Accreditation of U.S TAGs to ISO
& TAG Administrator Approval

ANSI International Procedures

2.5.4 Accreditation of U.S. TAGs for Subcommittees of ISO Technical Committees.

If a U.S. TAG to an ISO subcommittee has the authority to perform all of the functions of a U.S. TAG as outlined in section 2.2.3 without oversight by the U.S. TAG to the ISO technical committee, then the U.S. TAG for the ISO subcommittee shall be accredited in accordance with sections 2.4 and 2.5 of these procedures.

ANSI International Procedures

B4.1 Openness.

Participation shall be open to all U.S. national interested parties who are directly and materially affected by the activity in question. There shall be no undue financial barriers to participation. Participation shall not be conditional upon membership in any organization, or unreasonably restricted on the basis of technical qualifications or other such requirements.

Timely and adequate notice of the formation of new activities related to international standards shall be provided to all known directly and materially affected interests. Notice should include a clear and meaningful description of the purpose of the proposed activity and shall identify a readily available source for further information¹⁵.

In addition, the member’s name (or if membership is by organization, the name of the organization with a point of contact), affiliation16 and interest category of each member of the TAG shall be made available to interested parties upon request.

B4.2 Balance.

The process of developing U.S. positions shall provide an opportunity for fair and equitable participation without dominance by any single interest.

Dominance means a position or exercise of dominant authority, leadership, or influence by reason of superior leverage, strength, or representation. The requirement implicit in the phrase “without dominance by any single interest” normally will be satisfied if a reasonable balance among interests can be achieved. Unless it is claimed by a directly and materially affected person (organization, company, government agency, individual, etc.) that a single interest category dominated the development of the U.S. position, no test for dominance is required.

Interest categories shall be discretely defined, cover all materially affected parties and differentiate each category from the other categories. Such definitions shall be available upon request. In defining the interest categories appropriate to a standards activity, consideration shall be given to at least the following:

• Producer
• User
• General interest

Where appropriate, more detailed subdivisions should be considered¹⁷.

¹⁵ See also related notification requirements in 2.5 of the ANSI Essential Requirements with respect to candidate standards that may be submitted for approval as an ISO or ISO/IEC JTC-1 standard.

¹⁶ “Affiliation” refers to the entity that the U.S. TAG member represents (which may or may not be that person’s employer). If the TAG member is serving in an individual capacity, then the name of the individual, that person’s employer (if employed), sponsor (if other than employer) and interest category should be available. Contact information is not required.

¹⁷ Further subdivisions that may be used to categorize directly and materially affected persons consist of, but are not limited to, the following:
Consumer
Directly affected public
Distributor and retailer
Industrial/Commercial
Insurance
Labor Manufacturer
Professional society
Regulatory agency
Testing Laboratory
Trade association

ANSI International Procedures

2.3.3 Functions.

The duties of the U.S. TAG Administrator include:

1. Organizing the U.S. TAG and applying to ANSI for approval of the TAG Administrator and initial TAG membership list and accreditation of the TAG
2. Submitting the U.S. TAG membership list, annual compliance form and annual report to ANSI by established deadlines for review by the ExSC or its designee
3. Determining that the members of the U.S. TAG participate actively
4. Providing for administrative services, including arrangements for meetings, timely preparation and distribution of documents related to the work of the U.S. TAG, and maintenance of appropriate records, including minutes of meetings and results of letter ballots
5. Upon request by an interested party, making available the roster of the TAG including each member’s name (or if membership is by organization, the name of the organization with a point of contact), affiliation ⁴ and interest category
6. Transmitting to ANSI U.S. proposals and U.S. positions, as developed and approved by the U.S. TAG
7. Transmitting to ANSI U.S. delegates lists for all international meetings
8. Establishing a procedure to hear appeals of actions or inactions of the U.S. TAG
9. Establishing a written antitrust policy reflecting the TAG’s practice to conduct all business and activity in compliance with applicable antitrust laws
10. Complying with the requirements associated with ANSI oversight and supervision of the activities of the U.S. TAG and its administrator in accordance with 2.5
11. Ensuring compliance with applicable ANSI and ISO procedures
12. Completing mandatory training offered by ANSI to support compliance with ANSI procedures governing the administration of the U.S. TAG and representation of U.S. interests at ISO
13. Paying all relevant fees to ANSI
14. Providing to ANSI three (3) months prior written notice if the organization that serves as the TAG Administrator is unable to continue to serve and intends to relinquish this role

⁴ “Affiliation” refers to the entity that the U.S. TAG member represents (which may or may not be that person’s employer). If the TAG member is serving in an individual capacity, then the name of the individual, that person’s employer (if employed), sponsor (if other than employer) and interest category should be available. Contact information is not required.