Mutual recognition agreement

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A mutual recognition agreement or MRA is an international agreement by which two or more countries agree to recognize one another's conformity assessments. A mutual recognition arrangement is an international arrangement based on such an agreement, and abbreviated to MRA also.

MRAs have become increasingly common since the formation of the World Trade Organization in 1995. These have been forged within and among various trade blocs, including APEC and the European Union.

MRAs are most commonly applied to goods, such as various quality control MRAs. However, the term is sometimes applied to agreements on the recognition of professional qualifications as well.

[edit] External links

• TACD Background Paper on MRAs
• National Institute of Standards and Technology on its MRAs
• Public Citizen description of MRAs