The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standardization system, is pleased to announce the release of the updated United States Standards Strategy (USSS). The USSS describes the principles and tactics that guide how the United States develops standards and participates in the international standards-setting process.
The updated edition of the USSS and the consolidated response to comments received during the document’s public comment period were unanimously approved by the ANSI Board of Directors at its year-end meeting on December 9, 2020.
The U.S. standards system benefits the public by elevating national health and safety, driving innovation and U.S. competitiveness, and contributing to a fairer and more liberalized global trading system. The USSS builds upon the traditional strengths of the U.S. system — such as consensus, openness, and transparency — while giving additional emphasis to speed, relevance, cross-sector interactions and dependencies, and the needs of public interest constituencies.
First published in 2000 as the National Standards Strategy for the United States, the USSS is updated every five years to assure that it continues to meet the needs of diverse U.S. interests and that it reflects technological advancements, industry growth areas, national and international priorities, and updates to relevant U.S. government policy. The guiding document details 12 strategic initiatives that can be implemented by diverse stakeholders to meet their national and individual organizational objectives.
The 2020 review and update process, led by ANSI, incorporated the input of a diverse group of constituents representing stakeholders in industry, government, standards developing organizations (SDOs), consortia, consumer groups, and academia. Reflecting the diversity of the U.S. standardization system itself, the 2020 update was informed by input from ANSI members and the broader standardization community, including feedback received during a public comment period. A task force – comprised of volunteers and members of ANSI's Board representing SDOs, government, industry, and consortia – guided ANSI staff in managing the update.
“The USSS is a symbol of the diverse voices that, as a whole, have a monumental impact on the standardization system, and in turn, the nation,” said S. Joe Bhatia, ANSI president and CEO. “The framework document echoes these interests in a vision for the future of the U.S. standards system, which is an essential driver of public health and safety, innovation, and U.S. competitiveness in the global economy.”
“I encourage all stakeholders of the U.S. standardization community incorporate the U.S. Standards Strategy core tactics into their own organization's business and strategic practices,” Mr. Bhatia emphasized.
Following publication, ANSI will work with stakeholders to promote and implement the USSS.
The USSS and accompanying background information are available at www.ansi.org/usss. A related document guiding the principles of U.S. conformity assessment activities, the United States Conformity Assessment Principles, is available at www.ansi.org/uscap.
About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.
The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.