This piece was originally published in the November/December 2019 issue of electroindustry.

Craig Updyke, Director, Trade and Commercial Affairs, NEMA and Gustavo Domínguez Poo, Director, Latin America, NEMA

On August 23, the Economy Secretary of Mexico announced an initiative that could result in the replacement of the country’s Federal Metrology and Standardization Law with a new Law on Quality Infrastructure (LIQ). In summary, the proposal aims to reduce the time needed to develop new Standards and keep the government at the head of the system of mandatory Standards and conformity assessment. At the same time, the LIQ is intended to provide for greater integration and consistency across the Standards system as well as provide authority to reach conformity equivalence agreements.

Mexico’s initiative follows on a recent proposal made by Brazil’s National Institute of Metrology Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO) to reform and expand its regulatory reach and power. In short, the government found that current regulations cover only 12 percent of products it is authorized to regulate. To pursue 100 percent coverage, the agency intends to put in place general regulations for safety and performance that are to be supplemented as  needed by sector-specific regulations. In the area of conformity assessment, INMETRO aims to make rules “less prescriptive and more flexible,” with essential requirements that define the results to be achieved or the risks to be mitigated. ei