10/15/2012
Jerusalem – Deputy United States Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro and Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour Shalom Simhon today signed an agreement that will ease burdens on U.S. companies, especially smaller manufacturers, seeking to export telecommunications products to Israel, while maintaining the United States’ high technical standards and facilitating cross-border trade. Under the Mutual Recognition Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of Israel for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment, Israeli regulatory authorities will now accept tests that recognized U.S. laboratories perform to determine the conformity of telecommunications equipment with Israeli technical requirements, rather than requiring additional testing by Israeli laboratories, before American products can be sold in Israel. The Agreement also allows for the United States and Israel to agree in the future to accept equipment certifications from recognized conformity assessment bodies in the United States and Israel on a mutual basis. The full text of the Agreement is available here.
“This Agreement will save American manufacturers money and time. It will facilitate trade by allowing for product testing and certification only once, in the United States, prior to exporting the product to Israel,” said Ambassador Sapiro.
Background
Israel is an important U.S. trading partner. In 2011, two-way trade between the United States and Israel totaled over $31 billion. This Agreement further strengthens the mutually beneficial U.S.-Israel trade relationship and supports American and Israeli businesses and workers with new opportunities for greater growth.
The Agreement streamlines the conformity assessment process by permitting recognized U.S. laboratories to test telecommunications products for conformity with Israeli technical requirements, and vice versa. The Agreement also provides that, in the future, the United States and Israel can agree to the mutual acceptance of equipment certifications by recognized conformity assessment bodies in the United States and Israel. The Agreement will save manufacturers the time and expense of additional product testing and certification, which is expected to lower prices for consumers and boost exports.
The Agreement covers equipment subject to telecommunications regulation, including wire and wireless equipment, and terrestrial and satellite equipment. The Agreement fully preserves the authority of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to determine the technical requirements it considers appropriate, and in no way lowers current U.S. safety requirements.
The Agreement will enter into force after both the United States and Israel have completed all internal legal requirements.
