Chapter 12. International trade, standards and regulations Learning objective

24. Will the test report be recognized abroad? 
 
On this question there's no clear answer in today's environment, since it depends on the 
decision of the regulatory authority of the country of importation. The answer to that the 
manufacturer must obtain before beginning to search for an access to a specific market. 
Regulatory authorities in different countries with regard to the recognition of test reports can 
act as follows: 

accept any test protocol; 

accept a test report from a laboratory that has a good reputation from the point of view 
of the regulatory authority; 

accept a test report from the laboratory accredited by the national accreditation body of 
the importing market; 

if between accreditation bodies exists an agreement on mutual recognition of 
accreditation results, accept a test report from a laboratory accredited by one of the 
participating agencies of this agreement; 

accept test reports from only those laboratories which are chosen by a regulatory 
authority; 

accept test reports from only one laboratory which is subordinate to the corresponding 
regulatory body. 

---

23 
In all described cases, except the last one, accepting authority will usually require that 
the test laboratory was accredited. With the spread of the Agreement on mutual recognition 
between accreditation bodies of laboratories the existing barriers are rapidly being eliminated. 
25. What is certification? 
 
Certification is the most common type of conformity assessment, as is defined in the 
ISO/IEC GUIDE 2:2004 «Standardization and related activities — General vocabulary» as 
«procedure whereby a third party documentally certifies that the product, work (process) or 
service conforms to specified requirements».
Close definition gives an interstate standard GOST ISO / IEC 17000-2012: