Standards make Atlantic crossing
In an effort to intensify collaboration on metrology, the signing of the EU-US Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in 1998 provided the political framework for the "Implementation agreement for co-operation in the fields of metrology and measurement standards". This project is designed to help remove barriers to transatlantic trade caused by incompatible measurement standards or methods, and paves the way for improved collaboration between the EU and the US. Background The European Union has long recognised the need for reliable standards and measurements which are essential in such fields as industry, health and environmental protection. The European Commission has previously supported efforts in this sector through its Standards, Measurements and Testing programme implemented within the Fourth Framework Programme. This programme funded research to support the harmonisation of measurement systems, written standards and reference materials, which is important in the implementation of EU policies, particularly in industrial activity and trade, as well as being relevant to agriculture and the environment. Such research is also a cornerstone of the single market, ensuring that individual National Metrological Institutes (NMIs) can communicate meaningfully and effectively. The same is true at international level. The EU and the US have, for some years, been working towards common metrological standards. This effort culminated on 5 October, 1999 with the signing, in Brussels, of the "Implementation agreement for co-operation in the fields of metrology and measurement standards", by the Commission's Research DG and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The implementation arrangement provides scientific and technical support to the MRA thereby allowing work to be carried out to ensure the compatibility of transatlantic measurements. Description, impact and results The implementing arrangement provides for a series of co-operative activities. There will be exchanges of technical information, reference data and materials, calibrations, and measurement standards. Exchange visits will be organised, as well as co-operative research in disciplines of mutual interest. The scientific areas of co-operation currently include fields such as joint development and maintenance of a database of international comparisons; establishment of mutual equivalencies; joint development of measurement technologies and measurement standards; joint development of reference materials; and establishment of mutual traceability. The new arrangement will lead to a formal system for comparing measurements. This is in line with the free trade goals of the "US - European Union Mutual Recognition Agreement" (MRA), which came into effect in December 1998. The MRA covers six product areas that account for transatlantic trade worth over 50 billion euros annually (telecommunication equipment, electromagnetic compatibility, electrical safety, recreational craft, pharmaceutical goods manufacturing practice, and medical devices). Under the terms of the MRA, the EU and the US accept the equivalence of test results, inspections and other evaluations performed by accredited laboratories and organisations on either continent. Working partnerships The implementation agreement for co-operation follows an 18-month study involving NIST, NMIs in Europe, and more than 70 regulatory agencies in 18 countries. Researchers compared the capabilities of NIST and the other NMIs in performing measurements critical to securing regulatory approval of products in five of the six categories included in the agreement. The study established measurement equivalence between NIST and the European NMIs, finding no scientific or technical differences of `practical importance'. This implies that problems encountered in the acceptance of calibration must therefore have other causes.