CANADA'S PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS BODIES AND - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

CANADA'S PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS BODIES AND WTO/TBT: PROMOTION OF CANADA'S TRADE WITH OTHER COUNTRIES

INTRODUCTION TO CANADIAN STANDARDS AND FOOD SAFETY SYSTEMS TRAINING WORKSHOP AND ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

Dan Warelis, Program Manager, International and Regional Engagement– May 16-17, 2016

• Canada’s Participation in International Standards Bodies
• IEC’s Master Plan, ISO’s Strategic plan, and ITU’s Strategic

Plan Key Objectives

• Standards in Trade – The WTO/TBT Agreement and

Canada’s trade pacts

• The Value of International Standards Adoptions and

Canada’s Accelerated Adoption Program

Overview

CANADA’S PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS BODIES

International standardization is an important strategic issue if Canada is to help its entrepreneurs succeed in the global market

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 Multi-discipline and cross-sector  For electrotechnology  For telecommunications

The Leading International Standards Organizations

IEC’s Master Plan

• Making IEC the “home of industry” in

the electrotechnical community

• Enhancing the influence of stakeholders in

IEC’s technical and management work

ISO’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan

• The Strategic Plan focuses on six strategic

directions for ISO over the period 2016-2020.

• A living document where the

strategic directions are adjusted as needed to reflect new assumptions.

ITU Strategic Plan Key Objectives

The strategic goal of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is threefold:

• To develop interoperable, non-discriminatory international

standards (ITU-T Recommendations)

• To assist in bridging the standardization gap between

developed and developing countries

• To extend and facilitate international cooperation among

international and regional standardization bodies

Canada’s International Standards Development Program

• SCC’s International Standards Development (ISD) Program

facilitates and manages the participation of Canada in the international standards development activities

• f

the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), on behalf of the Government of Canada

• The ISD program is also responsible for the Secretariat of

SCC’s Advisory Panels for Consumers, Young Professionals and the National Committee of the Electrotechnical Sector

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Current ISD Activities

• Provides direct service to about 475 committees, over 3300

Canadian experts, and funding ($1.2M) for 2016/17 Fiscal Year to 231 committees

• Focus on ensuring the right people are on the right committees in

key areas of standardization of importance to Canada

• Facilitates and manages Canadian participation in the following

international and regional organizations:

• International: ISO and IEC
• Regional: Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), the

Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC), the Forum of the IEC National Committees of the Americas (FINCA), the Réseau normalisation et francophonie (RNF), and the IEC Asia Pacific Steering Group (IEC-APSG)

ISD Services – Member Accreditation

• Accredits individuals to be able to participate in international

standards development activities and in various capacities, such as:

• A Member of a SCC National Mirror Committee;
• A Member of a delegation attending international

meetings;

• A nominated expert to a Working Group (WG); or
• Appointed as an international leader of an ISO, IEC, or

JTC Committee (e.g. Chair and Secretary of an International Committee, or Convenor of WG)

• A Member of an SCC Advisory Panels

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ISD Services – Training and Administration

• Prepares members with all necessary information to assist in

fulfilling their role as a committee member

• Provides assistance to the Chairs of SCC Mirror Committees,

Canadian held International Secretariats, Canadian International Chair positions and Canadian Working Group Convenors of ISO/IEC/JTC Technical Committees (TC), Project Committees (PC) and Subcommittees (SC) in understanding and undertaking their duties

• Distributes committee documentation, reviews and coordinate

responses, comments, voting actions, and proposals from SCC Mirror Committees to ensure compliance with ISO/IEC Directives, the JTC1 Supplement and Standing Documents

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STANDARDS AND TRADE: THE WTO/TBT AGREEMENT AND CANADA’S TRADE PACTS

Why Standardization is Important to Trade

• Reduces barriers to trade.
• Achieves Good Regulatory Practice (GRP) by incorporation of

best standardization practices and solutions in regulations.

• Reduces time to market and costs.
• Includes views of interested parties (e.g. government, industry,

consumers, academics etc.).

• Increases confidence of foreign investors and trade partners.

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WTO – TBT Agreement – Key Provisions

• Should base regulations on international standards (or parts

there-of) except where ineffective or inappropriate

• Conformity assessment procedures should not create

unnecessary obstacles to trade

• Notification of regulations and conformity assessment

procedures that accord with, or deviate from, international standards, and/or impact trade

• Disciplines on standards-development (Code of Good Practice)

TBT- recognizes the right to ensure:

Protection of:

• human safety or

health

• the environment
• legitimate, essential

security interests Prevention of:

• deceptive

practices Quality of:

• exports

Typical TBT measures deal with:

IT Product Interoperability Quality of fresh food Packaging of fresh food Packaging/labeling

• f dangerous

chemicals & toxic substances Regulations for electrical appliances Telecommunications Interoperability Safety regulations for toys

Who is Subject to the TBT Agreement in Canada?

TBT Agreement

Central government bodies

(ministries, departments)

Local government bodies

(states, provinces, municipalities)

Non-government bodies

(standards bodies, accreditation bodies, conformity assessment orgs)

The central government is responsible for compliance with the TBT Agreement

The Role of Standardization in Trade Agreements

• As tariffs drop, non-tariff barriers become more important.
• Helps create market access and investment opportunities

for Canadian business.

• TBT obligations in many of Canada’s trade agreements

follow and/or exceed the requirements of the WTO-TBT Agreement (e.g. CETA, TPP).

• Built on the text of the WTO TBT agreement: these

chapters are TBT plus

“TBT Plus” Statements in Canada’s Free Trade Agreements

• Fosters closer cooperation between member organizations

that are responsible for standardization, conformity assessment and accreditation.

• Could include: mutual recognition of conformity assessment

results, conformity assessment recognition protocol, accreditation of foreign bodies to test to national requirements

• Improves transparency by requiring notification and

publication of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

SCC Input into Trade Agreements

• SCC provides input to Global Affairs Canada on the

standardization-related components of trade agreements

• Canada is currently negotiating:

– Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA); – Canada-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (CJEPA); – Canada-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Trade Agreement.

• SCC’s input on FTAs over the past few years:

– Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA); – Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); – FTAs with Ukraine, Panama, Jordan, Colombia and Peru.

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Canada’s TBT Enquiry Point

• A single window for the delivery of Canadian transparency
• requirements. Managed by Global Affairs

Canada: enquirypoint@international.gc.ca

• Provide early and appropriate notifications to the WTO on

certain federal and sub-federal government measures

• Includes those that may have an effect on international trade,

no matter if it is restricting or facilitating, and are classified as a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedures

Federal Regulatory Bodies in Canada

Some examples that may have an impact on trade…

• Transport Canada
• Industry Canada
• Health Canada
• Environment Canada

The Canada Gazette

• The “official newspaper of Canada”
• Includes published new statutes (acts of Parliament) and

regulations, proposed regulations, decisions of administrative boards and an assortment of government notices

• Three Parts

– Part 1: Proposed Regulations: for public comment – Part 2: Enacted Regulations – Part 3: Laws that receive Royal Ascent

THE VALUE OF INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS AND CANADA’S ACCELERATED ADOPTION PROCESS

International Adoptions: a valuable tool to align yourself internationally

• ISO and IEC standards, can be formally adopted as

national standards

• May involve a separate national consultation
• Can helps ensure a standard is to meet the national needs
• Technical deviations may include: deletions, additions,

alterations, parallel requirements and a combination of all these

Canada’s Approach: Aligning to ISO/IEC Guides 21-1 and 21-2

• Guide 21 presents logical requirements and clear directions

for the adoption of ISO/IEC deliverables that are documents

• ther than standards
• Aligns with international best practices for adopting ISO/IEC

deliverables

• Differentiation adds expense and often makes the marketing
• f a product in a different region not economical
• Offers greater transparency, easier traceability and faster

adoption

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Different Rules for Deliverable Types … as a result of aligning to Guide 21-1 and 21-2

When comparing the processes and requirements to adopt International Standard vs. “other international deliverables”:

• Technical committee approval – voting rules differ
• Public review rules differ

Creating a longer process in Canada when adopting other international deliverables SCC is responding to market needs for a faster adoption process that aligns with international guidance

Further substantive changes … as a result of aligning to Guide 21-1 and 21-2

• National deviations must be clearly justified/evidenced and

kept to a minimum

• Consider and adopt regional or international amendments and

technical corrigenda

• Changes to the maintenance cycle requirements of 5 years may

be acceptable when in accordance with regional and international review cycles

… continued

• New traceability and structural requirements to ease user

recognition of national adoptions, and of deviations from an

• riginal standard
• Requirements for translating standards into both of Canada’s
• fficial languages when not available (e.g. regional standards)

for adoption as NSCs

• SCC is offering new options aimed to reduce the cost and

reduce the time it takes to adopt regional or International Standards by adding the flexibility to operate a parallel national adoption process

Questions?

Thank you!