The Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) held its 34th meeting on March 31 - April 3, 2011, in Bangkok. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) participated alongside 20 other national standards bodies of PASC, including GOST-R (the National Standards Body of the Russian Federation), which recently joined the Congress. Representatives from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) were also in attendance.
Gary Kushnier, ANSI vice president of international policy, led the nine member U.S. delegation, which included private and public sector members of the Institute. The meeting was hosted by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI), which was established as a department under Thailand's Ministry of Industry in January 1969.
Jennifer Stradtman of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) reported on the latest activities of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC), which was recently hosted in the U.S. in February 2011. According to Ms. Stradtman, advancing regional economic integration, regulatory cooperation and convergence, and promoting green growth are APEC's three main goals for 2011. She also noted that the United States will play host to two more APEC events in 2011, in Big Sky, Montana, and in San Francisco, California, as well as the culminating Leaders Meeting hosted by President Obama in Honolulu in November.
During a session on standards development and public policy making, Ajit Jillavenkatesa, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provided a presentation on U.S. Smart Grid initiatives. A priority of the Obama administration, Smart Grid projects are intended to enable customers to reduce average and peak energy use, improve reliability and security, increase the use of renewable sources, and facilitate infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Doug Durant, chair of the ANSI Regional Standing Committee - Asia Pacific and manager of global product standards at John Deere delivered a joint presentation with ASTM International vice-president Teresa Cendrowska. The presentation highlighted the interaction between standards developers and government agencies, the need for education and awareness, and standards in regulation.
PASC 35 will take place from June 4-8, 2012, in Yeosu, South Korea.
For more information PASC 34 meeting events or the RSC-AP committee, please contact Jessica Hychalk at [email protected].