International Cooperation
International cooperation
DIN’s international standardization strategies aim at removing technical barriers to trade throughout the world.
We work closely with standards organizations in all major economies and in emerging economies. A universal concern in standardization is the use of regional and international standards to support the globalization of markets, while at the same time enhancing the transparency of the increasingly competitive world market.
DIN has cooperations with numerous standardizing bodies. The form these cooperations take varies depending on the interests of German industry and those of the partner countries.
Below are three examples: For more information on DIN's international cooperations contact our International Consultation Service (IBD).
The USA
Europe has stronger ties with the USA and Canada than with any other region. Taken together, these two countries account for 54% of the world's GDP. Almost 20% of all EU exports in goods and services go to North America. However, the differences in European and American technical standards continually pose a challenge.
This challenge is being specifically addressed in the current Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. DIN has drawn up a position paper on this subject.
We have close relations with a number of US "Standards Developing Organizations", or SDOs, such as SAE in the automotive sector, and ASTM International in the materials testing sector. SAE and ASTM standards can be purchased at the webshop of our subsidiary, DIN Media. DIN has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) regarding the development of Industry 4.0 standards.
We also have regular contact with the US ISO member ANSI, the American National Standards Institute. Together with ANSI we regularly hold the “US-German Standards Panel”: In 2016 the topic is innovations in medical technology.
China
Over the past three decades China has grown to become one of the world's leading trading nations. At the same time, Germany is China's most important European trading partner.
Our close cooperation with the Chinese standards body, SAC - which began in 1979 with the signing of an official agreement - is seen as a strategic partnership that benefits both economies. On the basis of the agreement with SAC, DIN provides DIN Standards in China to enhance trade relations with that country. In regular exchanges, Chinese and German experts discuss topics such as quality assurance, occupational health & safety, environmental protection, consumer protection, and the relationship between standards and the law.
On 10 April 2006 DIN and SAC, the Standardization Administration of the People´s Republic of China, signed a cooperation agreement covering the development of new standards within the framework of ISO and IEC, the exchange of experience among experts, and the initiation of research projects that are in the interest of both parties.
The German-Chinese Standardization Cooperation Commission was formed in June 2011 out of the previous "Working Group Standardization" of the German-Chinese Joint Committee of Industry and Trade. The Commission is an important platform for dialogue concerning standardization strategies, and meets on an annual basis, alternatively in Germany and in China. Currently, the focus is on electromobility and Industry 4.0. Sino-German sub-working groups have been set up in these two areas. Other fields in the limelight include shipbuilding, biotechnology, smart cities, medical technology and automotive steel.
To support this joint work, DIN set up an office in Beijing in June 2013. The office provides consultation services aimed at strengthening the position of German standardization in China, increasing Chinese interest in German standards work, and supporting the work of German and Chinese partners. To facilitate dialogue between the standards bodies in the two countries, every year DIN invites one or more SAC colleagues to visit our Berlin offices for several weeks.
India
DIN has had a cooperation agreement with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) since 1993 - this agreement was renewed in 2006. The primary aim is to promote a bilateral exchange of goods by removing technical barriers to trade. Subjects agreed upon include an exchange of information on standards and standardization activities in the two countries.
As of 2010, this work is being supported by a regular German-Indian round table held within the framework of the Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure for cooperation in standardization, conformity assessment and product safety.
This is helping meet the need for more information on the part of India regarding approval procedures, such as CE marking, for products to be placed on the European market.
