Standardization News

Goal of Order to Promote Exports, Growth and Job Creation

On May 1, the White House issued Executive Order 13609, "Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation," with the goal of promoting "exports, growth and job creation by eliminating unnecessary regulatory differences across nations." The EO directs U.S. agencies to take the international implications of their work into account in a consistent and comprehensive way, and it recognizes that good regulatory policy supports good trade policy.

While cooperation in standards is not specially mentioned in the EO, international standards often serve as the basis for regulations. ASTM International has provided input during the crafting of the EO and has recommended that, as the U.S. government pursues international regulatory cooperation in venues such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and in bilateral regulatory dialogues with key trading partners such as Canada, the European Union and Mexico, it should continue to promote the flexibility for governments and industry to choose from a broad portfolio of international standards. The choice of these standards would be based on important criteria such as technical quality, market relevance and adherence to principles established by the World Trade Organization.