The new mechanism seeks to facilitate and improve infrastructure in the region and improve the competitiveness of the private sector.

The Commission of the Andean Community (CAN), which is made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, has passed (link in Spanish) Decision 817 on special customs treatment for patterns, measuring instruments, reference materials, and aptitude testing material between CAN member countries and between these and other countries.

The decision establishes special customs treatment that will prevent agents from incorrectly handling or damaging the metrological features of patterns and measuring instruments, reference materials, and test equipment used to carry out interlaboratory comparison programs, aptitude testing, calibration programs for measurement patterns, and the certification of reference materials.

The new regulations are important because they will facilitate activities of this sort, which improve the technical skills of testing and calibration laboratories within the subregion and foster the mutual recognition of results published by CAN assessment bodies. This will improve competition and the supply of quality infrastructure in the Andean Community.