Special to DVN by Geoff Draper, GTB President
At the invitation of CATARC (the China Automotive Technology and Research Centre), the 22nd session of the GRE Informal Group on Simplification of Lighting Regulations (IWG-SLR) took place at the Marco Polo Hotel in Shenzhen, China, from 29 January to 1 February. The session was hosted by the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology (SIST).
CATARC, representing the Chinese Ministry of Infrastructure and Information Technology (MIIT), is responsible for leading the official Chinese delegations to WP.29 and GRE at the UN in Geneva. Importantly, CATARC is also the leader of C-GTB, the Chinese member of GTB. This link between GTB and its Chinese member (C-GTB) is important because it gives the GTB Chinese experts the possibility to contribute to the work of the GRE IWG-SLR due to GTB’s Special Consultative Status as an NGO at the UN.
As previously reported in DVN, the agenda for the 22nd session of the GRE IWG-SLR was focused on launching the GRE Stage 2 Simplification Plan. Following an initial proposal from GTB, the aim is to extend the scope to synchronise the UN Stage 2 simplification with the Chinese simplification of the Chinese GB standards already in progress. The window of opportunity to achieve this closes in December 2019, so the programme is very demanding, but the rewards will provide major benefits for trade by removing the major regulatory barriers.