Common use of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations Clause in Contracts

International Standards, Guides and Recommendations. 1. The Parties recognize the important role that international standards, guides, and recommendations can play in supporting greater regulatory alignment and good regulatory practices, and in reducing unnecessary barriers to trade. 2. To determine whether there is an international standard, guide, or recommendation within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement, each Party shall apply the TBT Committee Decision on International Standards. 3. Each Party shall apply no additional principles or criteria other than those in the TBT Committee Decision on International Standards in order to recognize a standard as an international standard. For greater certainty, criteria that are not relevant to determining whether a standard is an international standard include: (a) the domicile of the standards body; (b) whether the standards body is non-governmental or inter-governmental; and (c) whether the standards body limits participation to delegations. 4. The Parties shall cooperate with each other in appropriate circumstances to ensure that international standards, guides, and recommendations that are likely to become a basis for technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade. 5. No Party shall accord any preference to the consideration or use of standards that are developed through processes that: (a) are inconsistent with the TBT Committee Decision on International Standards; or (b) treat persons of any of the Parties less favorably than persons whose domicile is the same as the standardization body. 6. With respect to any agreement or understanding establishing a customs union or free-trade area or providing trade- related technical assistance, each Party shall encourage the adoption, and use as the basis for standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures, of any relevant standards, guides, or recommendations developed in accordance with the TBT Committee Decision on International Standards. 7. Recognizing the importance of maintaining North American commercial integration and maintaining market access for producers in North America, each Party shall ensure that any obligation or understanding it has with a non-Party does not facilitate or require the withdrawal or limitation on the use or acceptance of any relevant standard, guide, or recommendation developed in accordance with the TBT Committee Decision on International Standards or the relevant provisions of this Chapter.