Introduction
The goal of this document is to provide a regularly updated conformity assessment guide designed to lead one through the conformity assessment requirements in the major markets. Its intended audience is the electrical manufacturers considering entry into the global marketplace for electrical product, including North America. This is the Third Edition which provides expanded and in-depth coverage of the United States. Comments on the contents of this document and its usefulness in dealing with market access issues are always welcome and should be directed to NEMA’ Conformity Assessment Manager.
This guide is designed to be a practical handbook for NEMA member companies to facilitate their efforts to gain acceptance of electrical products in selected countries around the globe. The global marketplace is divided into eight geographical regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia/Oceania, Japan, India, China and the Middle East/Africa. The guide’s content is updated periodically to keep it timely and accurate and to add additional countries. Because many complicated factors can be involved in conformity assessment issues, a manufacturer may wish to obtain advice from an expert who specializes in conformity assessment matters. Reliance solely upon the general information in this guide may not be sufficient to show the exercise of reasonable care in meeting national conformity assessment requirements.
Global trade is requiring increased attention to conformity assessment. Each passing year it seems more countries are implementing national requirement. While the technical definition of conformity assessment given by ISO/IEC Guide 2 is "any activity concerned with determining directly or indirectly that relevant requirements are fulfilled," the practical impact for any manufacturer is market access. For the purpose of this guide, the term conformity assessment refers to national requirements for market access.
A number of regional standards bodies have been established to facilitate trade within regional trading blocks. For example, the Council for Harmonization of Electrotechnical Standardization of the Nations of the Americas (CANENA) was formed to harmonize requirements for the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. CANENA has since expanded membership to all nations of the Americas. The European Union has established CENELEC for its regional electrotechnical requirements. The Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) in South America is also pursuing regional standards. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum. It is committed to reducing trade barriers and increasing investments by taking individual and collective actions to open markets and promotes economic growth.
Acceptance of product testing and evaluation is greatly facilitated through the IECEE CB and IECEx Schemes. The objective of the CB and Ex Schemes is to facilitate international trade in electrical equipment. The schemes are based on the principle of mutual recognition (reciprocal acceptance) by its members of valid test results. Both schemes are intended to facilitate certification or approval according to IEC standards through the mutual recognition of test reports and test certificates. A manufacturer utilizing a test report and test certificate issued by a National Certification Body (NCB) in a participating country can obtain national product certification in all other member countries with minimal or no additional testing. The IECEx Scheme uses different terminology for National Certification Bodies, referring to them instead as Ex Certification Bodies (ExCBs).
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is a participating organization in the United States National Committee of the CB and Ex Scheme and provides secretarial assistance to both. The products covered by the CB and Ex Schemes are those that are within the scope of IEC Standards which have been accepted into the schemes. Officers of the IECEE and IECEx Committees along with tables of product sectors and IEC standards are provided in the annex to this document.
Acknowledgements
This guide is intended to be the comprehensive source document for product certification information. While the guide is updated regularly, there are no guarantees that some or all of its contents has not changed since the last publication. Please contact us if you have updated information.
Contact information is provided for each country in this document. Additional information is available from the following sources, many of which have been used to develop this document:
1. Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). APEC operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum dedicated to promoting free trade and investment, economic growth and development, and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. It operates on the basis of non-binding commitments and open dialogue. Its members span four continents, representing the most economically dynamic region in the world and accounting for approximately 50 percent of the world's population, trade and GDP. Of interest is APEC’s activity concerning the Voluntary Action Plan (VAP) for Alignment of Standards with International Standards.
2. IECEE CB Scheme. Information concerning the “International Electrotechnical Commission Systems for Conformity Testing and Certification of Electrical Equipment” (IECEE CB Scheme), the “Scheme of the IECEE for Mutual Recognition of Test Certificates for Electrical Equipment” (CB Scheme) is in this guide. The CB Scheme information useful for manufacturers includes which countries participate in the CB Scheme, the specific IEC standards that apply in each participating country, the national differences for each of these IEC standards for each of these countries, and the National Certification Body information for each of these countries. This information is updated through CB Bulletins available to CB Scheme members. The latest edition of the CB Bulletin was published in December 2006. The IECEE website contains information on the CB Scheme is accessible by going to http://www.iecee.org, and standards purchases may be made through the IEC website (http://www.iec.ch/webstore).
3. IECEx Scheme information. Some information available through the “International Electrotechnical Commission Scheme for Certification to Standards for Explosive Atmospheres” (IECEx Scheme) is in this Guide. The IECEx Scheme information useful for manufacturers includes which countries participate in the IECEx Scheme, the specific IEC standards that apply in each participating country, the national differences for each of these IEC standards for each of these countries, and the Accepted Certification Body information for each of these countries. This information is updated through IECEx Bulletins available to IECEx Scheme members. The first IECEx Bulletin was published in September 2000 and last updated in August 2006. Some general information on the IECEx Scheme is available on the IECEx website (http://www.iecex.com), and product purchases may also be made through the IEC website (http://www.iec.ch/webstore).
4. US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publications. NIST has published “Special Publications” on relevant topics including “Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Conformity Assessment Infrastructure (NIST SP 941) and “A Guide to EU Standards and Conformity Assessment” (Special Publication 951). For publications, NIST may be called at (301) 975-4040. NIST also has a conformity assessment website at (http://ts.nist.gov/standards/conformity/cainfo.cfm).
5. Enquiry Point. Signatories to the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (WTO-TBT) are required to establish an enquiry point for obtaining information on all proposed government regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures. The U.S. WTO-TBT enquiry point is the NIST National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI). In addition, NCSCI also receives foreign notifications and provides a means of disseminating that information. NCSCI responds to inquiries about foreign and U.S. notifications, provides copies of the proposed regulations, and arranges for fee-supported translations of foreign standards. The NCSCI website is at (http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/ncsci/ncsci.htm).
6. U.S. Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce has available the results of previous studies and can conduct customized market analysis upon request that can help U.S. exporters. The staff of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Services, a branch within the Department of Commerce, has extensive personal experience of the in-country conditions of several counties of interest (http://www.ita.doc.gov/).
7. The Delegation of the European Commission to the USA. This website is associated with the delegation that provides overall policy information, places the European requirements in perspective, and includes links to many other relevant websites—including those of individual EU member countries (http://www.eurunion.org).
8. Europa – European Union On-Line. This Europa website provides up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs and essential information on European integration. Users can also consult all legislation currently in force or under discussion, access the websites of each of the EU institutions and find out about the policies administered by the European Union under the powers devolved to it by the Treaties. (http://europa.eu.int).
9. The European Organization for Conformity Assessment offers a wide variety of Information via its general web site at http://www.eotc.be or its "Testing, Inspection, Certification Q&A" site (which now offers information on Eastern Europe) at http://www.ticqa.eotc.be. Its "Marking Discussion Forum” is at http://www.eotc.be/Forum/marking. You can also pose specific questions by contacting (mhelpdesk@eotc.be).
10. US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration China Gateway website at (http://www.mac.doc.gov/China/Docs/BusinessGuides/cccguide.htm). This website has a link to a CCC Mark Guide with valuable information on the new CCC Mark System of Conformity Assessment in China and contains detailed information regarding the Chinese requirements and the CCC Mark application process.
11. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The home page of CBP on the Internet’s World Wide Web, provides the trade community with current, relevant information regarding CBP operations and items of special interest. The site posts information -- which includes proposed regulations, news releases, publications and notices, etc. -- that can be searched, read on-line, printed or downloaded to your personal computer. The web site also links to the home pages of many other agencies whose importing or exporting regulations that U.S. Customs and Border Protection helps to enforce. The web address of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is (http://www.cbp.gov).
