§9.2.1 Main characteristics

One of the instruments to promote international trade of regulated products is the conclusion of mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) on the basis of Article 207 TFEU. MRAs are agreements established between the Union and third countries for the purpose of mutual recognition of conformity assessment of regulated products. MRAs are designed so that each Party accepts the reports, certificates and marks that are delivered in the partner country in accordance with its own legislation. These are drawn up and issued by bodies that the other Party has designated under the MRA for assessing conformity in the field(s) covered by the MRA. This can be achieved, because MRAs include all the conformity assessment requirements of the Parties necessary to obtain full market access, and the products are evaluated in the country of production against the regulatory requirements of the other Party. These are usually referred to as ‘Traditional MRAs’. MRAs cover the entire territory of the Parties in order to guarantee the full free movement of products certified to be in conformity, in particular in States with a federal structure. MRAs apply to one or more categories of products or sectors falling within the regulated field (they are covered by Union harmonisation legislation in force) and, in certain cases, by non-harmonised national law. In principle, MRAs should cover all the industrial products for which the regulations of at least one of the Parties require third party conformity assessment. MRAs comprise a framework agreement and sectoral annexes. The framework agreement lays down the essential principles of a traditional agreement. Sectoral annexes specify, in particular, the scope and coverage, regulatory requirements, the list of designated conformity assessment bodies, the procedures and authorities responsible for designating these bodies and, if applicable, transitional periods. More sectoral annexes can be added successively. MRAs are not based on the necessity to mutually accept other Party’s standards or technical regulations, or to consider the legislation of the two Parties as equivalent. They involve only the mutual acceptance of the reports, certificates and marks that are delivered in the partner country in accordance with its own legislation. However, MRAs can pave the way towards a harmonised system of standardisation and certification by the parties. Nevertheless, the two legislations are, as a rule, deemed to ensure a comparable level of protection regarding health, safety, environment or other public interests. Moreover, MRAs increase the transparency of the regulatory systems. Once established, the MRA needs to be maintained, for example, by keeping lists of recognised certification bodies, and the standards or rules against which they must certify. The benefits of the MRA arise from the removal of duplicated inspection or certification. Where a product intended for two markets may still have to be assessed twice (when technical requirements or standards are different), the assessment will be cheaper when carried out by the same body. The time to market is reduced since contacts between the manufacturer and the single conformity assessment body, and a single assessment, speed up the process. Even where the underlying regulations are harmonised, for example because they refer to an international standard, the need for recognition of certificates remains, and in such cases, the benefit will be clear: the product is assessed once against the commonly accepted standard instead of twice. Currently there are MRAs in force with Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan and Switzerland. The MRA with Canada (322) has been replaced by the CETA Protocol on the mutual acceptance of the results of conformity assessment (see Section 9.2.4). The above agreements are concluded in a number of specific sectors, which might vary from one country to another. More details on the agreements can be found at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/goods/international-aspects/mutual-recognition-agreements/index_en.htm. The bodies designated under MRAs figure in a dedicated part of NANDO.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07