BUREAU OF STANDARDS BILL SETS FOUNDATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF
A NATIONAL QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE
Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 11, 2021 (SKNBS): The Bureau of Standards Bill, 2021, which was
read for the first time in the National Assembly on August 05, 2021, is significant as it sets the
foundation for a National Quality Infrastructure (NQI).
An NQI is a national framework that guides the production of local goods and services based on
agreed standards that follow international benchmarks.
As the bill addresses the NQI, it speaks on matters such as standardization, accreditation,
metrology, and conformity assessment (testing, inspection, and certification).
The Bill allows for inspection of goods and commodities at the border. It also permits the
inspection of establishments that sell goods and commodities in the country. Such inspection may
include checking for labels as well as testing of commodities to ensure they conform to certain
regulations.
The Bill was moved by the Honourable Minister Eugene Hamilton, in the absence of the Minister
of International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Honourable Senator
Wendy Phipps. It was seconded by the Honourable Attorney General Vincent Byron.
It is a Bill to provide for the preparation, promotion and implementation of standards and standard
related activities in relation to commodities, goods, services, processes, and practices to ensure
quality through compliance with technical regulations where relevant by the establishment and
operation of a Bureau of Standards to define the powers and functions of the Bureau of Standards,
to provide for transitional provisions and for incidental matters.
