ASTM International
Government Interface &
Corporate Outreach
Anthony Quinn
Director, Public Policy
Sarah Petre
Manager, Federal and Industry Affairs
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ASTM International
 About ASTM International
•
Non-governmental, not-for-profit organization
•
Develops voluntary, consensus standards
•
Provides certification programs on limited basis
•
Does not provide accreditation services
 ASTM’s objectives
•
Promote public health and safety, and the overall quality of life
•
Contribute to the reliability of materials, products, systems and services
•
Facilitate national, regional, and international commerce
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Role of Standards
 Standards in the Public and Private Sector
•
Impact global trade, innovation and competition
•
Guide product design, development, market access
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Used by companies, research labs, government agencies
 ASTM International Standards
•
Voluntary consensus standards
•
Regularly reviewed
•
Meet World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for international standards
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I. Government Interface
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ASTM in Washington, DC
 Government Affairs
• Congress
• Federal government agencies
 Stakeholder Outreach
• Companies
• Embassy officials based in Washington
• Industry associations
• International Non Governmental Organizations
(NGOs)
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ASTM in Washington, DC
 Connects ASTM’s work and builds awareness among
policymakers.
 Represents ASTM before Congress, federal agencies, ANSI,
other SDOs, and trade associations.
 Engages in legislative, regulatory, and trade matters.
 Strengthens relationships with ASTM stakeholders
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Advancing ASTM’s Mission
• Remove barriers to the worldwide acceptance and use of ASTM
standards.
• Ensure proper recognition of ASTM standards in laws and
regulations.
• Address government policies that duplicate or conflict with the
interests of ASTM.
• Identify opportunities for new ASTM activities
•
Government legislation, regulation, and research initiatives create
the need for new standards.
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U.S. Standards System
 Voluntary and led by the private sector
 Requires cooperation among stakeholders
• Standards organizations
• Industry, consumers, and users
• Government representatives
• Academia
 Meets stakeholders’ needs
• Protect safety, health, and environment
• Improve industry competitiveness
• Facilitate global trade and market access
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U.S. Legal and Policy Framework
 National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
(NTTAA)
• Requires federal government agencies to use standards developed by
voluntary consensus standards organization when possible
• Encourages federal government agencies to participate in standards
development organizations
 OMB Circular No. A-119
• Reinforces goals of National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
• Discourages federal agencies from using government-unique standards
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National Technology Transfer
and Advancement Act (NTTAA)

“…all Federal agencies and departments shall use
technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary
consensus standards bodies,

using such technical standards as a means to carry out
policy objectives or activities determined by the agencies and
departments….

and shall, when such participation is in the public
interest…participate with such bodies in the development of
technical standards.”
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Other U.S. Laws of Interest
 Consumer Product Safety Act
• 15,000 different types of consumer products
 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Modernization Act of 1997
•
Food safety, drugs, and cosmetic products
 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
• Workplace safety and health
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U.S. Government Use of
Voluntary Consensus
Standards
 Procurement and Contracts with the Federal Government
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Standards are furnished to ensure that materials and services are obtained in an effective manner and in
compliance with the provisions of applicable Federal statutes and executive orders
 Regulation that incorporates standard by reference
•
An agency may adopt a voluntary standard (without changes) by incorporating the standard in a
regulation by listing (or referencing) the standard by title.
•
This approach eliminates the cost to the agency of creating a new standard
 Regulation based on existing standard
•
An agency reviews an existing standard and makes changes to match its goal or need.
•
Agency conducts rulemaking process to solicit public opinion and stakeholder input
 Public Notification and Comments
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An agency must publish a notice in the Federal Register when making a new rule or incorporating a
standard by reference
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When creating a new rule based on an existing standard, an agency may change the proposed rule in
response to public comments
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Federal Agencies
& ASTM Standards
 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR)
•
6,500 voluntary consensus standards
incorporated by reference in federal law
•
About 3,000 ASTM standards listed in CFR for
regulations and procurement
 U.S. Federal Register
•
Public notification of standards adoptions
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Instructions for public comments
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Congress &
ASTM Standards in Law
Congress may adopt
consensus standards by
reference into regulation
If law is approved, the
standard then becomes a
mandatory requirement
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Top 10 Regulatory
SDOs in US
Standards in
US CFR
Standards Developing Organization
1 ASTM International
ASTM
2227
2 American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASME
599
3 American National Standards Institute
ANSI
576
4 Society of Automotive Engineers
SAE
418
5 National Fire Protection Association
NFPA
380
6 American Petroleum Institute
API
270
7 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA
242
8 State of Illinois
IL
206
9 Association of Official Analytical Chemists
AOAC
199
ICEA
192
10 Insulated Cable Engineers Association
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Source: http://standards.gov
Benefits to the U.S.
Government
 Eliminate/reduce costs of developing standards
 Decrease costs of good purchased
• Commercial off the shelf procurement
 Promotes efficiency and economic competition
 Relies on the private sector to meet needs
• Access to industry experts and technology
• Process is faster and more dynamic
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U.S. Government
Participation in ASTM
 U.S. Government is a partner and key stakeholder
• Active U.S. Government participation in 93% of ASTM committees
• Broad range of federal agencies represented on ASTM committees
• 1400 units of U.S. Government participation in ASTM
• Government participants serve in leadership roles on ASTM Board of
Directors
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U.S. Government
Participation in ASTM
U.S. Federal
Agency
ASTM
Members
Agriculture
17
Commerce (incl. NIST)
190
CPSC
U.S. Federal
Agency
ASTM
Members
Interior
27
Justice
21
39
NASA
52
Defense
308
NRC
16
Energy
135
OSHA
13
EPA
108
Transportation
90
FAA
12
Treasury
13
HHS (incl. FDA)
136
VA
12
HUD
18
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ASTM Initiatives with
U.S. Government
 Ensure reference to current standards
• Regular review of the Code of Federal Regulations and
Congressional Record
• Coordinate technical committee communications to policymakers
 Understand procurement and regulatory standards needs
• Review of Regulatory Plan and Agenda
• Encourage government liaison with and participation in
committee activities
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Facts and Challenges
 Standards are not always a top priority
• Constant educational process
 Agencies must use lengthy rulemaking process to update or revise
references
 Roles and attitudes vary across federal agencies
 At the U.S. state-level, no NTTAA-like policy exists
ASTM Strategy
 Understand agency needs, concerns and goals, and how ASTM fits
into their agenda.
 Communicate
 Seek advice from agency reps and other committees
 No one size-fits-all approach
• Be flexible to meet the needs of agencies
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II. Corporate Outreach
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ASTM Objective
 “Promote a greater corporate awareness
regarding the importance of standards and the
value of ASTM.”
• ASTM 2006 objectives approved by the Board.
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ASTM Engages
Decision-makers
 Raise awareness of standards and ASTM
 Identify opportunities for collaboration on policy
(regulatory and trade) issues of mutual interest
 Seek industry feedback on activities and challenges
• including the removal of global barriers to the
acceptance and use of ASTM standards
 Ensure ASTM is meeting stakeholder needs
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Challenges
 Executives lack standards knowledge
• Casual knowledge of international standardization
• View it as technical issue instead of trade barrier
 Preconceived notions and misinformation
• Confusion about what makes an ‘international standard’
 Often make quick standards decisions
• Easiest or cheapest rather than strategic
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Benefits to Industry
 Minimize safety hazards
 Manage liability while reducing risk
 Satisfy regulations and laws
 Facilitate global trade
 Cost savings by procuring readily available equipment at
lower costs
 Reduce internal company specifications
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ASTM Standards Impact
the Global Economy
 Standards facilitate trade and boost GDP
•
The U.S. Commerce Department estimates that standards-related issues
impacted 80% of world commodity trade.
•
In 2000, a German study found the direct economic benefit of standardization
was 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
 ASTM standards impact the global economy
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84 countries from every region of the world reference ASTM standards in
laws or codes
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Over 400 ASTM standards references in European legislation since 2001
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Helping Industry Meet
Global Challenges
 ASTM’s MOUs with 76 developing countries
• MOUs facilitate the use of ASTM standards directly into the
national portfolios and technical regulations
 ASTM standards open doors and open markets
• Easier to export products made and tested
to ASTM standards
• Technology transfer improves infrastructure for sourcing
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MOU Agreements
by Region
ASIA
EUROPE
LATIN AMERICA
CARIBBEAN
MIDDLE EAST &
NORTH AFRICA
SUB-SAHARAN
AFRICA
AFGHANISTAN
ALBANIA*
BOLIVIA
BELIZE
BAHRAIN
BOTSWANA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
BOSNIA
CHILE
CROSQ
EGYPT
CONGO
CHINA
BULGARIA
COLOMBIA
DOMINICA
GCC (GULF STATES)
ETHIOPIA
INDONESIA
CROATIA
COSTA RICA
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
IRAQ
GHANA
KOREA
KAZAKHSTAN
ECUADOR
GRENADA
ISRAEL
KENYA
MALAYSIA
ROMANIA*
EL SALVADOR
GUYANA
JORDAN
MAURITIUS
MONGOLIA
RUSSIA
GUATEMALA
JAMAICA
MOROCCO
MOZAMBIQUE
NEPAL
SERBIA
HONDURAS
ST. LUCIA
OMAN
NIGERIA
PAKISTAN
PANAMA
ST. VINCENT AND
THE GRENADINES
PALESTINE
RWANDA
PHILIPPINES
PERU
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
QATAR
SADC
SINGAPORE
NICARAGUA
SAUDI ARABIA
SOUTH AFRICA
SRI LANKA
URUGUAY
TUNISIA
SWAZILAND
TAIWAN
TURKEY
TANZANIA
VIETNAM
U.A.E.
UGANDA
YEMEN
ZAMBIA
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ZIMBABWE
ASTM Message to Industry
 ASTM standards meet World Trade Organization (WTO) criteria
for “international standards”
• No WTO list of international bodies
• WTO recognizes multiple approaches to international
standardization
 ASTM supports industry needs to choose the best standard,
regardless of the source
 ASTM makes it easy to participate in international standards
development
• Technology drives efficiency
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WTO Principles for
Standards
WTO principles:
ASTM International principles:
• Transparency
• Transparency
• Openness
• Openness
• Impartiality and consensus
• Impartiality and consensus
• Effectiveness and relevance
• Effectiveness and relevance
• Coherence
• Coherence
• Consideration of developing
nations’ views and concerns
• Consideration of developing
nations’ views and concerns
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ASTM Corporate
Outreach
 ASTM is connecting to the business and manufacturing
community
 ASTM Board and Staff completed meetings with industry, trade
associations, consumer groups, and other stakeholders around
the world
• Washington, Stockholm, New York City, Moscow, Mexico
City, Brussels, Beijing
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III. Questions and Discussion
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Contact Information
 Anthony Quinn,
Director, International Trade and Public Policy
aquinn@astm.org, 202 223-8484
 Sarah Petre,
Manager, Federal and Industry Affairs
spetre@astm.org, 202-223-8399
1850 M Street, NW, Suite 1030
Washington, DC 20036 USA
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