Standards and conformity assessment
Standards and conformity assessment procedures, together with technical regulations, are three factors that can constitute technical barriers to trade.
While technical regulations establish mandatory product requirements, standards provide voluntary detailed technical specifications and criteria for product characteristics to assist manufacturers in meeting the mandatory requirements of technical regulations.
Conformity assessment procedures are a tool to demonstrate that all relevant mandatory product requirements are met. Third-party conformity assessment requires the intervention of independent conformity assessment bodies or public authorities and is usually required for medium to high risk products. Where mandatory third-party conformity assessment is required, this increases the cost of conformity assessment (financial costs and delays in market access). Bilateral mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) on conformity assessment aim to reduce the costs of testing and certification in other markets which by providing that each party accepts the reports, certificates and marks issued in the partner country in accordance with the legislation of the other party.
An EU survey on conformity assessment was undertaken in spring 2022. The survey targeted at EU companies that manufacture or sell industrial products outside the EU, with the aim to increase EU’s industries awareness of the opportunities offered by MRAs and identifying specific challenges faced by EU industry in relation to conformity assessment in markets outside the EU. You can download the survey results here.
In spring 2023 DG TRADE conducted another survey on conformity assessment and mutual recognition agreements. This time the focus was on the EU Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), with the aim of to identify the potential issues that prevent EU CABs from becoming designated under an MRA, and to understand which additional MRAs would be beneficial from the perspective of EU CABs. You can download the results of that survey here.