ANNEX 8 to General Assembly 13/2011

STANDARDS AND CONFORMANCE ACTIVITIES IN ASEAN

The standards and conformance activities in ASEAN encompass the reduction of transaction costs through reduction of technical barriers to trade, be it in standards, conformity assessment procedures or technical regulations. This is done by harmonisation of standards to international standards, harmonisation of conformity assessment procedures and compliance requirements, and harmonisation of technical regulations in selected regulated sectors. Harmonisation of standards and technical regulations in ASEAN is governed by the common policy of harmonizing national standards with relevant international standards using the ISO/IEC Guide 21 Parts 1 and 2 as one of the guiding principles. As far as possible this is also the general principle for the development of technical regulations in ASEAN based on international standards. As a measure to facilitate free movement of goods in ASEAN, the ACCSQ also looks into the mutual recognition of test reports and certificates among Member States which not only simplifies procedures but also reduces transaction costs. This is in recognition that more than standards themselves, it is often the duplicative testing procedures arising from different systems of conformity assessment in various Member States that may pose as technical barriers to trade. The current achievements and developments in the standards and conformance activities are based on three core activities, that is, harmonisation of standards with relevant international standards and practices, development of mutual recognition arrangements for conformity assessment procedures and development of harmonised regulatory regimes for priority sectors which account for more that 50% of intra-ASEAN trade. The priority sectors being currently addressed are agro-based products (prepared foodstuff), automotive sector, electrical and electronic equipment sector, healthcare sector (subdivided to cosmetics, medical devices, pharmaceutical, traditional medicine and health supplement), rubber-based products sector and wood-based products sector.

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ANNEX 8 to General Assembly 13/2011

The three core activities are inter-related to ensure that the technical barriers to trade for each sector is addressed thus leading towards a more coordinated and integrated approach in the removal of these technical barriers to trade. Current scope of sectors covered by ACCSQ for harmonisation of standards Harmonisation of national standards for 20 priority products with the relevant international standards covering electrical and electronic equipment and rubber gloves and condoms have been achieved. In addition, 97 Safety and 10 EMC standards have been identified and completed its harmonisation based on IEC standards. Harmonisation of standards for automotive sector through alignment with the UNECE Regulations of the 1958 Agreement. Harmonisation of standards for quality management system standards for medical devices based on ISO standards. Harmonisation of food safety standards for prepared foodstuff based on CODEX Alimentarius. Harmonisation of standards for rubber-based products based on ISO standards. Harmonisation of standards for wood-based products based on ISO standards.

Regional activities standardization fora

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ISO

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international

ISO Regional Training Course on Introduction to ISO e-Services, 19-22 October 2010, Jakarta - Indonesia 25th Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables, 25-29 October 2010, Bali - Indonesia ISO CEO Forum for Chief Executive Officers of National Standards Bodies in Asia, 1-3 March 2011, Bali - Indonesia

83rd Meeting of IEC/TC 61 (Safety of Household and Similar Electrical Appliances), 6-10 June 2011, Bali - Indonesia ISO Regional Workshop on ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility, 14-16 December 2010, Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia ISO Regional Workshop on Consumer Involvement In Standardization, 27-28 October 2010, Manila - Philippines ISO Regional Workshop on Conformity Assessment Certification Practices 24-26 May 2010, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
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ISO Regional Seminar on Environmental Footprinting, 12-13 January 2011, Ha Noi, Viet Nam ISO/TC 207 on Environmental Managment. Chairs Advisory Group Meeting 47, hosted and supported by STAMEQ, 10-11 January 2011, Ha noi, Viet Nam ------

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