Technical Standards and Regulatory Compliance Projects and Transactions

We have spent considerable effort over the years to overcome government regulations and other “non-tariff barriers”. These constitute the principal obstacle to manufacturers and exporters of value-added products worldwide.  Under the WTO regime, members are obligated to eliminate non-tariff barriers to imports, particularly nontransparent systems of setting product technical standards and the procedures used to certify compliance with those standards. As an integral part of our aggressive representation of clients in business matters, where our client’s products or services are regulated, we obtain regulatory approvals enabling clients exploit WTO trade liberalization.

Our pioneering efforts toward convincing Japan’s Ministries to open their historically non-transparent regulatory systems to non-Japanese manufacturers – including particularly the government-driven product technical standards and regulatory approval systems -- have led to billions of dollars in increased U.S. and third-country exports.

And Japan is often a metaphor for the rest of the world. China and other Asian countries seek to replicate Japan’s success in selectively restricting imports by employing non-transparent regulatory schemes against imports of value-added products like U.S. medical devices, telecom, agricultural products, and the like.

Drawing on Foster’s work as Special Counsel to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, we have a track record of successfully breaking down technical barriers to trade. And we’ve obtained regulatory approvals in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Europe, and in the U.S. for products ranging from testing laboratories to medical devices to processed foods to telecom equipment.

One example is our work for Fluid Management (now a division of IDEX).
Our work for Northwestern Steel and Wire in Illinois, enabling certification by the Government of Japan of Northwestern’s steel mill and export of its steel to Japan is documented in the Chicago Tribune.

We created our proprietary consultancy TRADE, Ltd., in order to serve the technical standards certification and regulatory compliance needs of clients worldwide. T.R.A.D.E., Ltd., represents companies, consortia and trade associations worldwide. One recent example is our work for the City of Osaka.

REPRESENTATIVE REGULATORY APPROVALS and
TECHNICAL STANDARDS COMPLIANCE PROJECTS