The U.S. government has asked several countries to reconsider their domestic testing policies and adopt international certification criteria for telecommunications equipment in an annual report released by the U.S. Trade Representative earlier this month.
In India, current policies allegedly make it difficult for international manufacturers to sell their products in the country because it requires the testing of “all telecommunications equipment deemed to raise security concerns” to take place inside the country.
“The U.S. government and industry continue to press India to reconsider the domestic testing policy and to adopt the international practice of using international common criteria and accepting products tested in any accredited lab, whether located in India or elsewhere,” the USTR said in the report.
Manufacturers looking to sell telecommunications equipment in Brazil and China are also required to submit all telecommunications equipment for testing within the country before the equipment can be made available in that country’s market, requirements that allegedly “cause redundant testing, higher costs and delayed time to market.”
The report also touched upon concerns that several “voluntary” standards proposed by China could restrict international access to several Chinese markets, including the wireless local area network and 4G LTE equipment markets, if the standards were to become mandatory “either through incorporation into technical regulations or integration into the certification and type approval schemes of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA).”
