Common use of Standardisation and Certification Clause in Contracts

Standardisation and Certification. 1. The Parties agree to cooperate more closely in the field of standardisation, certification and quality assurance to remove unnecessary technical barriers and to reduce differences between them in those areas, so as to facilitate trade. In this context, they reaffirm their commitment under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to trade, annexed to the WTO Agreement (TBT Agreement). 2. Cooperation in standardisation and certification, through national and regional development strategies as defined in Title I and in conformity with Article 35, shall aim at promoting compatible systems between the Parties and in particular include: -measures, in accordance with the TBT Agreement, to promote greater use of international technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, including sector specific measures, in accordance with the level of economic development of ACP countries, -cooperation in the area of quality management and assurance in selected sectors of importance to the ACP States, -support for capacity building initiatives in the ACP countries in the fields of conformity assessment, metrology and standardisation, -developing functioning links between ACP and European standardisation, conformity assessment and certification institutions. 3. The Parties undertake to consider, in due course, negotiating mutual recognition agreements in sectors of mutual economic interest.