Reducing barriers to trade and increasing product safety

Project description

Title: Global Project Quality Infrastructure (GPQI)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
Country: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico
Lead executing agency: Brazil: Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços (MDIC - Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services); China: State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China (SAMR – Staatliches Zentralamt für Markregulierung), Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM), General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC), India: Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD); Indonesia: Kementerian Perindustrian (MoI – Ministry of Industry) and Kementerian Perdagangan (MoT – Ministry of Trade); Mexico: Secretaría de Economía (Ministry of Economy)
Overall term: 2017 to 2023

Context

In global value chains, products do not stop at national borders. However, differing standards, diverse regulatory requirements and a large number of certifications make it difficult to access foreign markets.

The project therefore promotes a common understanding of quality and safety. Quality infrastructure is a key component of international trade facilitation. It comprises the areas of standardisation, conformity assessment and accreditation, market surveillance, product safety and metrology.

Objective

Quality infrastructures are aligned more effectively at international level and technical barriers to cross-border trade are removed. This improves the safety of traded products and strengthens consumer protection.

Approach

As a part of the project, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) conducts technical policy dialogues with the trade partners Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Mexico.

In these dialogues, the project brings together government ministries, authorities, the private sector and specialist organisations from Germany and the participating countries. This also includes technical stakeholders such as standardisation institutions and accreditation bodies as well as associations and companies. The dialogues are based on demand. Everyone involved has the opportunity to raise issues. They work together to develop politically and economically viable solutions to facilitate international trade and contribute to product safety.

In this way, for example, the project has supported Indian manufacturers of personal protective equipment in meeting the requirements of the European product safety system. This facilitates trade with safe personal protective equipment.

Last update: November 2023