Abstract:

Conformity assessment, as a crucial means of ensuring that products meet technical regulations or standards, serves as both a "passport" for international trade and a major vehicle for technical barriers to trade.In response to the practical needs of deep integration within regional value chains, regional trade agreements establish a higher-level coordination framework for international regulations on conformity assessment by deepening and upgrading the provisions of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.Based on a review and comparison of the conformity assessment provisions in major regional trade agreements such as the CPTPP, USMCA, EJEPA, and RCEP, the analysis reveals that China's conformity assessment regulatory practices still lag behind international high-standard economic and trade rules in areas such as non-discriminatory treatment of conformity assessment bodies, participation in international standard-setting, and fulfillment of transparency requirements. Therefore, it is recommended to focus on four key areas—improving the Certification and Accreditation Regulations, leading international standard-setting, fostering internationally recognized conformity assessment bodies, and optimizing transparency mechanisms—to build a conformity assessment system that integrates international norms with domestic characteristics, thereby providing robust support for high-level opening-up.

Key words: conformity assessment, regional trade agreement, regulatory coordination