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 Lithuanian Standards Board (LST) under the Ministry of Environment was established on 25 April 1990 as the only legally authorized National Standards Body in Lithuania competent for all areas of standardization activities (including electrical engineering and telecommunications) and has exclusive right for standardization activities by virtue of the Law on Standardization. Lithuanian Standards Board represents Lithuania in ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI.
EU standards setting is a process based on consensus initiated by industry or mandated by the European Commission and carried out by independent standards bodies, acting at the national, European or international level. There is strong encouragement for non-governmental organizations, such as environmental and consumer groups, to actively participate in European standardization.
For detailed information on standards for trade in the European Union please check European-Union-Trade-Standards.
Testing, Inspection and Certification
To sell products in the 28 EU Member States, U.S. exporters are required to apply CE marking whenever their product is covered by specific product legislation. CE marking product legislation offers manufacturers a number of choices and requires decisions to determine which safety or health concerns need to be addressed, which conformity assessment module is best suited to the manufacturing process, and whether or not to use EU-wide harmonized standards.
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. European Commission – Prevention of Technical Barriers to Trade.