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81-475: The classifications listed below are from the A.A.R. Individual roads may use other designations. Illustrations show a typical member of the class detailed underneath the following a class description indicates a rare or obsolete type. The best-known activity of the NMRA is the defining of standards , and advisory documents known as Recommended Practices (RP), for model railroad equipment. Many standards defined by

162-756: A 55° thread angle and a thread depth of 0.640327 p and a radius of 0.137329 p , where p is the pitch. The thread pitch increased with diameter in steps specified on a chart. An example of the use of the Whitworth thread is the Royal Navy 's Crimean War gunboats. These were the first instance of "mass-production" techniques being applied to marine engineering. With the adoption of BSW by British railway lines, many of which had previously used their own standard both for threads and for bolt head and nut profiles, and improving manufacturing techniques, it came to dominate British manufacturing. American Unified Coarse

243-406: A certain period of time. This category includes global quotas with respect to specific countries, seasonal quotas, and so-called "voluntary export restraints". Quantitative controls on foreign trade transactions are carried out through one-time license. Quantitative restrictions on imports and exports are direct administrative forms of government regulation of foreign trade. Licenses and quotas limit

324-461: A certain product importer (exporter) to import (or export). One-time license indicates a quantity of goods, its cost, its country of origin (or destination), and in some cases also customs point through which import (or export) of goods should be carried out. The use of licensing systems as an instrument for foreign trade regulation is based on a number of international level standards agreements. In particular, these agreements include some provisions of

405-416: A conclusion on the legitimacy of these measures. Standards take a special place among non-tariff barriers. Countries usually impose standards on classification, labelling and testing of products to ensure that domestic products meet domestic standards, but also to restrict sales of products of foreign manufacture unless they meet or exceed these same standards. These standards are sometimes entered to protect

486-404: A larger network and attracting more consumers to use the new technology, further enhancing network effects. Other benefits of standardization to consumers are reduced uncertainty, because consumers can be more certain that they are not choosing the wrong product, and reduced lock-in, because the standard makes it more likely that there will be competing products in the space. Consumers may also get

567-441: A measuring instrument or procedure is similar to every subjects or patients. For example, educational psychologist may adopt structured interview to systematically interview the people in concern. By delivering the same procedures, all subjects is evaluated using same criteria and minimising any confounding variable that reduce the validity . Some other example includes mental status examination and personality test . In

648-504: A merger of two predecessor organizations (Bern and Paris treaties) that had similar objectives, but in more limited territories. With the advent of radiocommunication soon after the creation, the work of the ITU quickly expanded from the standardization of Telegraph communications, to developing standards for telecommunications in general. By the mid to late 19th century, efforts were being made to standardize electrical measurement. Lord Kelvin

729-448: A metal fastening on the other side were usually fastened in non-threaded ways (such as clinching or upsetting against a washer). Maudslay standardized the screw threads used in his workshop and produced sets of taps and dies that would make nuts and bolts consistently to those standards, so that any bolt of the appropriate size would fit any nut of the same size. This was a major advance in workshop technology. Maudslay's work, as well as

810-443: A normalization of formerly custom processes. In social sciences , including economics , the idea of standardization is close to the solution for a coordination problem , a situation in which all parties can realize mutual gains, but only by making mutually consistent decisions. Divergent national standards impose costs on consumers and can be a form of non-tariff trade barrier . Standard weights and measures were developed by

891-419: A possible way of international trade regulation. The second reason for the transition to NTBs is that these barriers can be used to support weak industries or compensation of industries which have been affected negatively by the reduction of tariffs. The third reason for the popularity of NTBs is the ability of interest groups to influence the process in the absence of opportunities to obtain government support for

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972-1028: A regional level (e.g. Europa, the Americas, Africa, etc) or at subregional level (e.g. Mercosur, Andean Community, South East Asia, South East Africa, etc), several Regional Standardization Organizations exist (see also Standards Organization ). The three regional standards organizations in Europe – European Standardization Organizations (ESOs), recognised by the EU Regulation on Standardization (Regulation (EU) 1025/2012) – are CEN , CENELEC and ETSI . CEN develops standards for numerous kinds of products, materials, services and processes. Some sectors covered by CEN include transport equipment and services, chemicals, construction, consumer products, defence and security, energy, food and feed, health and safety, healthcare, digital sector, machinery or services. The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)

1053-507: A scientific basis, the robustness and applicability of a scientific basis, whether adoption of the certifications is voluntary, and the socioeconomic context (systems of governance and the economy ), with possibly most certifications being so far mostly largely ineffective. Moreover, standardized scientific frameworks can enable evaluation of levels of environmental protection, such as of marine protected areas , and serve as, potentially evolving, guides for improving, planning and monitoring

1134-412: A state (through specially authorized office) issues permits for foreign trade transactions of import and export commodities included in the lists of licensed merchandises. Product licensing can take many forms and procedures. The main types of licenses are general license that permits unrestricted importation or exportation of goods included in the lists for a certain period of time; and one-time license for

1215-520: A variety of benefits and drawbacks for firms and consumers participating in the market, and on technology and innovation. The primary effect of standardization on firms is that the basis of competition is shifted from integrated systems to individual components within the system. Prior to standardization a company's product must span the entire system because individual components from different competitors are incompatible, but after standardization each company can focus on providing an individual component of

1296-531: A wide range of trade restrictions, available to the governments of industrialized countries, forcing them to resort to use the NTB, and putting serious obstacles to international trade and world economic growth. Thus, NTBs can be referred as a new form of protection which has replaced tariffs as an old form of protection. Professor Alan Deardorff characterises NTB policies under three headings: Purposes, Examples, and Consequences There are several different variants of

1377-497: Is a Canadian Crown Corporation , DGN is a governmental agency within the Mexican Ministry of Economy, and ANSI and AENOR are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with members from both the private and public sectors. The determinants of whether an NSB for a particular economy is a public or private sector body may include the historical and traditional roles that the private sector fills in public affairs in that economy or

1458-486: Is a limit on the amount of goods that can be exported from a country. There are different reasons for imposing export quotas from a country. These reasons include guaranteeing of the supply of the products that are in shortage in the domestic market, manipulation of the prices on the international level, and the control of goods strategically important for the country. In some cases, the importing countries request exporting countries to impose voluntary export restraints. In

1539-606: Is home of the A.C. Kalmbach Memorial Library, which houses model and prototype railroad books, periodicals, photos, videos, and reference materials, and was designated as the official railroad library of the state of Tennessee in 2004. In 2013 the NMRA started the process of moving the library to the California State Railroad Museum . The library was adjacent to the Norfolk Southern Railway Georgia Division and

1620-737: Is likely the sole member from that economy in ISO. NSBs may be either public or private sector organizations, or combinations of the two. For example, the three NSBs of Canada, Mexico and the United States are respectively the Standards Council of Canada ( SCC ), the General Bureau of Standards ( Dirección General de Normas , DGN), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). SCC

1701-578: Is not limited to the domain of electronic devices like smartphones and phone chargers but could also be applied to e.g. the energy infrastructure. Policy-makers could develop policies "fostering standard design and interfaces, and promoting the re-use of modules and components across plants to develop more sustainable energy infrastructure ". Computers and the Internet are some of the tools that could be used to increase practicability and reduce suboptimal results, detrimental standards and bureaucracy , which

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1782-666: Is often associated with traditional processes and results of standardization. Taxes and subsidies, and funding of research and development could be used complementarily. Standardized measurement is used in monitoring, reporting and verification frameworks of environmental impacts, usually of companies, for example to prevent underreporting of greenhouse gas emissions by firms. In routine product testing and product analysis results can be reported using official or informal standards. It can be done to increase consumer protection , to ensure safety or healthiness or efficiency or performance or sustainability of products. It can be carried out by

1863-624: Is subject to extensive administrative overheads that Turkey estimates costs the Turkish economy three billion euros per year. Testifying before the United States Senate Committee on Finance , Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness on " censorship as a non-tariff barrier " in 2020, Richard Gere stated that economic interest compel studios to avoid social and political issues Hollywood once addressed, "Imagine Marty Scorsese's Kundun, about

1944-707: Is the European Standardization organization developing standards in the electrotechnical area and corresponding to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in Europe. The first modern International Organization ( Intergovernmental Organization ) the International Telegraph Union (now International Telecommunication Union ) was created in 1865 to set international standards in order to connect national telegraph networks, as

2025-421: Is the fact that developed countries have sources of income other than tariffs. Historically, in the formation of nation-states , governments had to get funding. They received it through the introduction of tariffs. This explains the fact that most developing countries still rely on tariffs as a way to finance their spending. Developed countries can afford not to depend on tariffs, at the same time developing NTBs as

2106-607: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) / World Trade Organization (WTO) such as the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures . An importing country may require the prospective exporter to include a degree of local participation in the product or service. Options include a designated importer, a joint-venture company with majority local control, requirement for complete local manufacture which may imply transfer of intellectual property . The WTO has not reached

2187-576: The Indus Valley civilization . The centralized weight and measure system served the commercial interest of Indus merchants as smaller weight measures were used to measure luxury goods while larger weights were employed for buying bulkier items, such as food grains etc. Weights existed in multiples of a standard weight and in categories. Technical standardisation enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in angular measurement and measurement for construction. Uniform units of length were used in

2268-701: The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum . It is named for Al C. Kalmbach , founder of Kalmbach Publishing , whose original magazines are Model Railroader and Trains . Standardization Standardization ( American English ) or standardisation ( British English ) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization can help maximize compatibility , interoperability , safety , repeatability , or quality . It can also facilitate

2349-524: The World Trade Organization , non-tariff barriers to trade include import licensing, rules for valuation of goods at customs, pre-shipment inspections, rules of origin ('made in'), and trade prepared investment measures. A 2019 UNCTAD report concluded that trade costs associated with non-tariff measures were more than double those of traditional tariffs. One of the reasons why industrialized countries have moved from tariffs to NTBs

2430-543: The standard unit of electric current . R. E. B. Crompton became concerned by the large range of different standards and systems used by electrical engineering companies and scientists in the early 20th century. Many companies had entered the market in the 1890s and all chose their own settings for voltage , frequency , current and even the symbols used on circuit diagrams. Adjacent buildings would have totally incompatible electrical systems simply because they had been fitted out by different companies. Crompton could see

2511-555: The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing), as well as GATT articles. NTBs in the field of services have become as important as in the field of trade in goods. Most of the NTB can be defined as protectionist measures, unless they are related to difficulties in the market, such as externalities and information asymmetries between consumers and producers of goods. An example of this is safety standards and labeling requirements. The need to protect sensitive to import industries, as well as

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2592-594: The Hobby & NMRA Member. A full explanation of each program along with applications can be found on the NMRA website. Promotion of the model railroading hobby is also part of the NMRA's purpose. Of note, the organization provides indirect assistance to the Boy Scouts of America 's Railroading Merit badge program by encouraging members (through a hierarchy of National and Regional volunteer Boy Scout Coordinators) to become Railroading Merit Badge Counselors. The NMRA

2673-491: The NMRA are widely followed by the industry and modellers, including their H0 scale track and wheel standards (S-3, S-4) and related RPs (RP2, 8, 10-15, and 25) and their Digital Command Control (DCC) standard set (S-9.1, S-9.2, and RP9.1.1 through RP9.3.2). The RP25 wheel design in particular has been critical in ensuring the reliability and interoperability of US-prototype model railroad equipment, since practically every manufacturer of such equipment uses wheels conforming to

2754-654: The National Standardizing Associations (ISA) was founded in 1926 with a broader remit to enhance international cooperation for all technical standards and specifications. The body was suspended in 1942 during World War II . After the war, ISA was approached by the recently formed United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee (UNSCC) with a proposal to form a new global standards body. In October 1946, ISA and UNSCC delegates from 25 countries met in London and agreed to join forces to create

2835-681: The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards ( OASIS ). There are many specifications that govern the operation and interaction of devices and software on the Internet , which do not use the term "standard" in their names. The W3C , for example, publishes "Recommendations", and the IETF publishes " Requests for Comments " (RFCs). Nevertheless, these publications are often referred to as "standards", because they are

2916-657: The RP. This is in marked contrast to the British market, in which there is no accepted standard among manufacturers. In Europe , the Normen Europäischer Modellbahnen (NEM) has the same role, and although there is fairly close cooperation between the two organisations the standards differ in some aspects. At times this results in some models not working as intended on layouts that mix European and American rolling stock and trackwork. The NMRA considers

2997-557: The benefit of being able to mix and match components of a system to align with their specific preferences. Once these initial benefits of standardization are realized, further benefits that accrue to consumers as a result of using the standard are driven mostly by the quality of the technologies underlying that standard. Non-tariff barriers to trade Non-tariff barriers to trade ( NTBs ; also called non-tariff measures , NTMs ) are trade barriers that restrict imports or exports of goods or services through mechanisms other than

3078-491: The context of customer service , standardization refers to the process of developing an international standard that enables organizations to focus on customer service, while at the same time providing recognition of success through a third party organization, such as the British Standards Institution . An international standard has been developed by The International Customer Service Institute . In

3159-635: The context of supply chain management and materials management , standardization covers the process of specification and use of any item the company must buy in or make, allowable substitutions, and build or buy decisions. The process of standardization can itself be standardized. There are at least four levels of standardization: compatibility, interchangeability , commonality and reference . These standardization processes create compatibility, similarity, measurement, and symbol standards. There are typically four different techniques for standardization Types of standardization process: Standardization has

3240-683: The context of information exchange, standardization refers to the process of developing standards for specific business processes using specific formal languages . These standards are usually developed in voluntary consensus standards bodies such as the United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business ( UN/CEFACT ), the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C ), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), and

3321-550: The context of social criticism and social science , standardization often means the process of establishing standards of various kinds and improving efficiency to handle people, their interactions, cases, and so forth. Examples include formalization of judicial procedure in court, and establishing uniform criteria for diagnosing mental disease. Standardization in this sense is often discussed along with (or synonymously to) such large-scale social changes as modernization, bureaucratization, homogenization, and centralization of society. In

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3402-526: The contributions of other engineers, accomplished a modest amount of industry standardization; some companies' in-house standards spread a bit within their industries. Joseph Whitworth 's screw thread measurements were adopted as the first (unofficial) national standard by companies around the country in 1841. It came to be known as the British Standard Whitworth , and was widely adopted in other countries. This new standard specified

3483-703: The cost of imported goods. At the national level, administrative regulation of capital movements between states is carried out mainly within a framework of bilateral agreements, which include a clear definition of the legal regime, the procedure for the admission of investments and investors. It is determined by mode (fair and equitable, national, ' most favoured nation '), order of nationalization and compensation, transfer profits and capital repatriation and dispute resolution. The most common instruments of direct regulation of imports (and sometimes export) are licenses and quotas. Almost all industrialized countries apply these non-tariff methods. The license system requires that

3564-727: The country, and enabled the markets to act more rationally and efficiently, with an increased level of cooperation. After the First World War , similar national bodies were established in other countries. The Deutsches Institut für Normung was set up in Germany in 1917, followed by its counterparts, the American National Standard Institute and the French Commission Permanente de Standardisation , both in 1918. At

3645-420: The development stage of that economy. Standards can be: The existence of a published standard does not necessarily imply that it is useful or correct. Just because an item is stamped with a standard number does not, by itself, indicate that the item is fit for any particular use. The people who use the item or service (engineers, trade unions, etc.) or specify it (building codes, government, industry, etc.) have

3726-700: The division or classification of non-tariff barriers. Some scholars divide them between internal taxes, administrative barriers, health and sanitary regulations and government procurement policies. Others divide them into more categories such as specific limitations on trade, customs and administrative entry procedures, standards, government participation in trade, charges on import, and other categories. The first category includes methods to directly import restrictions for protection of certain sectors of national industries: licensing and allocation of import quotas, antidumping and countervailing duties, import deposits, so-called voluntary export restraints, countervailing duties,

3807-690: The education of model railroaders and the encouraging of learning and improving modelers' skills to be part of its mission. The NMRA runs an achievement program to encourage these skills, and runs modeling contests. Most notably these include the Master Model Railroader certification program and the Golden Spike award. Both programs involve the demonstration and/or judging of proficiency in one or more model railroading skill areas. These areas include Railroad Equipment, Railroad Setting, Railroad Construction & Operation and also Service to

3888-478: The fact that licensing and quota systems are an important instrument of trade regulation of the vast majority of the world. This type of trade barrier normally leads to increased costs and limited selection of goods for consumers and higher import prices for companies. Import quotas can be unilateral, levied by the country without negotiations with exporting country; or bilateral or multilateral, when they are imposed after negotiations and agreements. An export quota

3969-521: The import or promoting the export, but the effects of which often lead to this result. The non-tariff barriers can include wide variety of restrictions to trade. Administrative and bureaucratic delays at the border increase uncertainty and the cost of maintaining inventory. For example, even though Turkey is in a (partial) customs union with the EU , transport of Turkish goods to the European Union

4050-423: The importing country. Thus, the agreement on "voluntary" export restraints is imposed by the exporter under the threat of sanctions to limit the export of certain goods to the importing country. Similarly, the establishment of minimum import prices should be strictly observed by the exporting firms in contracts with the importers of the country that has set such prices. In the case of reduction of export prices below

4131-511: The independence of enterprises with a regard to entering foreign markets, narrowing the range of countries in which firms can conduct trade for certain commodities. They regulate the range and number of goods permitted for import and export. However, the system of licensing and quota imports and exports, establishing firm control over foreign trade in certain goods, in many cases turns out to be more flexible and effective than economic instruments of foreign trade regulation. This can be explained by

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4212-471: The international level . Standardization is also used to ensure safe design and operation of laboratories and similar potentially dangerous workplaces, e.g. to ensure biosafety levels . There is research into microbiology safety standards used in clinical and research laboratories. In the context of defense, standardization has been defined by NATO as The development and implementation of concepts, doctrines, procedures and designs to achieve and maintain

4293-630: The lack of efficiency in this system and began to consider proposals for an international standard for electric engineering. In 1904, Crompton represented Britain at the International Electrical Congress , held in connection with Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis as part of a delegation by the Institute of Electrical Engineers . He presented a paper on standardisation, which was so well received that he

4374-633: The life of the Dalai Lama, or my own film Red Corner, which is highly critical of the Chinese legal system. Imagine them being made today. It wouldn't happen." Embargoes are outright prohibition of trade in certain commodities. As well as quotas, embargoes may be imposed on imports or exports of particular goods in respect of certain goods supplied to or from specific countries, or in respect of all goods shipped to certain countries. Although an embargo may be imposed for biosecurity reasons, more often

4455-475: The management of transactions between national and foreign operators, either by limiting the supply of foreign currency (to restrict imports) or by state manipulation of exchange rates (to boost exports and limit imports). Another example of foreign trade regulations is import deposits. Import deposits is a form of deposit, which the importer must pay the central bank for a definite period of time (non-interest bearing deposit) in an amount equal to all or part of

4536-645: The manufacturer, an independent laboratory, a government agency, a magazine or others on a voluntary or commissioned/mandated basis. Estimating the environmental impacts of food products in a standardized way – as has been done with a dataset of >57,000 food products in supermarkets – could e.g. be used to inform consumers or in policy . For example, such may be useful for approaches using personal carbon allowances (or similar quota) or for targeted alteration of (ultimate overall) costs . Public information symbols (e.g. hazard symbols ), especially when related to safety, are often standardized, sometimes on

4617-663: The minimum level, the importing country imposes anti-dumping duty, which could lead to withdrawal from the market. “Voluntary" export agreements affect trade in textiles, footwear, dairy products, consumer electronics, cars, machine tools, etc. Problems arise when the quotas are distributed between countries because it is necessary to ensure that products from one country are not diverted in violation of quotas set out in second country. Import quotas are not necessarily designed to protect domestic producers. For example, Japan maintains quotas on many agricultural products it does not produce. Quotas on imports are used as leverage when negotiating

4698-484: The new International Organization for Standardization (ISO); the new organization officially began operations in February ;1947. In general, each country or economy has a single recognized National Standards Body (NSB). Examples include ABNT , AENOR (now called UNE, Spanish Association for Standardization ) , AFNOR , ANSI , BSI , DGN , DIN , IRAM , JISC , KATS , SABS , SAC , SCC , SIS . An NSB

4779-754: The onset of the Industrial Revolution and the need for high-precision machine tools and interchangeable parts . Henry Maudslay developed the first industrially practical screw-cutting lathe in 1800. This allowed for the standardization of screw thread sizes for the first time and paved the way for the practical application of interchangeability (an idea that was already taking hold) to nuts and bolts . Before this, screw threads were usually made by chipping and filing (that is, with skilled freehand use of chisels and files ). Nuts were rare; metal screws, when made at all, were usually for use in wood. Metal bolts passing through wood framing to

4860-422: The past decade, a widespread practice of concluding agreements on the "voluntary" export restrictions and the establishment of import minimum prices imposed by leading Western nations upon exporters that are weaker in an economical or political sense. These types of restrictions involve the establishment of unconventional techniques when trade barriers are introduced at the border of the exporting country instead of

4941-660: The planning of towns such as Lothal , Surkotada , Kalibangan , Dolavira , Harappa , and Mohenjo-daro . The weights and measures of the Indus civilization also reached Persia and Central Asia , where they were further modified. Shigeo Iwata describes the excavated weights unearthed from the Indus civilization: A total of 558 weights were excavated from Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and Chanhu-daro , not including defective weights. They did not find statistically significant differences between weights that were excavated from five different layers, each measuring about 1.5 m in depth. This

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5022-497: The products of regular standardization processes. Standardized product certifications such as of organic food , buildings or possibly sustainable seafood as well as standardized product safety evaluation and dis/approval procedures (e.g. regulation of chemicals , cosmetics and food safety ) can protect the environment. This effect may depend on associated modified consumer choices , strategic product support/obstruction, requirements and bans as well as their accordance with

5103-457: The protection-quality, -scopes and -extents. Moreover, technical standards could decrease electronic waste and reduce resource-needs such as by thereby requiring (or enabling) products to be interoperable , compatible (with other products, infrastructures, environments, etc), durable , energy-efficient , modular , upgradeable / repairable and recyclable and conform to versatile, optimal standards and protocols. Such standardization

5184-434: The reasons are political (see economic sanctions and international sanctions ). Embargoes are generally considered legal barriers to trade, not to be confused with blockades , which are often considered to be acts of war . Foreign exchange restrictions and foreign exchange controls occupy an important place among the non-tariff regulatory instruments of foreign economic activity. Foreign exchange restrictions constitute

5265-627: The required levels of compatibility , interchangeability or commonality in the operational, procedural, material, technical and administrative fields to attain interoperability. In some cases, standards are being used in the design and operation of workplaces and products that can impact consumers' health. Some of such standards seek to ensure occupational safety and health and ergonomics . For example, chairs (see e.g. active sitting and steps of research ) could be potentially be designed and chosen using standards that may or may not be based on adequate scientific data. Standards could reduce

5346-591: The responsibility to consider the available standards, specify the correct one, enforce compliance, and use the item correctly: validation and verification . To avoid the proliferation of industry standards, also referred to as private standards , regulators in the United States are instructed by their government offices to adopt "voluntary consensus standards" before relying upon "industry standards" or developing "government standards". Regulatory authorities can reference voluntary consensus standards to translate internationally accepted criteria into public policy . In

5427-569: The result, prices for these products increased in importing countries. A quota can be a tariff rate quota , global quota , discriminating quota , and export quota . The scarcity of information on non-tariff barriers is a major problem to the competitiveness of developing countries. As a result, the International Trade Centre conducted national surveys and began publishing a series of technical papers on non-tariff barriers faced in developing countries. By 2015 it launched

5508-446: The safety and health of local populations and the natural environment. Standards which are ostensibly enacted for health and safety reasons can be used by states for trade protectionist and political purposes. Licensing of foreign trade is closely related to quantitative restrictions – quotas – on imports and exports of certain goods. A quota is a limitation in value or in physical terms, imposed on import and export of certain goods for

5589-596: The sales of Japanese exports, as well as avoiding excessive dependence on any other country with respect to necessary food; the supplies of which could decrease in case of bad weather or political conditions. Export quotas can be set in order to provide domestic consumers with sufficient stocks of goods at low prices, to prevent the depletion of natural resources, as well as to increase export prices by restricting supply to foreign markets. Such restrictions (through agreements on various types of goods) allow producing countries to use quotas for such commodities as coffee and oil; as

5670-495: The simple imposition of tariffs . Such barriers are subject to controversy and debate, as they may comply with international rules on trade yet serve protectionist purposes. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) defines a non-tariff barrier as " any obstacle to international trade that is not an import or export duty. They may take the form of import quotas , subsidies, customs delays, technical barriers, or other systems preventing or impeding trade ". According to

5751-607: The size and weight of a girder to employ for given work." The Engineering Standards Committee was established in London in 1901 as the world's first national standards body. It subsequently extended its standardization work and became the British Engineering Standards Association in 1918, adopting the name British Standards Institution in 1931 after receiving its Royal Charter in 1929. The national standards were adopted universally throughout

5832-464: The system of minimum import prices, etc. Under second category follow methods that are not directly aimed at restricting foreign trade and more related to the administrative bureaucracy, whose actions, however, restrict trade, for example: customs procedures, technical standards and norms, sanitary and veterinary standards, requirements for labeling and packaging, bottling, etc. The third category consists of methods that are not directly aimed at restricting

5913-465: The system. When the shift toward competition based on individual components takes place, firms selling tightly integrated systems must quickly shift to a modular approach, supplying other companies with subsystems or components. Standardization has a variety of benefits for consumers, but one of the greatest benefits is enhanced network effects. Standards increase compatibility and interoperability between products, allowing information to be shared within

5994-546: The tariffs. With the exception of export subsidies and quotas, NTBs are most similar to the tariffs. Tariffs for goods production were reduced during the eight rounds of negotiations in the WTO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). After lowering of tariffs, the principle of protectionism demanded the introduction of new NTBs such as technical barriers to trade (TBT). According to statements made at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, 2005),

6075-574: The use of NTBs, based on the amount and control of price levels has decreased significantly from 45% in 1994 to 15% in 2004, while use of other NTBs increased from 55% in 1994 to 85% in 2004. Increasing consumer demand for safe and environment friendly products also have had their impact on increasing popularity of TBT. Many NTBs are governed by WTO agreements, which originated in the Uruguay Round (the TBT Agreement, SPS Measures Agreement,

6156-411: The variety of products and lead to convergence on fewer broad designs – which can often be efficiently mass-produced via common shared automated procedures and instruments – or formulations deemed to be the most healthy, most efficient or best compromise between healthiness and other factors. Standardization is sometimes or could also be used to ensure or increase or enable consumer health protection beyond

6237-420: The workplace and ergonomics such as standards in food, food production, hygiene products, tab water, cosmetics, drugs/medicine, drink and dietary supplements, especially in cases where there is robust scientific data that suggests detrimental impacts on health (e.g. of ingredients) despite being substitutable and not necessarily of consumer interest. In the context of assessment, standardization may define how

6318-464: Was an important figure in this process, introducing accurate methods and apparatus for measuring electricity. In 1857, he introduced a series of effective instruments, including the quadrant electrometer, which cover the entire field of electrostatic measurement. He invented the current balance , also known as the Kelvin balance or Ampere balance ( SiC ), for the precise specification of the ampere ,

6399-545: Was asked to look into the formation of a commission to oversee the process. By 1906 his work was complete and he drew up a permanent constitution for the International Electrotechnical Commission . The body held its first meeting that year in London, with representatives from 14 countries. In honour of his contribution to electrical standardisation, Lord Kelvin was elected as the body's first President. The International Federation of

6480-405: Was evidence that strong control existed for at least a 500-year period. The 13.7-g weight seems to be one of the units used in the Indus valley. The notation was based on the binary and decimal systems. 83% of the weights which were excavated from the above three cities were cubic, and 68% were made of chert . The implementation of standards in industry and commerce became highly important with

6561-938: Was originally based on almost the same imperial fractions. The Unified thread angle is 60° and has flattened crests (Whitworth crests are rounded). Thread pitch is the same in both systems except that the thread pitch for the 1 ⁄ 2  in. (inch) bolt is 12 threads per inch (tpi) in BSW versus 13 tpi in the UNC. By the end of the 19th century, differences in standards between companies were making trade increasingly difficult and strained. For instance, an iron and steel dealer recorded his displeasure in The Times : "Architects and engineers generally specify such unnecessarily diverse types of sectional material or given work that anything like economical and continuous manufacture becomes impossible. In this country no two professional men are agreed upon

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