Describes the country's standards landscape, identifies the national standards and accreditation bodies, and lists the main national testing organization(s) and conformity assessment bodies.
Last Published: 8/6/2019

Overview

Cameroon has an open economy and seeks to apply best international practice and standards besides national and regional standards.  As a CEMAC member, the country abides by all regional treaties introduced by the organization.  The country signed an interim economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union on 15 January 2009, which also imposed European standards on exchange of goods.  Cameroon still lacks standards of law and regulatory enforcement in its legal system. 
 

Standards

The Standards and Quality Agency (ANOR) of the Republic of Cameroon was created by a Head of State decree in September 2009, and the Agency became operational in January 2011.  ANOR is in charge of standardization, conformity assessment, certification, and training and promotion of standards.  It represents Cameroon in international standards organizations.  Cameroon currently counts 4,500 building construction norms.  These norms touch on areas such as building materials that are expected to ensure security and durability of buildings.  ANOR is developing norms and standards in other economic sectors.
 

Testing, Inspection and Certification

SGS inspection is an important part of the import procedure.
The inspection process might be initiated by the exporter at the country of supply or by the importer in Cameroon.  If the importer initiates the process with the “Déclaration d’Importation,” the SGS Liaison Office in Cameroon will transmit all the submitted documents by the importer to the corresponding SGS affiliate at the country of supply for that office’s representatives to contact and coordinate engagement with the exporter, and if needed, any request for missing documents.  If the exporter initiates the process, he/she will submit the following documents to SGS:

-Request for Certification
-PROFORMA Invoice
-Quality Management System Certification
-Conformity Documents (test reports, quality certificates, analysis reports, etc…)
-Final invoice

To obtain evidence that all requirements are met in the applicable standards or technical regulations, goods must undergo one or a combination of the following verification processes:
-Physical inspection
-Laboratory
-Factory audit
-Documentary verification

After the verification process is completed and results are deemed satisfactory, the exporter will have to submit the Final Invoice for the issuance of the “Attestation de Conformité (AC),” which will be converted into a “Certificate of Conformity (CoC)” by ANOR.
 

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 request full texts of regulations.  This service and its associated website 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.

Prepared by the International Trade Administration. With its network of more than 100 offices across the United States and in more than 75 markets, the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.