As the leader of Canada’s standardization network, SCC is working with Canadian companies to help them bring their innovative ideas and products to the world. The international trade arena is more complex and competitive than ever before; some estimates contend that up to 80% of world trade is impacted by standardization.

One way SCC is supporting access to new markets is by helping to implement the Conformity Assessment (CA) Protocol within the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Supporting Stakeholders

CETA addresses technical barriers to trade and includes measures to facilitate and simplify the conformity assessment process for exporters of products between the Canadian and EU markets.

The goal of the CA Protocol is to have CABs with a Canadian legal presence recognized to certify/test to EU requirements, with recognition underpinned by SCC accreditation, while also having EU CABs recognized to certify/test to Canadian requirements, with recognition underpinned by accreditation from an EU National Accreditation Body. This will reduce costs and administrative delays for Canadian and EU companies. 

Through SCC’s agreement with the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), SCC plays a key role in helping to implement the CA Protocol. SCC and EA initiated work to implement the Protocol in 2017. 

The CA Protocol does not restrict Canadian and EU regulators from setting their own requirements. It simply provides a mechanism for mutual recognition of testing/certification to certain requirements. The CA Protocol only applies to the certification of products in select product categories by accredited third-party CABs. 

Update, March 2019

In November 2018, the EU informed Global Affairs Canada (GAC) that the European Commission (EC) is determining its internal process for recognizing SCC as competent to accredit Canadian CABs to certify/test to EU requirements under the terms of the CA Protocol. As such, SCC is awaiting EC recognition before being able to designate CABs on behalf of the government of Canada. There is no timeline for when this recognition is expected, but it has delayed some of the work that SCC and EA are doing to implement the Protocol. The EU has indicated to Canada that it remains committed to the implementation of the Protocol as soon as possible.

Despite this delay, SCC and EA continue our work in implementing the CA Protocol. Our goal is to be ready to implement mutual recognition in as many areas as possible once recognition is granted to SCC. Additionally, SCC and EA are exploring the feasibility of potential temporary solutions to mitigate the impact of this delay.

Further Reading

• Summary of the Information Session on the CA Protocol of CETA
• Summary of the 2nd Information Session on the CA Protocol of CETA

For more information on the CA Protocol, please contact CETAinfo@scc.ca.
For general inquiries and additional information on the implementation of CETA, please visit the Global Affairs Canada web page about CETA.