The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has accepted a proposal from ISO, IEC, ILAC and IAF to host a joint session at the WTO’s Annual Public Forum to promote the role that standards and accreditation play in trade facilitation.  

Standards and accreditation are referenced in the WTO TBT Agreement and play an important role in trade facilitation. However, according to “Improving Regulatory Governance: International Standards and the WTO TBT Agreement”, (Issue 5 – October 2013) by Erik Wijkström and Devin McDaniels, 30% of trade concerns related to ISO, 12% to the IEC, and 10% to ILAC. The appropriate application of standards and accredited conformity assessment therefore has the potential to resolve these concerns to the benefit of both industrialised and developing economies. 

A common core principle of ISO, IEC, IAF and ILAC is to facilitate trade through the removal of technical barriers to trade, and so the session will therefore be closely aligned to the umbrella theme ‘Why Trade matters to everyone’ of the 2014 Public Forum. The session will take place on 1st October at 1700. Further information on the Public Forum can be read here.

ILAC P15:06/2014 – Application of ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for the Accreditation of Inspection Bodies has been published and is available here.

This document provides information for use by both accreditation bodies and inspection bodies on the application of ISO/IEC 17020.

ILAC P9:06/2014 – ILAC Policy for Participation in Proficiency Testing Activities has been published and is available here.

This document sets out the policy for accreditation bodies on the use of proficiency testing activities in the accreditation process.

The ILAC MRA 2013 Annual Report provides information on the activities carried out as part of the peer evaluation process in 2013 to ensure that regulators and consumers of laboratory and inspection data are able to maintain confidence in the results produced under the ILAC MRA.

The ILAC MRA 2013 Annual Report is available here.

Membership Change – GCC Accreditation Center (GAC)

GCC Accreditation Center (GAC) is welcomed as an Associate Member of ILAC. GAC was an Affiliate member since 25 October 2010.

GAC is a multi economy accreditation body (MEAB) servicing the needs of the following economies:
United Arab Emirates; Kingdom of Bahrain; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Sultanate of Oman; State of Qatar; State of Kuwait; The Republic of Yemen.

We welcome GAC as an Associate Member and look forward to continuing working with our GAC colleagues.

June 9th, 2014 will mark World Accreditation Day. The focus this year is on the role accreditation plays in providing confidence in the provision of energy.

The day will be celebrated across the world. A joint statement from the Chairs of ILAC and IAF, as well as promotional materials, are available from World Accreditation Day 2014.

ILAC News Published

The 45th edition of ILAC News has been published and is available here.

June 9th, 2014 will mark World Accreditation Day.  The focus this year is on the role accreditation plays in providing confidence in the provision of energy.

The day will be celebrated across the world.  A joint statement from the Chairs of ILAC and IAF, as well as promotional materials, are available from World Acreditation 2014.

The signatory status of the Egyptian Accreditation Council (EGAC) has been extended to include medical testing and inspection.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from “click here”.

Organismo Nacional de Acreditación de Colombia (ONAC) is welcomed as a Full Member of ILAC.

ONAC has become a signatory to the ILAC MRA for testing and calibration via the IAAC MLA.  We welcome ONAC as a Full Member and look forward to continuing working with our ONAC colleagues.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from “click here”.