STANDARDS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE: JOINT NATIONAL STANDARDS AND - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

CASE STUDIES ON CANADIAN STANDARDS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE: JOINT NATIONAL STANDARDS AND CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY

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

Overview

Case studies on Canadian standards and international trade: 1) Joint National Standards: Personal Floatation Devices 2) Consumer Product Safety: Toys

North American Harmonization

• Duplicative requirements within a regional market

have a negative impact on productivity and competitiveness

• North American manufacturers strongly support:
• One standard - One test
• Competition among Conformity Assessment

Bodies

• Alignment of standards by jurisdictions to avoid

duplicative standards/testing/certification requirements

Duplicative Certifications: Water Heater

The cost of duplicative standards in North America: One example

• Estimated value of Canada-US plumbing industry in the

residential sector: $90B

• Bi‐lateral trade: $17B
• More than 70% of the goods sold in Canada produced in the

US

• Only about 10% of referenced standards are currently

bi‐national

• Estimated annual cost of product testing/certification for North

American plumbing and heating industry: between $3.2B and $4.5B

• Estimated additional cost of duplicative standards/testing/

certification in the plumbing sector borne by Canadian consumers: between $120M to $150M per year

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Joint Canada-U.S. Standards

Development/maintenance of joint Canada-US standards:

• One committee, composed of Canadian and U.S.

stakeholders, working together on one document

• The Canadian and U.S. standards development

requirements are followed throughout the entire standards development process

• One document, to be used in Canada and the U.S.
• One test applied
• Ideally, one certification logo to cover both markets

Traditional Harmonization Process

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Technical Harmonization Committee (THC) SDO SDO

National Process National Process

• same basic process

repeated by each Standards Development Organization (SDO) and THC

• Potential duplication of effort;

more than 1 technical committee

• Could result in lengthy

process

• Publishing of 2 standards

with separate covers

• Maintenance of standards

lengthy due to coordination between SDOs and national processes

National Standard National Standard

New Harmonization Process

• Faster
• Single process, less

complicated

• All affected

stakeholders at the same table

• Reduces duplication of

effort

• On-going

harmonization is inherent

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1 Joint Bi- national Standard Single SDO accredited in CAN - US

Single Joint standard

Develop draft standard

Preliminary Review, Ballot, Public Review

Benefits of the New Process:

 streamlining of resources; one process with lower standards development costs; reducing effort, resources and time;  increased harmonization reducing additional testing, lower manufacturing costs, and greater efficiencies for industry;  Greater Innovation/ Market Access: 1st Edition standards created concurrently allowing new technology quicker access reducing lags and stimulating innovation;  updates to safety standards at a quicker pace, closing gaps in safety between Canada and the US once an issue is identified;  Regional adoptions of international standards and regional standards development approaches simultaneously.

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CASE STU CASE STUDY #1: DY #1: PERSON PERSONAL FLOATATION AL FLOATATION DEVICES DEVICES

Pilot projects for joint Canada-U.S. standards

• SCC & the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have

launched pilot projects to facilitate the development of joint Canada-U.S standards in the electro-technical and plumbing/heating sectors

• Focus on new or emerging product areas where neither

standards nor regulations currently exist & where standards development would benefit the greatest number of users

• Aimed to support Canada-U.S regulatory cooperation, reduce

red tape and help address the price gap between Canadian and U.S. consumer products

Lifejackets and Immersion Suits

• UL is leveraging its ANSI and SCC accreditation to facilitate

harmonization by using a single bi-national STP:

• Of the 42 initiatives UL is currently undertaking in Canada 40 will

result in Joint Canada – US standards using a single joint STP.

• UL’s process ensures both ANSI and SCC procedures and

requirements are met.

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Device Labeling

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Current Current Proposed US Label CDN Label NA Label

• Joint standards has

permitted for 1st time:

 Single NA label  Product marked for both Canada/US  Both USCG and Transport approval  Product permitted to be sold and used in Canada/US

Device Point of Sale Placard

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US – Think Safe Pamphlet CAD – Wise Choice Brochure Problem 1 – lengthy documents Problem 2 – similar but different Joint standard has allowed:

• a consolidated and redesigned

joint POS placard

• Placard based on ISO symbols

What is new about this project?

• Single standard for both Canada and the US
• Simultaneous adoption of ISO standard in Canada/US
• Greater coordination between US Techincal Advisory

Group (TAG) - CDN Mirror Committee -- Closing gap between ISO and NA

• New harmonized Labels & placards- greater market

access and efficiencies for manufacturers

• NA market creating new options & ultimately greater

wear rates

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Critical success factors

• Industry engagement on both sides of the border
• Ongoing consultation with affected stakeholders to set

priorities

• Ability to focus on these priorities over extended periods of

time

• Informing and getting buy-in from other key stakeholders:

– Regulators – Standards Development Organizations – Conformity Assessment Bodies – Consumers

• Documenting our work to replicate on a larger scale if the pilot

projects are successful

CASE STUDY #2: CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY - TOYS

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Consumer Product Safety

• Use of voluntary

standardization system to advance regulatory goals

• Enhanced consumer

product safety

Background

• 2008: Agreement with Health Canada to “increase use of

National Standards System to address issues with consumer product safety in Canada”

• 2010: SCC proposal for development of a standards and

certification-based strategy for promoting consumer product safety

– CPS product matrix – Consumer Product Safety in Canada: A guide to standards and conformity assessment solutions for manufacturers, importers and sellers

• 2013-14: SCC proposal for 3 products – 2 accepted

– Online CPS orientation module – Standardization Map Prototype

CPS Standardization Map

• A one-of-a-kind user-friendly online database visualizing the

relationship between:

• Consumer product categories
• Jurisdictional regulations
• Standards
• Conformity assessment
• Hazards

Purpose:

• To develop a prototype to map current standards in multiple

jurisdictions (i.e. Canada, US, EU, Australia, ISO/IEC) for each product category (e.g. children’s jewelry) listed under the CCPSA

• A user-friendly searchable database
• Particularly relevant to industry (e.g. importers, exporters,

manufacturers, distributors, advertisers, sellers)

• Also used by HC for its own research and analysis work

The map:

THANK YOU!