On August 22-23, 2017, the Standards Alliance, in partnership with the American Chemistry Council (ACC), organized a workshop, "Sharing Best Practices in Chemical Regulations," during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Workshop participants representing public and private organizations from 13 APEC member countries exchanged information on best practices in the sound management of chemicals, in order to increase the capability and capacity of developing economies.
The workshop was an extension of the 2014 Beijing Regulatory Cooperation Workshop focused on knowledge management in regulatory cooperation, through a capacity-building training program for APEC regulators. Having identified a need for sustained training rather than one-off training sessions, the program included a three-step capacity building activity based on tangible outcomes comprised of:
1) pre-training coursework qualification element delivered by webinars conducted earlier this month;
2) face-to-face training with best practice case studies and specific applications in a workshop setting; and
3) a follow-up webinar series on specific chemical regulatory concepts.
The overall objective of the program was to link regulator knowledge with practical application. It was designed to enhance regional economic integration in chemicals through knowledge sharing, capacity building, and regulatory cooperation and convergence. Over 75 participants representing public and private sector organizations attended the event, including the Australian Government Department of Health, Ministry of Health of Chile, the Federation of Thai Industries, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Labor, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB OIRA), BOYSEN, and ASTM International.
The Standards Alliance engagement with Vietnam helps foster the increasingly significant economic relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam. According to the Vietnam General Department of Customs, Vietnam has a trade surplus with nearly $13.4 billion in export revenue and more than $4.6 billion in import value. The U.S. remains Vietnam's biggest trading partner in the region, with export-import turnover rising 20 percent to $13.9 billion in the reviewed period.
Additional Resources
ANSI has publicly released the final agenda and participant list.