Chapter 10
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
A nongovernmental organization comprising the national standards institutes of 163 countries that has developed over 21,000 standards for goods, services, manufacturing and technology in many industries.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
A private, non-profit organization that coordinates the development and use of a voluntary consensus standards in the United States.
local content requirement
A requirement stipulating that finished products contain a certain percentage of locally produced materials
product standard
A voluntary guideline for product characteristics established by a recognized private or industry organization or association.
Equivalence
Accepting foreign standards that are functionally equivalent to domestic standards
market access agreements
Provide exporters of goods and services with market access to foreign countries in the following areas: technical barriers to trade, government procurement of goods and services, trade in services, trade in agricultural products, trade-related investment measures, and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.
design standards
characteristics that govern how a product should be designed
technical barriers to trade
technical regulations and standards that apply to imported foreign products, even if they also apply equally to domestic products. Examples are product testing, inspection requirements, and certifications of compliance.
conformity assessments
when one country recognizes the certifications of products from another country
priority foreign country
worst offenders that continue to deny adequate protection to certain rights.
commercial presence
a foreign company setting up subsidiaries or branches to provide services in another country
technical regulation
A mandatory law or regulation affecting a product's characteristics-such as its performance, design, construction, chemical composition, materials, packaging, or labeling-that must be met before a product can be imported or sold in a country
CE Mark
A mark or label indicating the cargo conforms to standards required by the European Union for certain products.
sanitary and phytosanitary measures
A government rule or regulation that protects or enhances food, animal, or plant safety or quality, including preventing the spread of pathogen and disease. A country has the right to protect human, animal, and plant life but cannot use food safety as an excuse for blocking imports
WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (AGP)
Applies only to those countries that have signed (47) and prohibits use of "offsets" requiring seller to use local labor, buy domestic products, etc. in the buying country. This also applies to goods and services worth over 130,000 SDR's (US $197,000) and construction contracts over 5 million SDR's (US $7.6 million) and reverses the GATT exception and reverses Buy America Act requirements for U.S. government purchasing from AGP countries.
Harmanization
Bringing national standards in line with generally accepted international standards
Mutual recognition of standards
Called conformity assessments that are recognition of foreign quality certifications where the product is manufactured.
Domestic Subsidies
Government payments to domestic businesses to help reduce production costs and improve competitiveness. These distort markets by causing overproduction and suppressing prices while protecting the incomes of farmers.
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Government rules or regulations on Intellectual Property Rights and where WTO countries agreed to abide by intellectual property conventions. Domestic and foreign IPRs treated the same, and enforcement strengthened.
Section 301 Trade Act 1974
Governs U.S. trade retaliation by the USTR who is responsible official. Discretionary and mandatory retaliation rules. Discretionary measures may be imposed when USTR finds "unreasonable" discrimination that burdens or restricts U.S trade (though not a violation of international agreements) •President can order sanctions •Example: Sanctioning a country that allows hacking and stealing US trade secrets
Buy America Act exceptions
If U.S. goods are not in reasonable supply, are unreasonably more expensive (6-12% higher), or the purchase is under $2,500; foreign government purchases are okay.
Codex Alimentarius
Internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and other recommendations for the protection of plants animals and foodstuffs.
WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
One of Uruguay Round agreements of 1994 that had three goals: Harmonization, Equivalence, and Mutual Recognition. This applies to all products, agricultural, industrial, and consumer goods.
WTO Agreement on Trade in Services
Overseen by the Council for Trade in Services and defines four ways to provide an international service •Cross-border supply - supplying services across a border (e.g. international calling) •Consumption abroad; using a service provider in another country (e.g. tourism) •Foreign commercial presence to provide a service (e.g. subsidiaries) •Foreign individuals traveling to supply services
Unilateralism
The policy that a nation should retaliate unilaterally against another country that discriminates against its products or firms rather than relying on an established international or multilateral framework for resolving trade disputes.
WTO Agreement on Agriculture
This began removing government intervention in the farming sector and had objectives of cutting domestic subsidy payments to farmers, cutting subsidizing farmers for exporting agriculture, and converting quotas and other non-tariff barriers into tariffs -Agreement is mostly aspirational
Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)
WTO agreement on trade measures governments can impose on foreign firms that eliminates trade balancing or local content requirements on foreign investments
least restrictive trade
WTO member countries, in setting otherwise valid restrictions on trade, shall make them no more onerous than necessary to achieve the goals for which they were imposed
consumption abroad
consumers or firms making use of a service in another country
performance standards
describe how a product should function
presence of natural persons
individuals traveling from their own country to supply services in another
trade balancing requirements
laws that condition a company's right to import foreign goods on the basis of the volume of goods that company exports
Agricultural export subsidies
payments or other benefits given to farmers that directly encourage, or are conditional upon, the export of food or agricultural products
China Compulsory Certification Mark (CCC Mark)
products that meet the quality and safety requirements for certification in China receive this mark.
procurement offsets
prohibits a procuring agency from awarding a contract to a foreign firm on the basis of certain conditions
prior approval
regulated products must undergo testing and inspection by an approved laboratory, receive a certification of compliance with technical standards, and then receive prior regulatory approval before sale
prior certification
regulated products need only undergo testing or inspection and certification. The testing lab's certification remains on file with the manufacturer or importer, and no regulatory approval is needed prior to import or domestic sale.
transparency
the extent to which government regulations are made readily available to the public, including foreign firms.
government procurement
the purchase of goods and services by government agencies at all levels, preferring domestically made products according to GATT.
Japan Industrial Standards Mark (JIS Mark)
the symbol of an approved product in Japan. Its appearance on a product indicates that the manufacturer has submitted to on-site inspections by the appropriate Japanese ministry and has met accepted standards for quality control, production techniques, and research methods.
