As the benefits of using standards to support public policies have become more widely recognized, many major economies of the world have developed policies to actively encourage their use.

The examples on this Website provide summary positions from different countries of their current policies on using standards to support public policy initiatives, including technical regulations.

For each country, there are also examples of extracts from the text of regulations and other policies.

National Examples Overview
Non-governmental bodies establish a contract or private regulatory regimens that can bring economic, social or environmental benefits.
Federal departments and agencies are to assess regulatory and non-regulatory instruments for achieving public policy objectives.
One of the main forms of China’s technical regulation is mandatory standards at national, professional and local levels.
European standards developed are implemented identically by all member bodies, with conflicting standards withdrawn.
In recent years, with the progress of regulatory reform, an increasing number of voluntary Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) are being adopted.
South Africa
The development of voluntary national standards in South Africa is carried out by SABS, which is authorized to do so under the Standards Act.
United States of America
As a signatory of the WTO, the US is responsible for pursuing standardization activities that are in full compliance with the WTO/TBT.