Mexican Ministry of Economy presents reform project "Law on Quality Infrastructure”

On August 23 the Mexican Ministry of Economy (SE) presented a comprehensive reform of the existing Law on Metrology and Standardization in Mexico City in the presence of the Minister of Economy, Dr. Graciela Márquez Colín, entitled “Law on Quality Infrastructure”.

 

The overall objective of the reform is to introduce a harmonized system in which the individual pillars of QI (standardization, conformity assessment and metrology) are not viewed in isolation and to strengthen a systemic view of the Quality Infrastructure system.

 

The work of all the ministries and authorities involved will be organized and coordinated in a uniform manner. To this end, the National Commission for Standardization will be appointed as the supervisory and control body of the Quality Infrastructure system.

 

It defines important areas of work and is responsible for the coordination and integration of the various regulatory authorities and other actors involved. The preparation of the Official Mexican Standards (NOM) will continue to be entrusted exclusively to government bodies. The Mexican government is placing consumer protection at the center of its interest.

 

The reform project also aims to strengthen conformity assessment, inter alia by including the provision of an appropriate conformity assessment infrastructure in the preparation of a new NOM. The precise characteristics of the conformity assessment procedures will be developed according to the level of risk or protection of the NOM.

 

Accredited conformity assessment bodies and persons will be regularly inspected by the relevant ministries to ensure that their tasks are fulfilled as required.
The elaboration of NOM shall become more agile and efficient by using IT and communication technologies. This includes, for example, the use of a new Integral Platform for Standardization and Conformity Assessment to be established for procedural processes, the preparation of NOM and as an information archive.

 

Moreover, the new Quality Infrastructure Law will establish clear and effective rules for the elaboration, modification and cancellation of NOMs and requirements for the standardization process, and a systematic review process will be introduced in which the reasons for the need to modify or cancel NOMs must be stated. In addition, an incentive system is to be initiated to strengthen compliance with the NOMs through a manufacturer self-declaration system.

 

To facilitate international trade, the signing of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) by accreditation and conformity assessment bodies and the SE will be promoted.

 

The project may be commented on until 31 August. It will then be transferred to a formal legislative procedure, which will be launched promptly.

 

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact the GPQI team in Mexico (contact: Mr. Daniel Solterbeck, daniel.solterbeck@giz.de).