ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Apr 5 - The ASEAN Economic Ministers signed today in Bangkok the Mutual Recognition Agreement for Electronic and Electrical Equipment.  

Mutual recognition arrangements are expected to significantly reduce the cost of doing business in ASEAN for the electronic and electrical equipments by enabling ASEAN member countries to recognize the testing and certification conducted in another member country or the country of origin.

With this agreement, the entry of electronics and electrical equipments manufactured in one ASEAN country will no longer be subject to testing and certification in the country of importation, which can be technical barriers to trade.  It will mean lower costs for ASEAN traders.

The electrical and electronic equipment account for a very significant share of intra-ASEAN trade from 30 percent of the intra-ASEAN exports in 1993 to almost 40 percent today.  Electrical and electronic equipment assembly plants are expected to greatly benefit from this trade facilitation scheme.   

The introduction of MRAs will be accompanied by adequate consumer protection measures by ensuring that only products that meet the safety requirements and are truthfully labelled according to the exporting country�s regulations could be imported.  The development and implementation of the sectoral MRAs will also serve as a forum for the respective regulatory agencies in ASEAN to exchange their experience and work towards better regulatory practices.  The Framework Agreement on MRAs requires all participating conformity assessment bodies to demonstrate their technical competency. 

The ASEAN Framework Agreement on MRAs, signed in December 1998 during the Sixth ASEAN Summit, provided the basis for the negotiations of MRAs for specific sectors including electrical and electronic equipment, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications equipment and prepared foodstuff.   

ASEAN consists of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. 

Further information on MRA, can be obtained from http://www.aseansec.org/viewpdf.asp?file=/pdf/mra.pdf