Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Among Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Japan Chapter

Five: Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures The objectives of CHAPTER 5 are to promote trade among the parties by: - Ensuring that standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. - Promoting mutual understanding of the standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in each Party; - Strengthening information exchange and cooperation among the Parties in relation to the preparation, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures. - Strengthening cooperation among the Parties in the work of international bodies related to standardization and conformity assessments; and - Providing a framework to realize their objectives. CHAPTER FIVE underlines the standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures made by the able-bodied members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) through its negotiations in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, also referred to as the TBT Agreement. The rules included in the TBT Agreement were made in light of the extant conflicts and difficulties experienced by international producers and exporters from varied technical regulations and product standards imposed by each country in the world. The TBT Agreement aims to ensure that the regulations, standards, testing and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles in trade, while also providing its members with the right to implement measures to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of human health and safety, or the environment. The ACJEP, having Parties that are parties of the said Agreement, reaffirm the rights and obligations of its own Parties relating to the standard, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures included in the TBT. The ACJEP adopts the rules set by TBT in order to promote uniformity among its Partners and strengthen its economic ties. Article 46 enumerates the different forms of cooperation that the Parties may avail of in order to implement the main objective of CHAPTER FIVE; i.e. to ensure that standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. Some of the forms mentioned include the ff: o Conducting joint studies and holding seminars to enhance mutual understanding of standards in each party. o Exchanging information on such standards, regulations and conformity procedures. o Encouraging the bodies responsible for these standards and regulations to cooperate on matters of mutual interest. o Contributing to the activities related to the subject matters in international and regional fora. o Identifying work in the field of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. To ensure the effective implementation of the objectives mentioned in this Chapter, the ACJEP seeks to establish a Sub-Committee on Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity

Assessment Procedures. The Sub-Committee shall be composed of representatives of the Governments of the Parties which will be co-chaired by an official of the Government of Japan and an official of one of the Governments of the ASEAN Member States. The Sub-Committee is responsible for the fulfillment of the different forms of cooperation mentioned in Article 46 of this Chapter. The Sub-Committee will spearhead work programs in mutually agreed priority areas to facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results and equivalence of technical regulations, monitor the progress of these programs and report its findings to the Joint Committee.