subpart 2—standards-related measures
§2576. General
(a) No bar to engaging in standards activity
Nothing in this subpart shall be construed—
(1) to prohibit a Federal agency from engaging in activity related to standards-related measures, including any such measure relating to safety, the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the environment or consumers; or
(2) to limit the authority of a Federal agency to determine the level it considers appropriate of safety or of protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the environment or consumers.
(b) Exclusion
This subpart does not apply to—
(1) technical specifications prepared by a Federal agency for production or consumption requirements of the agency; or
(2) sanitary or phytosanitary measures under subpart 1.
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§2576a. Inquiry point
The standards information center maintained under
(1) the membership and participation of the Federal Government, State governments, and relevant nongovernmental bodies in the United States in international and regional standardizing bodies and conformity assessment systems, and in bilateral and multilateral arrangements regarding standards-related measures, and the provisions of those systems and arrangements;
(2) the location of notices of the type required under article 909 of the NAFTA, or where the information contained in such notice can be obtained; and
(3) the Federal agency procedures for assessment of risk, and factors the agency considers in conducting the assessment and establishing the levels of protection that the agency considers appropriate.
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§2576b. Subpart definitions
Notwithstanding
(1) Approval procedure
The term "approval procedure" means any registration, notification, or other mandatory administrative procedure for granting permission for a good or service to be produced, marketed, or used for a stated purpose or under stated conditions.
(2) Conformity assessment procedure
The term "conformity assessment procedure" means any procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that a technical regulation or standard is fulfilled, including sampling, testing, inspection, evaluation, verification, monitoring, auditing, assurance of conformity, accreditation, registration, or approval used for such a purpose, but does not mean an approval procedure.
(3) Objective
The term "objective" includes—
(A) safety,
(B) protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the environment or consumers, including matters relating to quality and identifiability of goods or services, and
(C) sustainable development,
but does not include the protection of domestic production.
(4) Service
The term "service" means a land transportation service or a telecommunications service.
(5) Standard
The term "standard" means—
(A) characteristics for a good or a service,
(B) characteristics, rules, or guidelines for—
(i) processes or production methods relating to such good, or
(ii) operating methods relating to such service, and
(C) provisions specifying terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labelling for—
(i) a good or its related process or production methods, or
(ii) a service or its related operating methods,
for common and repeated use, including explanatory and other related provisions set out in a document approved by a standardizing body, with which compliance is not mandatory.
(6) Standards-related measure
The term "standards-related measure" means a standard, technical regulation, or conformity assessment procedure.
(7) Technical regulation
The term "technical regulation" means—
(A) characteristics or their related processes and production methods for a good,
(B) characteristics for a service or its related operating methods, or
(C) provisions specifying terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labelling for—
(i) a good or its related process or production method, or
(ii) a service or its related operating method,
set out in a document, including applicable administrative, explanatory, and other related provisions, with which compliance is mandatory.
(8) Telecommunications service
The term "telecommunications service" means a service provided by means of the transmission and reception of signals by any electromagnetic means, but does not mean the cable, broadcast, or other electromagnetic distribution of radio or television programming to the public generally.
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