised food standards are key factors for improving public health and safety and facilitating trade in food for APEC economies. The purpose of the Forum is to improve and strengthen information sharing and capacity building activities in food safety and to identify, prioritise and coordinate capacity-building activities in APEC. The SCSC endorsed the Implementation Plan for Strengthening Food Safety Standards Practices in APEC Economies for 2008-2011 in February 2008.
SCSC members also agreed to establish a Wine Regulatory Forum (WRF) in February 2008. The WRF will examine options to simplify and harmonise wine regulation across the APEC region. Australia is leading the work to facilitate harmonisation of labelling and trade in wine through the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG), an informal association of industry representatives from wine producing economies which promotes networking and information sharing to provide better access to international wine markets. The WWTG can contribute to the efforts by the APEC member economies which have an interest in better wine regulation and facilitating trade in wine. At present, 8 APEC member economies have provided details about their regulations.
The Philippines held a Workshop on Capacity Building on Food Safety Risk Communication for APEC Developing Economies in Manila in June 2008. The workshop included an assessment of current infrastructure and communication capacity.
A Seminar on Food Safety Control System and Risk Analysis was held in August 2008 in Cusco, Peru. It provided an opportunity for attendees to learn about WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary principles and other international standards in the field of food safety, and to exchange information on each other's food safety control systems.
Regulatory Practices
The 5th Conference on Good Regulatory Practice was held in Cusco, Peru in August 2008. Delegates learned about standards policies that lead to reductions in regulatory barriers to trade and considered the priorities for capacity building in the area of good regulatory practice.
Product-related environmental standards
The SCSC's Trade Facilitation Task Force (TFTF) met on February 23, 2009 in Singapore to exchange views and information on the connection between trade and product-related environmental standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Current developments in the international arena on product-related environmental measures and the impact these measures will have on APEC economies was also discussed.
An e-learning course on the practical uses of environmental product standards in the ISO 14000 series was held between November 2006 and June 2007, with the objective of building members' capacity to understand and use environmental regulations.
Trade Facilitation
The SCSC has completed its report on the implementation of APEC's Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP). The report finds that the SCSC has contributed to the TFAP by helping reduce business transaction costs in four main areas: standards alignment; recognition of conformity assessment in regulated and voluntary sectors; development of technical infrastructure; and transparency of standards and conformity assessment in APEC economies.
The revised SCSC Collective Action Plan (CAP) template in trade facilitation was endorsed and updated at the SCSC's meeting in Singapore in February 2009.
Current Activities
Pathfinder Initiatives
The SCSC has implemented a Mutual Recognition Arrangement for conformity assessment of electrical and electronic equipment (EE MRA) as a voluntary pathfinder scheme to help accelerate a region-wide MRA. To date, 16 members have exchanged information on conformity assessment of electric and electronic equipment, six members joined the mutual recognition of test report component, and four members joined the mutual recognition of certification component. A Seminar on Understanding and Implementing the EE MRA was held in Brunei in May 2008. The next seminar and meeting will be held in Singapore from 26-27 May.
Standard and conformance education
A curriculum project for secondary schools and universities to raise public awareness of the importance of standards and conformance in everyday life as well as its contribution to trade and safety is being developed by Japan and Korea. The Phase I Report (2008) provides case studies of how to plan and implement standards education programs and provides a strategic curriculum model. The creation of an Asia-Pacific Network for Standardisation to provide a forum for communication between researchers, professionals and educators was endorsed by the SCSC in August 2008.
The SCSC PAGE (Project Advisory Group on Education) workshop was held on 22 February 2009 and Korea provided a progress update on the Phase II Textbooks and Teaching Manual Development part of the project.
Specialist Regional Bodies
Cooperation with other regional organisations that work in the areas of standards and conformance will be strengthened by implementing the Specialist Regional Bodies Strategic Plan.
Future events
Tentative future SCSC events include:
- APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum (CTI 03/2009T)
- Seminar on APEC Best Practices Toy Safety Systems (CTI 18/2009T)
- Workshop on Hot Topics in Risk Analysis in Food Safety
- Seminar on Strategy to Promote Business Interaction (CTI 16/2009T)
- Seminar on Strengthening Chemical Metrology Infrastructure - Part II (CTI 20/2009T)
Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) - Key Contacts
Chair
Mr TEO Nam Kuan
Group Director
Quality and Standards Group
SPRING Singapore
2 Bukit Merah Central
Singapore 159835
Tel: (65) 6279 1845 Fax: (65) 6278 9425
E-mail: teo_nam_kuan@spring.gov.sg
teonk@alum.mit.edu
APEC Secretariat
Mr Toni Widhiastono
Director (Program)
E-mail: tw@apec.org
Reviewed on: 25 March 2009