ANSI offers APEC documents for review.
Press Release Summary:
Due to private sector support of APEC's work, interested U.S. stakeholders are invited to review trade, standards, and conformance-related documents and information prepared and cleared by APEC. U.S. is a founding member of APEC and active participant in Committee on Trade and Investment and its Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance. Office of USTR, together with U.S. Departments of Commerce and State, represent U.S. interests in harmonizing standards and conformity assessment programs.
Original Press Release:
Trade in the Asia-Pacific Region: ANSI Offers APEC Documents for Review
Since 1989, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has worked at an intergovernmental level to facilitate regional economic growth, cooperation, trade, and investment. Due to increased private sector support of APEC's work, for the first time, all interested U.S. stakeholders are invited to review trade, standards, and conformance-related documents and information prepared and cleared by APEC and its twenty-one member economies.
The United States is a founding member of APEC and an active participant in its various fora including the Committee on Trade and Investment and its Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), together with the U.S. Departments of Commerce and State, represent U.S. interests in this sub-committee's efforts to more closely harmonize the standards and conformity assessment programs in place within the region.
The SCSC relies upon the expertise and work of the five Asia-Pacific Specialist Regional Bodies (SRBs) in the areas of voluntary standardization, accreditation, and metrology. In recognition of the ongoing SRB efforts in support of the sub-committee, APEC recently granted the SRBs full access to its working documents.
As the U.S. member body to several of the APEC SRBs, including the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) and the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is making the following cleared APEC documents available for download and review by any interested U.S. stakeholder:
Background Information
APEC Standards and Conformance background information developed by ANSI
PowerPoint presentation detailing U.S. Participation in Asia Pacific SRBs
APEC Documents
Trade Facilitation Task Force (TFTF) documents on chemicals and European Union regulations [.zip file]
Project Advisory Group on Education (PAGE) information on reducing trade barriers [.zip file]
SCSC meeting documents from February 2008 [.zip file]
In line with ANSI's mission to promote, facilitate, and safeguard the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system, the Institute will continue to make APEC documents available for review in the ANSI public document library.
"Due to APEC's continued efforts, the Asia-Pacific region is now responsible for sixty percent of the world's gross domestic product and nearly half of all global trade," said Steven Bipes, ANSI director of international policy. "ANSI is pleased to share these documents with our members and the broader U.S. standards and conformity assessment community."
For specific questions regarding APEC documents contained in these links that are related to mandatory technical regulations and/or U.S. Government, please contact Jennifer Stradtman, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce (202.482.0311; Jennifer.Stradtman@mail.doc.gov) or Julia Doherty, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (202.395.9559; Julia_Doherty@ustr.eop.gov).
For all other inquiries, including those pertaining to APEC or PASC-related voluntary standards and conformance issues, please contact apec@ansi.org or Ms. Amy Michel at 202.331.3625.
