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U.S. Standards System: National Representation

The "one country, one vote" process is generally regarded as a formal method for developing an international standard.

In this process, each country receives one vote through its national body. The nation receives only one vote, regardless of the size of its economy, population, or the number of participating technical experts.

• Treaty Organizations are international, intergovernmental bodies composed of government representatives. In the U.S, the Department of State is the official member to these bodies, sometimes delegating representation in these fora to other government agencies depending on the scope of issues addressed by the Treaty Organization. In all cases, the government consults with and gets input from the private sector, but ultimately the government makes the decisions and carries forward the U.S. positions.

  Examples of Treaty organizations include the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX).

  Information about U.S. participation in treaty organizations can be found via the following links:

  • Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX) – U.S. Department ofAgriculture
  • International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) – National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – U.S. Department of State
  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – U.S. Department of State
  • World Trade Organization (WTO) – Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

• Non-Treaty Organizations are international, non-governmental bodies in which countries can be represented by either a governmental or private sector organization.

  The U.S. is represented by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in several non-treaty standards organizations, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC), the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), and other forums. ANSI also serves as a liaison organization to the European Standards Organizations (ESOs) as well as to other regional and sub-regional standards organizations around the world.

  Information about U.S. participation in non-treaty organizations can be found via the following links:

  • ANSI participation in ISO
  • ANSI participation in IEC via the U.S. National Committee.