The Spanish Association for Standardization (UNE) and Chile's National Institute for Standardisation (INN) held a bilateral meeting on 16 June to promote trade between the two countries through standards.
The meeting, which was held at UNE headquarters, comes after the recent entry into force of the EU-Chile Interim Trade Agreement. International standards are the common reference for market access and exports, favouring cooperation and reducing technical barriers to trade. More than 90% of world trade is supported by standards or associated technical regulations.
Sergio Toro, executive director of INN, and Javier García, general director of UNE and vice president of ISO, participated in the meeting. UNE was also represented by Mónica Sanzo, Director of Cooperation and International Relations; Paloma García, Director of Standardisation Programmes and Stakeholder Engagement; Virginia Vidal, Director of Processes and Technology; and Fernando Utreilla, Head of UNE's R&D&I.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to share strategies and projects aimed at effectively responding to the challenges faced by organisations and bringing standardisation closer to society.
Among the major challenges facing organisations are business competitiveness, the dual ecological and digital transition, sustainability and innovation, among others.
The importance of strong quality infrastructure was also emphasised. In Spain, the institutional pillars of this infrastructure are UNE (standardisation), the Spanish Metrology Centre, CEM (metrology) and the National Accreditation Entity, ENAC (accreditation). Their joint work has improved the competitiveness of the Spanish productive fabric.
