MEXICAN NATIONAL ENQUIRY POINT TBT Regional Workshop – Panama July 2004 Danielle Schont Avenel

Source The DGN enquiry point/contact point derives its origin from Mexicos accession to the WTO in 1994 (Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations) as a party to the Agreement. WTO ENQUIRY POINT

MINISTRY OF THE ECONOMY Undersecretariat for Regulations, Foreign Investment and International Trade Practices Organization of the Ministry of the Economy The Ministry of the Economy is an arm of the Federal Executive Branch which promotes the competitiveness and economic growth of enterprises. It has offices in Mexico City, in every state of the Republic and abroad. In order to provide better services to firms, our Organization implements a quality management programme. Undersecretariat for regulations, foreign investment and international trade practices Under- secretariat for international trade negotiations Under- secretariat for regulations and services to industry and foreign trade General Coordinating Agency for Mines Technical Secretariat for planning, communication and liaison Head Office General Coordinating Agency for the national micro enterprise financing programme General Coordinating Agency for federal delegations General Directorate for Legal Affairs Ministry Under- secretariat for small- and medium- sized enterprises General Directorate of Standards

Ministry of the Economy Undersecretariat for Regulations, Foreign Investment and International Trade Practices Undersecretariat for Regulations, Foreign Investment and International Trade Practices International Trade Practices Unit General Directorate for Foreign Investment General Directorate for National Vehicle Registration General Directorate for Commercial Regulations General Directorate of Standards

Structure of the General Directorate of Standards General Directorate of Standards Deputy Directorate General for Operations Enquiry Point Directorate of Standardization Directorate of Metrology Directorate of Quality Management Directorate of Conformity Assessment Subdirectorate for Administrative Liaison Directorate of International Standardization Directorate of Promotion Subdirectorate for Information Technology

General Directorate of Standards (DGN) Interaction with the Government and Industry Functions of the DGN Coordinate the national standardization and conformity assessment system. Improve the quality of products and services. Promote the use of and compliance with standards. Elaborate and disseminate Mexican official standards in the field of its competence, with the aim of guaranteeing the safety of persons, preventing misleading practices, securing the uniformity and reliability of measurement practices in the country. Certify and verify compliance with the Mexican official standards (NOM) of the Ministry of the Economy, where there is no private agency. Approve the certifying agencies, test and calibration laboratories and inspection units, and thus assess product compliance with standards and achieve national and international recognition. Authorize, audit and monitor the Mexican accreditation agency (EMA). To sum up, the purpose of the DGN is to improve the quality of Mexican systems, products and services, in order to provide industry and trade with tools enabling them to demonstrate their competitiveness in both national and international markets.

Ministry of the Economy General Directorate of Standards The Federal Law on Metrology and Standardization (LFMN) and the Internal Regulations of the Ministry of the Economy define the activities and powers of each of the players that constitute the enquiry point and contact point, as follows: Chapter V, Article 23, Sections I, V, and XXI: preparation, revision, issue, amendment, cancellation and dissemination of NOM (Mexican official standards) and NMX (Mexican standards) within the field of competence of the Secretariat. V. Codification by subject of NOM and NMX, standards of other countries and international standards, inventory and collection of standards (Library) and establishment and operation of the corresponding enquiry point. XXI. Organization and operation of the enquiry point and contact point pursuant to the commitments undertaken in the international treaties to which Mexico is a party. INTERNAL REGULATIONS OF THE SE/LFMN PROMOTION DIRECTORATE Enquiry Point CONTACT POINT MINISTRY OF THE ECONOMY GDS General Directorate of Standards

Dissemination *Promotion *Training Information *Enquiry Point *Library *Sale of Standards AND *WTO Contact Point Promotion Directorate of the General Directorate of Standards Enquiry Point Auxiliary Secretariat and Sale of Standards Subdirectorate of Promotion Subdirectorate of the Enquiry Point Head of Department of the Enquiry Point Head of Training Department Enquiry Point Secretariat Library WTO Contact Point Promotion Directorate Support Secretariat

Importance of Information as an essential raw material Role of an Enquiry Point/Contact Point in providing, channelling and enhancing information as a liaison body between public and private entities at national and international level Status of the Enquiry Point/Contact Point governed by precise policies and guidelines established in the context of a Quality Management System ENQUIRY POINT AND WTO CONTACT POINT

Role The Enquiry Point constitutes an interface offering national and international reference support in respect of standards, conformity assessment and metrology. The Contact Point provides liaison services in the exchange of information between the WTO and its Members regarding notifications of projects and standards, information assessment procedures, code of conduct and the annual Standardization Programme within the framework of the TBT and SPS. ENQUIRY POINT AND WTO CONTACT POINT

Policies of the Contact Point ß The Contact Point is the body with exclusive responsibility in Mexico for notifications to the WTO. ß Permanent Mission in Geneva, a compulsory step for notifications to the WTO. ß National Advisory Committee and/or Standardization Directorate, a compulsory reference point in case of doubt. ENQUIRY POINT AND WTO CONTACT POINT

The Contact Point performs the following tasks: ß Reviews on a daily basis the Mexican Official Journal (Diario Oficial de la Federación – DOF) to check all references to national standards. Edits the indexes to the Official Journal and prints the full texts of NOMs and NMXs, or other documents relating to standardization or conformity assessment that have been published. ß Carries out a textual analysis of draft standards on the basis of the criteria laid down in the TBT and/or SPS agreements in order to determine whether or not notification is required. Captures notifications in accordance with WTO formats and an internal classification system. WTO CONTACT POINT

ß Simultaneously transmits notifications to the WTO, through our Permanent Mission in Geneva, to the United States and Canadian Contact Points under NAFTA, and to other countries with which Mexico has free trade agreements. ßFollows up requests from Contact Points, WTO Members or interested national and international parties. WTO CONTACT POINT

ß Follows up on comments received from our Permanent Mission in Geneva concerning the WTO. ß Prepares the notifications information bulletin: NOTIFICARNOM- ALERT. Captures notifications daily or as and when received, for automatic Internet placement:. WTO CONTACT POINT

Notificarnom-Alert on the Internet Background Distribution of the notifications bulletin in hard copy Non-interactive dissemination on the Internet, as a read-only catalogue Development of Notificarnom-Alert with automatic electronic feedback.

Notificarnom-Alert on the Internet Notifications Information Bulletin Mexican Standards Catalogue

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIRED STEPS PLANNING (define philosophy, documents) ESTABLISHMENT (do as required) ASSESSMENT (verify and measure) IMPROVEMENT (establish improvement plans, preventive measures)

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ISO ISO VISIONMISSION QUALITY POLICY ACTION PRINCIPLES General Directorate of Standards

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM V I S I O N To be one of the strategic pillars for maintaining competitiveness in the commercial and industrial sectors through comprehensive quality awareness.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM M I S S I O N To promote the application and enforcement of the Federal Law on Metrology and Standardization (LFMN) through the development of standards and participation in international standards in order to promote the competitiveness of commerce and industry, in the national and international fields.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Q U A L I T Y P O L I C Y Our commitment is to provide a timely and rules-based service, with the aim of satisfying our customers needs and enhancing our products and service, based on a process of quality management and continuous improvement.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM QUALITY CRITERIA –Customer focus –Teamwork –Honesty –Order and cleanliness –Punctuality –Timeliness –Training –Continuous improvement

QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FEATURES OF THE SYSTEM Meetings of the System Quality and Review Committee Continuous training on quality management topics Establishment of a group of internal auditors Internal meetings every month Internal audits: detect faults in the system (no fault opportunities for improvement), providing added value Handling of complaints Surveys and opinion polls Remedial and preventive action Improvement plans

COMMON OR RECURRING PROBLEMS IN THE INFORMATION SERVICES Process considered to be one of support and not key. Difficulty in evaluating results or real impact. Indirect or intangible benefits. No budget or reduction in human and physical resources. Lack of communication between the different players. Lack of continuity and follow-up (changes in staff, government, policies ).

COMMON OR RECURRING PROBLEMS IN THE INFORMATION SERVICES Difficulty in obtaining information and observing time-limits. Impossibility of giving full satisfaction to interested users as regards the translation of texts into English.

CHALLENGES Although neither the contact point nor the enquiry point has a budget, much has been achieved with meagre resources. We are managing to keep an Internet gateway operational. However, our challenge is to improve our work as information providers: by making it easier every day to access information.

CHALLENGES by establishing more effective communication as a means of securing the participation of the players and sectors involved (internal coordination, external dissemination to producers, manufacturers, distributors, traders, the academic community... ). by refining the Notificanorm-Alert service and seeking effective feedback. by possibly participating in new projects (example: preparation of a virtual technical assistance programme for the countries that require one, or preparation of information material).

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION