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: 7/20/2019

Overview

The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) is responsible for all standards for products and services except those pertaining to food, drugs, cosmetics items and medical devices, which the Chemistry, Food and Drug Division of the Ministry of Health monitors. The TTBS uses the ISO 9000 series of standards and is a member of ISO (International Organization for Standardization). The government is also a member of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
Use of either the metric or English system of weights and measures is allowed in TT. Products that meet U.S., U.K., or Canadian standards will be accepted by TTBS.

Standards

The TTBS is the National Standards Body of TT and operates under the guidance of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The TTBS mandate is to be the national standards body, the national quality certifying body, and the national laboratory accrediting body. The TTBS is a full member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Caribbean Common Market Standards Council (CCMSC), and the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT). TTBS also has a policy of adopting International Standards and basing Trinidad and Tobago Standards on International Standards where possible. Participation in national standards development is open to all affected interests and parties.
Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other Member countries. Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail subscription service that offers an opportunity to review and comment on proposed foreign technical regulations that can affect your access to international markets. Register online at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Testing, Inspection, and Certification

TTBS has established an Implementation Division for monitoring both imported and locally manufactured products to meet the requirements of compulsory standards. A sample of a new product line is examined while every single used product is inspected.

The products presently inspected in TT are:
  • Garment and textiles
  • Tires
  • Electrical and electronic products
  • Footwear
  • Lead acid starter batteries for automobiles
  • Bleach
Products are inspected at the three primary ports of entry:
  • Point Lisas
  • Port of Spain
  • Piarco Airport
The Testing Division of the Bureau includes five laboratories, which are equipped to service both the private and public industrial and manufacturing sectors. Testing services are provided in the following categories:

Electrical Products
The Electrical Products Laboratory provides electronic and electrical performance testing and measurement services.

Chemical Products
The Chemical Products Laboratory provides analytical and testing services to the chemical sector and related industries.

Fiber Products
The Fiber Products Laboratory provides testing and analytical services to the garment, footwear, and related industries. Paper products have also been included in the list of items tested routinely.

Materials Testing
The Materials Testing Laboratory is equipped to perform mechanical tests on ferrous and non-ferrous metals, construction materials, ceramics, and surface coatings.
The TTBS is the National Laboratory Accrediting organization. The Laboratory Quality Improvement Program (LABQUIP) will accredit the labs.
TT is a part of a mutual recognition agreement with the ISO’s Laboratory Competency Program.

The Certification Division can certify a company's quality system to the ISO 9000 Quality Assurance Standards and/or its product to national standards. It can also grant exporters a certificate of conformity or export worthiness for a particular batch or product volume.
Using highly trained auditors and documented procedures, it can determine and verify if systems or products conform to established criteria or specifications. The TTBS is the only indigenous CARICOM ISO 9000 third party registrar.                                                                                              

Publication of technical regulations

Prior to the finalization of a standard, the TTBS attempts to ensure that all stakeholders have a final opportunity to have any concerns regarding the draft standard addressed. This is done via a public comment period. For draft standards with proposed voluntary status a period of 30 days is given to submit comments, commencing on the first day in which the advertisement appears in the print media. A 60 day period is allowed for commenting on draft standards with proposed Compulsory status. During this period copies of the draft standard are available for viewing by the public in the Standards Information Centre. The draft standard is advertised in the daily newspaper three times in a one week period, as well as on the TTBS website.

Contact Information
Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards
1-2 Century Drive
Trincity Industrial Estate, Macoya
Tel: (868) 662-8827
Fax: (868) 663-4335
Email: ttbs@ttbs.org.tt

United States Embassy Port of Spain point of contact for standards:
Matt Ciesielski, Economic and Commercial Officer, (868) 622-6371

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. (www.nist.gov/notifyus) 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.

 

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