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The CDMA Certification Forum, or CCF, is a partnership between CDMA mobile phone operators and CDMA terminal vendors. “The CCF process requires the testing laboratories that test the CDMA mobile phone devices be ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by an Accreditation Body (AB) that is a signatory to the ILAC MRA”.
On August 14, 2008, the “Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008” (CPSIA) was signed into United States law by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The legislation is a comprehensive overhaul of consumer product safety rules, with significant impact on nearly all children’s products entering the US market. In addition to more stringent criteria and new requirements for children’s products, CPSIA mandates that children’s products be tested by CPSC-recognized laboratories. To date, CPSC recognition requires laboratories to have ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for the specific tests, with the accreditation from an accreditation body who is a signatory to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). Whether it be lead in toys or safety of cribs, the purpose of this law is to enhance the safety of children’s products. For a comprehensive list and schedule of items and updates, please visit “The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)” at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Regulations-Laws–Standards/Statutes/The-Consumer-Product-Safety-Improvement-Act/. The CPSC continues to issue guidance documents, policy statements, test methods, and Federal Register notices as the implementation of CPSIA continues. Detailed information can be found at “Third-Party Testing Laboratory Accreditation” at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Business–Manufacturing/Testing-Certification/Third-Party-Testing/.
‘Improving Regulatory Governance: International Standards and the WTO TBT Agreement’, Erik Wijkström, Devin McDaniels, Issue 5, pp. 1013–1046 (October 2013)
Read article: http://www.kluwerlawonline.com/abstract.php?area=Journals&id=TRAD2013034
Article 9 of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade — the TBT Agreement — requires that members, wherever practicable, formulate and adopt international systems of conformity assessment where a positive assurance of conformity with a technical regulation or standard is required. Article 6 of the agreement specifically recognizes accreditation as a means for realizing positive assurance:
“6.1.1 adequate and enduring technical competence of the relevant conformity assessment bodies in the exporting Member, so that confidence in the continued reliability of their conformity assessment results can exist; in this regard, verified compliance, for instance through accreditation, with relevant guides or recommendations issued by international standardizing bodies shall be taken into account as an indication of adequate technical competence.”
The TBT Committee has recognized that the ILAC MRA is designed to facilitate acceptance of test results across economies and that acceptance of these results facilitates trade.
The CPSC issued regulations to recognise test data associated with children’s products coming from laboratories accredited by an ILAC MRA signatory accreditation body. CPSC registers laboratories that can perform compliance testing based on a simple application process identifying the relevant scope of accreditation from an ILAC MRA signatory accreditation body.
This move enabled CPSC to leverage its limited resources, yet provide for the acceptance of test data originating from the countries of export and reducing the need for redundant testing upon import.
Many children’s products continue to be added within the scope of this requirement for accreditation.
Further information available at http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/labregentry/
“The MRA has had a tremendous impact on our group. With all the products from manufacturers around the world – cribs and bunk beds from China and the United Kingdom, bike helmets and baby walkers from Taiwan and Italy – knowing that they have all been through an accepted standard of testing from an accredited lab gives us a greater level of confidence in those products. It provides a sense of consistency in quality.”
Scott Hey, program manager of the CPSC Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction
Testing of crash mitigation equipment and devices need to be tested in accordance with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) specifications by a laboratory accredited by an ILAC MRA signatory accreditation body.
The FHWA determined that using accredited laboratories will improve the agency’s ability to trust that crash test laboratories are qualified to conduct and evaluate tests intended to determine the crashworthiness of roadside safety features. FHWA also determined that laboratory accreditation is widely recognised as a reliable indicator of technical competence.
Further information available at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/policy_guide/road_hardware/
“Even though being part of the MRA has had no impact on the work of the agency, the overall requirement for crash tests to be conducted by accredited laboratories has improved our confidence in the results received.”
Nicolas Armitovich, FHWA highway engineer