WORLD TRADE G/TBT/Notif.97.609
2October 1997
ORGANIZATION
(97-4159)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification isbeing circulated inaccordance withArticle 10.6.
1. Member toAgreement notifying: UNITED STATES
Ifapplicable, name oflocalgovernment involved (Articles 3.2and7.2):
2. Agency responsible: Department ofCommerce (19)
Agency orauthority designated tohandle comments regarding thenotification canbe
indicated ifdifferent from above:
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X],2.10.1 [],5.6.2 [],5.7.1 [],other:
4. Products covered (HSorCCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICSnumbers maybeprovided inaddition, where applicable):
Fasteners (HSChapter 3926.90)
5. Title, number ofpages andlanguage(s) ofthenotified document: Procedures for
Implementation oftheFastener Quality Act(21pages, available inEnglish)
6. Description ofcontent: Thisproposal requests comments onproposed changes tothe
Regulations found atTitle 15Code ofFederal Regulations Part280pertaining to
implementation oftheFastener Quality Act. Theproposed changes allow accreditation
ofin-process inspection activities ofqualifying statistical process control manufacturing
facilities, address theissue ofpassing laboratory inspection andtesting reports along the
supply chain tothefastener manufacturer, address theissue ofsignificant alteration by
removal ofmanufacturer orgrade identification markings fordecorative purposes atthe
customer 'srequest, address theissue ofgrandfathering fasteners, andrevise definitions
andrelated sections forclarity andtocorrect editorial error.
7. Objective andrationale: Tofacilitate theimplementation oftheFastener Quality Act
andRegulations andbetter accommodate modern industry practices byincorporating
them intotheFastener Quality Actcertification process.
8. Relevant documents: 62FR47240, 8September 1997; 15CFR Part280. Willappear
intheFederal Register when adopted.
9. Proposed dateofadoption: Tobedetermined
Proposed dateofentry intoforce:
10. Final dateforcomments: 7November 1997
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X]oraddress andtelefax number ofother
body: