A standard that is used in multiple nations and whose development process is open to representatives from all countries. Some international standards are promulgated by multinational treaty organizations (e.g., the International Telecommunications Union (ITU); the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)). Some international standards are promulgated by multinational non treaty organizations (e.g., the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)). Some international standards are promulgated by organizations that originated as national industry associations, professional societies, or standards developers, but over time evolved into a global presence with multinational participation (e.g., ASTM International, SAE International, and NFPA International). Annex 4 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Report 2000 contains a good discussion of what constitutes an international standard. In short, the WTO suggests that a standard may be considered international if the processes and procedures used to develop it are transparent, open, impartial, and provide meaningful opportunities for WTO members, as a minimum, to contribute to the development of the standard so that the standard does not favor any particular suppliers, countries, or regions. Equally important, the standard must have a global relevance and use.
