CE marking, product standards and world trade

Abstract:
The CE marking of products shows the manufacturer’s pledge that the product meets a set of product safety standards and a series of conformity assessment procedures used to prove that these standards have been properly implemented. This work explores the impact of CE marking, a major non-tariff trade barrier, on world trade.

The work is organised over ten chapters. Chapter one by way of introduction comments upon the CE mark and its relevance to EU-US trade, then goes on to discuss standards and conformity assessment, standards and international trade, CE marking and international trade and why the US should care. Chapter two explores the background to CE marking and the factors shaping the development of the CE marking system. Chapter three examines the organisation of the system, general patterns of the directives that set out the specific legal requirements and the nature of the organisations involved in the implementation of the system. Chapter four explores the realities that have shaped the development of CE marking to the turn of the century. Chapter five considers the regulatory regime for the system, and offers analysis of the functions of the notified bodies and surveillance authorities and their impact upon implementation of the system.

Chapter six looks at the American system of voluntary standards and shows how the fundamental differences in establishing standard settings and product regulation inhibits a meeting of minds in this area. Chapter seven examines the battle continuing between the American standards system and the European CE marking system, pleading high cost consequences of the CE system for American companies. There seems little chance of a resolution to the conflict in the short term. Chapter eight explores the potential for bridging the gap, concluding that in industries where there is a string constituency for free trade and global markets then commercial pressures will prompt solutions to problems of international conformity assessment, whilst that cannot be said of those industries without free trade such as steel. Chapter nine considers the way ahead, noting that the continuing development of CE marking by the EU and the growing importance of the EU presents a real challenge to the US in the search for new markets, with only a muted response by the US. The final chapter invites reflection on earlier chapters to discover what might be learned about the specific problems and general issues surrounding CE marking. Evident to anyone is that it will require collaboration rather than confrontation, and that in this case the American premise that ‘might is right’ may offer little towards a solution of the problems.

The work will interest scholars and students engaged in industrial economics and international business studies.

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Background to CE Marking
3. A New Approach to Product Regulation
4. From Directives to Standards
5. From Notified Bodies to Surveillance Authorities
6. The American System
7. Dueling Standards
8. Building Bridges
9. New Directions
10. What Can We Learn from CE Marking?