COOPERATION IN STANDARDS AND QUALITY

The ASEAN Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ) has achieved a milestone in 1994. It as recognized by the International Organization for Standardization, in September 1994, to be the regional] standards organization for Southeast Asia.

During the year, the ACCSQ started work on the elimination of technical barriers to trade aimed to faciIitate the realization of AFTA. At its fifth meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on 26-27 January 1995, the Committee reviewed the list of working definitions on Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) related to standards and conformity assessments, prepared by the Interim Technical Working Group (ITWG) on CEPT for AFTA. They have subsequently provided their comments to the ITWG and will thereafter, consider the setting p of . task force to look into the various modalities for the elimination of these NTBs.

The ASEAN Standards and Quality Programme (ASQP), proposed by the ACCSQ, has also received the approval of the ASEAN Standard Committee (ASC) for it to be funded by the ASEAN Fund. The ASQP comprises eighteen projects and they are now being handled by three technical working groupings of the ACCSQ namely, Technical Working Group on Standards and Conformance (TWG1); Technical Working Group o Conformity Assessment (TWG2); and Technical Working Group on Testing, Calibration and Laboratory Accreditation (TWG3). The first of these projects - the compilation. and publication of "The Directory of ASEAN Contact Points for Standards and Technical Regulation" has been completed. Another project the "ASEAN Standards and Quality BuIletin" - has been completed and published in June 1995.

Developments in the environment area will henceforth be also monitored by the ACCSQ. The Committee has directed TWG1 to monitor these developments, including those in certification practices, and to coordinate ASEAN's appropriate actions in the area. The ACCSQ has also agreed that private certification bodies for ISO 9000 can participate in TWG activities on the condition that they are accredited by the accreditation bodies in the ASEAN countries where they operate.

The ACCSQ has also commenced work to develop a Strategic Master Plan for ASEAN Activities on Standards and Quality to facilitate medium and long-term development objectives of the Committee. The Plan will also be a basis for the utilization of technical and financial assistance from bilateral or multilateral ASEAN partners.

On ACCSQ cooperation activities with ASEAN Dialogue Partners, the developments are as follow:

The European Union (EU) has reiterated its commitments to pursue a new cooperation programme when the present ASEAN-EU Industrial Standards and Quality Assurance Programrne (ISQAP) has completed its first phase in April 1995. The EU has completed a review of the ISQAP and will provide the draft report on the review to the ACCSQ for comments before finalizing it.
Efforts are also underway by the ACCSQ to conclude the Agreement with MITI (Japan) to facilitate the extension of the ASEAN-Japan Total Quality Management (TQM) Project.
The ACCSQ is also presently looking into an offer from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to cooperate in the areas of support to standards information and documentation; and GATT enquiry services.