Building
linkages for export success is a new handbook that explores the
different ways that closer collaboration between national standards bodies (NSBs)
and trade promotion organizations (TPOs) can support and enable export
enterprises. The handbook, a joint publication of the International Trade
Centre (ITC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), was
written for officials working for NSBs, TPOs or government agencies and whose responsibilities
include international trade.
NSBs and TPOs have
specific and important roles to play - NSBs as developers of national standards
and representatives of their country in international and regional
standardization organizations, TPOs as the source of much needed foreign market
information, and facilitators of export trade. In most developing countries,
the NSB is the national enquiry point as required by the World Trade
Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical barriers to trade (TBT), and may also
be a provider of conformity assessment services. However, in many countries,
little or no formal cooperation existed in the past between NSBs and TPOs.
ITC Executive
Director, Patricia Francis and ISO Secretary General, Rob Steele, state in the
Foreword to the new book, ‘The growth of international trade and the increasing
importance of high level standards and technical regulation in developed
markets presents greater opportunities for NSBs and TPOs to collaborate and
create more opportunities for exporters to understand market requirements, enhance
national competitiveness and to achieve compliance’.
The publication was developed following the
joint regional consultation on 'Quality Management: Linking TPOs and NSBs for
Export Success' held in Malaysia in 2009 and which was partly funded by Sida,
the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. Based on the outcome
of that meeting, it reflects the position of those participating and includes examples
drawn from their shared experiences.
Building
linkages for export success – Trade Promotion Organizations and National
Standards Bodies working together, is printed in English(ISBN 978-92-67-10536-9),
French (ISBN 978-92-67-20536-6) and Spanish (ISBN 978-92-67-30536-3) editions.
The handbook can be downloaded from www.intracen.org/eqm/ (Bulletins & Handbooks)
and is available through the ITC e-shop at www.intracen.org/about/e-shop/.
ITC is the joint agency of the WTO and the
United Nations and is devoted to enabling small and medium businesses in
developing countries become more competitive in global markets and thus to
speed up sustainable economic development and contribute to the achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals.