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.