The Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE, has published the Report Promoting trade with Latin America, in which it analyses the 14 agreements signed with countries in that region, with the aim of promoting exports and trade between Spanish companies and these markets by harmonizing standards and removing technical barriers to trade.
Since 2017, UNE has signed 14 agreements with standardisation organisations in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, as well as with the Mercosur Association for Standardisation.
As a result of these agreements, UNE has exchanged over 2,000 UNE standards with standardisation organisations in Latin American countries in just three years. Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru head up the applications for UNE standards, followed by Cuba, Argentina and Colombia.
The report categorises the standards exchanged by industrial sectors and reveals the predominance of the industry and equipment sector, followed by the construction, electrotechnics and ICT, agri-food and services sectors. The standards range from those that establish individual protection requirements, to gaseous fuels, gas installations and appliances, fire safety, household appliance safety, solar photovoltaic energy, food product analysis, and medical and surgical devices.
Agreements of this type acknowledge the importance of standards in technology transfer, as well as in the promotion of safe, quality and environmentally friendly commercial exchanges of products and services, as well as in contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
They also recognise the advantages of cooperation in the exchange of standards and the importance of aligning national technical standards and regulations with international standards, as well as the role played by standards in technology transfer. Technical standards are the language spoken by the world's markets and are the key to successful exporting and the internationalisation of companies.
