ASTM Supports Building Test Expo in Brussels
ASTM International is a sponsor of the Building Test Expo, to be held June 17-19, 2014, in Brussels. The Expo is a free international exhibition and forum on the effective testing and certification of construction products to promote increased innovation, quality, safety and sustainability. The Expo will take place at Square-Brussels Meeting Centre located in heart of Brussels. More than 2,000 ASTM International standard test methods, specifications and practices support the safe and economic construction and maintenance of buildings. The recently organized ASTM Built Environment Advisory Committee illustrates how the standards organization is responding to changing needs in the building industry. Numerous ASTM technical committees have contributed hundreds of standards for building components used in the marketplace. ASTM will be exhibiting at booth F22 during Building Test Expo. [Full Story]
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United Nations Conference Discusses ASTM Standards
ASTM director of EU affairs Sara Gobbi traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, in November to present at the International Conference on Standards and Regulatory Systems, which was held jointly with the 23rd session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies. The conference discussed best practices for and provided practical ways to use standards in technical regulations. Gobbi discussed how international consensus standards play an important role in the information infrastructure that guides design, manufacturing and trade in the global economy, and how ASTM standards can be used with confidence as the basis of national adoptions. Other participants in the conference included representatives from national and international standards bodies, the European Commission, and U.S. Federal agencies. Click here to review the conference reports.
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ASTM a Sponsor at European Innovation Summit
Knowledge4Innovation held
the 5th European Innovation Summit in the European Parliament from Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2013. The summit gathered five European commissioners, 25 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and a wide range of representatives from industry and academia. The purpose of the summit was to better understand how to bridge the innovation gaps and overcome innovation barriers while focusing on the key innovation drivers that need to be given more strength and emphasis. ASTM International is a driver for innovation through its technically advanced standards and its dynamic processes and was a co-sponsor of the event. European institutions and international standards organizations held a discussion on "Standardization System Evolution Leading to Innovation Empowerment," which was organized in cooperation with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). When new industries look to advance the growth of cutting-edge technologies such as nanotechnology and additive manufacturing, they often collaborate within ASTM to achieve their standardization goals. ASTM's innovative technology improves standards development and increases the accessibility of ASTM standards to the world. Click here for more on the 5th European Innovation Summit.
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Established in 1898, ASTM International is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards and related products and services. Today, some 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence.
ASTM's leadership in international standards development is driven by the contributions of its members: more than 30,000 of the world's top technical experts and business professionals representing 150 countries. Working in an open and transparent process and using ASTM's best-in-class standards development infrastructure, ASTM members deliver standard test methods, specifications, guides and practices that support industries and governments worldwide.
ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency.
Erin K. Brennan, Editor
ebrennan@astm.org
Copyright ©2014 ASTM International
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European Member Elected to Serve on the ASTM Board of Directors
 Bertrand Morel, Ph.D., research and development manager for the front-end chemistry business unit of AREVA in Pierrelatte, France, has been elected to the 2014 ASTM International board of directors for a three-year term. An ASTM member since 1995, Morel is second vice chairman of Committee C26 on Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and chairs Subcommittee C26.02 on Fuel and Fertile Material Specifications. In the field of UF6 conversion, Morel has implemented programs on electrolysis, fluorination reactors, and uranium purification and effluent treatment, all of which are now being used in a new plant design. He has initiated work on promising conversion routes and has created a joint R&D facility with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) to study uranium fluoride chemistry. Before assuming his role at AREVA, a multinational industrial conglomerate that focuses on nuclear power and renewable energy, Morel was head of the analytical laboratory at the Comurhex Pierrelatte plant. Morel earned his Ph.D. in material science from the University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, and his master's in analytical chemistry and a bachelor's degree from the École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France. See the 2014 ASTM Board of Directors here. [Full Story]
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ASTM Presents at Turkish Standards Institute Symposium
 On Nov. 25-26, 2013, more than 650 individuals participated in an international symposium in Istanbul, Turkey, sponsored by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSI) on the "Effects of Standardization on the Global Economy." Jeff Grove, ASTM International vice president for global policy and industry affairs, made a presentation on the topic of multiple pathways for the development of international standards. TSI and ASTM have maintained a memorandum of understanding since 2003 to facilitate cooperation in standards development and utilization. Today, more than 900 ASTM standards serve as the basis of Turkish national standards or are referenced in regulations. In 2012, Bekir Cengelci from TSI participated in the ASTM Standards Expert Program (SEP) at ASTM headquarters. Cengelci learned about the standards development process, attended ASTM committee week meetings, and visited the Washington office to meet with federal agencies, trade associations and other stakeholders. Learn more about the ASTM SEP Program. [Full Story]
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Austrian Standards Institute Hosts "ASTM Day" in Vienna
Nov. 5, 2013, was "ASTM Day" at the headquarters of the Austrian Standards Institute in Vienna, with ASTM International headlining an installment of the Austrian special event series, "Standards Around the World." A longstanding and successful cooperation links Austria with ASTM. More than 50 ASTM standards are referenced in Austrian regulations, and some 40 individuals from Austria participate on 23 different ASTM technical committees. The event featured ASTM's James A. Thomas, president, and Katharine Morgan, vice president of technical committee operations, along with their Austrian counterparts. Elisabeth Stampfl-Blaha, managing director of Austrian Standards, opened the program with insights into the impressive increase in Austrian exports over the last three decades, with the U.S. among the countries reflected. Many of Austria's main export commodities are covered by ASTM standards, such as metallurgical products, chemicals, textiles and more. The event was particularly timely given the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement being negotiated between the U.S. and the European Union in an effort to facilitate trade and boost economic growth. ASTM's Thomas noted that the U.S. and Europe are each other's largest economic partner and therefore a more efficient marketplace is needed. International standards, regardless of their origins, that are technically advanced and market relevant can best support a liberalized trading system. [Full Story]
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ASTM Participates in International Seminar on Safer Products and Industrial Installation
 ASTM's Sara Gobbi joined international colleagues at the CEOC - EUROLAB - IFIA International Safety Seminar 2013, "Safer Products and Industrial Installations in a Globalizing World," held in Brussels in November. The event focused on issues related to product safety and market surveillance and was attended by more than 150 participants representing industry, consumers, insurers, scientists and the testing, inspection and certification sectors. In his welcome speech, Malcolm Harbour, chairman of the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee, highlighted the importance of international standards when it comes to product safety and stressed the need for a better cooperation among international SDOs, specifically mentioning the U.S.-based standardization organizations. The event featured speakers from various stakeholders interested in industrial and consumer safety, including ORGALIME and ANEC. ASTM standards were mentioned by the speakers, along with EN and ISO standards, as one of the pillars of safety for products and processes. The keynote speaker was Neven Mimica, European commissioner for consumer policy.
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ASTM Hosts an Industry Meeting with FDA Representatives in Brussels
The ASTM International Brussels office recently hosted an industry meeting coordinated by the Trans-Atlantic Business Council's working group on Life Sciences. Key principals included officials from the FDA Europe Office and the Market Access and Compliance staff of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service. Discussion centered on the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) standards and regulations related to the food and drug sectors. European representatives from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Co., Siemens, and Merck & Co. were in attendance. The meeting allowed participants an opportunity to discuss regulatory convergence, intellectual property and market access issues. On regulatory convergence and standards, industry representatives discussed the need for more consistent recognition and use of global standards in regulations as a practical and efficient way of achieving alignment between U.S. and EU, particularly in the area of emerging technologies and life sciences. This position supports the global business communities' principles on Regulatory Cooperation outlined by the Business Coalition for Transatlantic Trade (BCTT), in which ASTM is a member.
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ASTM International Presents at the U.S.-EU SME Workshop in Brussels
 In October, ASTM's Anthony Quinn, director of public policy and international trade, and Sara Gobbi presented at the United States - European Union Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) workshop in Brussels. The workshop series was launched in 2011 in Brussels and Washington under the auspices of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), aimed at enhancing trade and investment opportunities for U.S. and EU small and medium companies. Representatives from the private sector on both sides of the Atlantic participated in the workshop, providing an overview of existing opportunities as well as regulatory and technical obstacles that small businesses have to face to access EU and U.S. markets. ASTM staff presented information on how small entities from around the world can benefit from the open and inclusive ASTM standard development process through a variety of tools that ASTM has implemented to lower barriers and support global participation. Other conference participants included representatives from the European Commission, the European Standardization Organizations, European Industry Federations and U.S. companies.
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Business Coalition Meets with EU Trade Negotiators to Discuss Standards
As a member of the Business Coalition
for Transatlantic Trade (BCTT), ASTM staff joined a delegation of 17 companies, associations and non-profit representatives in Brussels on Oct. 3-4 for meetings with the lead EU negotiators and private sectors organizations to discuss the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The objectives were to brief officials on the coalition's position regarding technical barrier to trade issues, horizontal regulatory best practices and regulatory cooperation. The delegation presented the position of BCTT formulated by the coalition's Regulatory Cooperation Working Group, which focused on overcoming longstanding technical barriers to trade (TBTs) issues between the U.S. and the European Union. The coalition's position on regulatory cooperation outlines the need for a common definition of international standards and the indirect referencing of equivalent standards as part of the European Union's New Approach Directives. The coalition paper states, "agreement on these issues will better equip the EU and U.S. to respond to new global regulatory and standards challenges - while advancing transatlantic trade and economic growth." The coalition is made up of corporate members such as Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly Co., Amway, General Electric and associations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and the National Foreign Trade Council. The BCTT seeks to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness on both sides of the Atlantic through comprehensive and high-standard trade and investment agreement between the United States and the EU.
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DIN and ANSI Host Discussion on Standards and Trade in Washington, D.C.
 The German Institute for Standardization (DIN) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) held a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14 on how standards can support the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership being negotiated between the U.S. and the EU. The goal of the event was for industry, government and other vested stakeholders to discuss solutions to reducing non-tariff trade barriers between the U.S. and Europe based on various examples from specific sectors. Dr. Torsten Bahke, chairman of the executive board at DIN and a former member of the ASTM board of directors opened the discussion with encouraging words stating, "When 28 very diverse countries with a wide variety of economic players can agree on harmonized standards, it gives us hope that the U.S. and the European Union will find a way to do so as well. We have to find new and unique ways of cooperation in order to be successful." ASTM's Anthony Quinn attended the event, commenting, "DIN is in an excellent position of leadership for the standards community due to Germany's strong manufacturing base and exporting interest, and TTIP has the potential to provide a platform to test mechanisms that can facilitate greater collaboration." The panels' work concluded with several industry leaders providing reassurance that standards serve as an important facilitator for trade and sectors with high volume of transatlantic trade, like automotive, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering.
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