As part of its role as National Standards Body, BSI develops policy positions to reflect the views and interests of its stakeholders, including government.
This leads BSI to seek wherever possible to develop international standards first, maximizing the UK stakeholders’ significant influence on market access conditions globally.
European regional standards are developed where there are no international standards or where there are specific interests in the region that could not be addressed globally.
International and European standards are adopted for the whole of the UK as British Standards, alongside a diminishing proportion of national-only standards that meet purely local needs. These national standards are often developed as precursors to international work and are transferred into international processes in due course.
BSI will continue to promote and enable UK stakeholder leadership in the development of international and European regional standards and optimize the participation of UK stakeholders.
BSI works closely with government departments to support them in their standards needs and advise them how standards can support public policy, including regulation.
In addition to our regular engagement, BSI advises government on standards in trade negotiations. Scott Steedman, BSI’s Director-General, Standards, sits on the Strategic Trade Advisory Group, the International Trade Department’s stakeholder forum on trade as the representative for standards and consumer protection. BSI also takes part in the DIT Technical Barriers to Trade Thematic Working Group. More information on our trade policy activity can be found here.