Mutual Recognition Agreements on Conformity Assessment: Current Overview

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the current status and prospects for mutual recognition agreements on conformity assessment (MRAs) aimed at reducing technical barriers to international trade. Based on the publications of domestic and foreign experts in this area, it is shown that MRAs are the special «genre» of international agreements that take into account the requirements for goods and certification (testing) procedures. It is revealed that the regulatory distance, which characterizes the degree of dissimilarity between technical regulation measures (TBT measures) of the contracting countries significantly affects the ad valorem coefficients associated with overcoming them. Overall, it can be concluded that MRAs serve as an effective tool for export expansion by facilitating the entry of new players into the international market.