Background

Quality infrastructure is comprised of regulations, structures and bodies (such as accreditation, metrology, standards development bodies) that exist in a country/economy for supporting trade on a fair market to promote safe products and services in a sustainable society. The Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies (WP.6) has been bringing together experts on quality infrastructure since the 1970s and is uniquely placed to enable the relevant government bodies to exchange best practices and learn from the experiences of others.

Quality infrastructure is one of the foundations of international trade, but it is often invisible. It can be a vector to influence change and help to transition to a more sustainable economy by defining the standards and regulations on the products on a market. This can be done by ensuring that the standards of products respect a circular economy or a gender-balance. If done incorrectly, it could lead to technical barriers to trade and widening the gap between developed and developing economies. For this reason it is essential to understand quality infrastructure!

This event is taking place as part of the WP.6 Second Forum. Please check out the other meetings happening during the week on this webpage.

Objective

This virtual webinar aims to outline the key aspects of quality infrastructure, in order to explain to member States and international organizations the basic principles of quality infrastructure.

Each speaker will address:

• A general description of their area of quality infrastructure
• Why that area is part of national quality infrastructure
• How that area contributes to legitimate regulatory objectives (safety/environment/technology) and level playing field
• In which manner does regional/international harmonization in this area address technical barriers to trade and trade in general

• Future challenges (sustainability / digitalization / and-or other)

Target audience

Economic operators involved in international trade, international organizations, State officials and all experts of WP.6.

Draft Agenda