Speaker’s Package
While the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system encourages the innovation and efficiency of individual enterprises, its decentralized structure also means that it is especially important for U.S.
messages and policy positions to remain consistent when presented internationally, whether these positions are being represented by ANSI, U.S. Government, or by individual business leaders.
This will facilitate more productive exchanges, regardless of the specific sector or area of focus, and will promote the best practices of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system
internationally, ultimately providing benefit to companies exporting internationally.
In 2006, the American National Standards Institute requested that its members and other stakeholders in the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system evaluate their most pressing policy
priorities in China. The Summary report of this survey
indicates that improving the strength and coherence of U.S. messaging and policy positions internationally is among the most important in this key market. ANSI's Speaker's Package provides valuable information to all U.S. stakeholders for
understanding national policy positions on standards and conformity assessment as well as how to more clearly represent these positions abroad.
Presentations and Talking Points
Oftentimes, explaining how the U.S. system functions can be complicated. In addition to varying terminology, the roles of various individual institutions and stakeholders within the system can be
difficult to present, particularly in a cross-cultural context.
The presentations and talking points in this section aim to help U.S. stakeholders to provide consistent and accurate information on the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system when presenting
abroad and to explain many key concepts of standards and conformity assessment more effectively.
The following presentations are useful in introducing the U.S. Standards System.
Background Information
ANSI offers a wealth of documentation on the private sector-led U.S. standards and conformity assessment systems, and on U.S. policies related to standards and conformity assessment.
These public documents can be used as reference to support discussions on standards and conformity assessment internationally.
General Information about the U.S. Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems
The United States Standards Strategy provides a vision, purpose, and common framework that can be used by U.S. stakeholders to achieve their respective standardization goals.
The United States National Conformity Assessment Principles (NCAP) articulates principles for U.S. conformity assessment activities that promote confidence among a variety of stakeholders including consumers,
buyers, sellers, regulators, etc. without creating unnecessary barriers to trade.
This document provides the key reasons why consideration for standards and conformity assessment activities is indispensable to the success of U.S. businesses in the global marketplace.
This one-page document outlines the top ten things that foreign partners should understand about the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system, highlighting the role that the private sector plays in
determining standards and conformance requirements for market acceptance in the U.S.
The U.S. Best Practices Guide offers exemplary practices within the U.S. system that could be mirrored in other countries’ standards and conformity assessment systems to develop effective
regulations, alleviate trade barriers, and increase competitiveness.
Sector and Region-Specific Background (ANSI White Paper Library)
The ANSI White Paper library contains briefings on key issues related to standards, conformity assessment and international trade. These white papers focus on key markets such as China, NAFTA, Europe,
and APEC, and address key subjects such as transparency, foreign participation
in technical committees, and harmonization. While some of these white papers are available to the public, others can only be accessed by ANSI members.
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