WASHINGTON, D.C. – The
United States and Japan today
completed final steps for implementation of a bilateral agreement to facilitate
trade in telecommunications equipment and expand opportunities for
U.S. certification
bodies.
United States Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer and Japan
Foreign Minister ad interim Nobutaka Machimura exchanged diplomatic notes in Tokyo, signaling
completion of the necessary steps for entry into force of the United
States-Japan Agreement on Mutual Recognition of the Results of Conformity
Assessment Procedures (MRA) for telecommunications equipment on January 1,
2008.
“Japan
is the United
States’ fourth largest trading partner.
This agreement will help build upon the strong bilateral trade relationship
already benefiting our countries,” said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John K.
Veroneau. “This agreement will lower the costs and increase the speed of
marketing telecommunications equipment traded between our countries. This
should be of important help to U.S. companies and workers, given that
Japan is the fifth largest
export market for U.S. telecommunications equipment.”
Background
The MRA was signed in Washington on February 16, 2007 and
subsequently approved by the Japanese Diet on June 19.
This is the United
States’ sixth telecommunications MRA covering
certification, following MRAs with the EU and EEA-EFTA (Iceland, Lichtenstein, and Norway) that cover telecommunications equipment
among other things, and with Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore under
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) telecommunications
MRA.
Based on this agreement, both the United States and Japan will be
able to designate private-sector entities in their respective territories to
test and certify telecommunications terminal and radio equipment as meeting the
technical requirements of the other country.
This agreement is expected to enhance speed to market, and
lower costs in the $2.2 billion trade in telecommunications equipment between
the two countries. Japan is now the fifth largest export market for
U.S. telecommunications equipment
manufacturers, and this agreement is particularly important given the innovation
and fast paced growth that characterized both markets.
The text of the agreement is available at:
http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Sectors/Telecom-E-commerce/Section_Index.html
A fact sheet on this MRA is available at:
http://www.export.gov/infotech
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