Overview

Products tested and certified in the United States will likely have to be re-tested and re-certified to EU requirements as a result of the EU’s different approach to the protection of the health and safety of consumers and the environment.  Where products are not regulated by specific EU technical legislation, they are always subject to the EU’s General Product Safety Directive as well as to possible additional national requirements.

While harmonization of EU legislation can facilitate access to the EU Single Market, manufacturers should be aware that regulations (mandatory) and technical standards (voluntary) might also function as barriers to trade if U.S. standards are different from those of the European Union.

Standards

The Standardization, Accreditation and Metrology Centre (SAMC) is a limited liability company under the supervision of the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, which acts as the national standards body of Latvia.  SAMC – LVS (https://www.lvs.lv/en ) and Latak (https://www.latak.gov.lv/).

For detailed information on standards for trade in the European Union please check European-Union-Trade-Standards.

Testing, Inspection and Certification

Conformity Assessment is a mandatory step for the manufacturer in the process of complying with specific EU legislation.  The purpose of conformity assessment is to ensure consistency of compliance during all stages, from design to production, to facilitate acceptance of the final product.  EU product legislation gives manufacturers some choice regarding conformity assessment, depending on the level of risk involved in the use of their product.  These range from self-certification, type examination and production quality control systems, to full quality assurance systems.

You can find conformity assessment bodies for Latvia in the NANDO list prepared by the European Commission: European Commission - NANDO

Publication of Technical Regulations

National technical Regulations are published on the Commission’s website European Commission - Prevention of Technical Barriers to Trade to allow other countries and interested parties to comment.

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify the WTO about proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade.  Notify U.S. (https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/index/index.cfm) is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures.  Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected countries and industry sector of interest, and can also request full texts of regulations.  This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the U.S. WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.        

Contact Information

 Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify to the WTO proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade.  Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country or countries and industry sector(s) of interest and can also request full texts of regulations. This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.”

Standardization, Accreditation and Metrology Centre, Ltd. (SAMC)
Standardization Bureau Latvian Standard (LVS)
 

157, Kr. Valdemara Street
Riga, Latvia LV-1013
Tel:  +371 20006833
E-mail:  lvs@lvs.lv

 
State Agency “Latvian National Accreditation Bureau”
55, Brivibas Street
Riga, Latvia LV-1010
Tel:  +371 67373051
E-mail:  pasts@latak.gov.lv