The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), with the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) International Trade Administration (ITA), carried out a certified trade mission to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 10-13, 2019. The primary goal of the mission, named "Standards to Support Infrastructure," was to facilitate increased commercial ties between the U.S. and Gulf markets through connections and deeper engagement, and it was the first certified trade mission ever to focus on standards. The intent was to support clear, coherent, and consistent U.S. messaging in the region and increase potential opportunities for U.S. organizations to cooperate more effectively with Gulf counterparts on standards-related issues.
Joseph Tretler, ANSI's vice president of international policy, led the mission and the delegation, which included ANSI members representing a cross section of industries primarily in the sectors of building and construction, water and sanitation, electrical safety, and oil and gas, and included meetings in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. The trade mission follows discussions amongst ANSI International Policy Committee members about the priority of the Gulf region as a market, and about the need for deeper engagement with standards authorities in the region to promote greater cooperation and alignment.
"ANSI and ITA seized the right timing and built an agenda with the appropriate audiences to enhance the global competitiveness of the business environment for U.S. companies to promote and facilitate voluntary consensus standards through relationship building," said Mr. Tretler.
During the four-day mission, the delegation conducted more than 15 meetings with government agencies and private sector organizations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The delegates discussed the standards development and participation processes for the Emirates Standards and Metrology Administration (ESMA), the Saudi Arabia Standards and Metrology Organization (SASO), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO). In addition, on the final day of the trade mission, ANSI member and Gold sponsor for the trade mission, API signed a memorandum of understanding with the GSO focused on technical cooperation.
More information and participating sponsors can be found on the activity's website.
View a video highligting the mission athttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QVwAK6MjF-k
Related news: