Independently, declining SDOs will crush U.S. competitiveness and international trade. Only expanding copyright solves.

National Fire Protection Association, “Benefits of Standards Development Organizations,” NFPA, 04-18-2024, https://www.nfpa.org/for-professionals/codes-and-standards/standards-development/the-value-of-standards-development-organizations/benefits-of-sdos#

*Date obtained with carbon dating the internet

Because independent SDOs hold copyright in their standards, they are able to fund their standards development activities from revenue generated from the publication and sale of their standards publications. This allows SDOs to keep the barriers to participation low and to retain their independence and freedom from potential influence by any industry or group. This funding model, moreover, is consistent with the wide and reasonable availability of standards, and SDOs are committed to working with government agencies to provide both pre- and post- adoption access to standards through a variety of means, appropriate to the many circumstances in which standards are adopted and used.

Importance of global trade to the U.S. economy

Nearly one quarter of U.S. economic output is tied to global trade. Of that, 12.5 percent of gross domestic product is tied to exports, with the rest being comprised of services. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, in the last half of 2009 and into the first half of 2010, exports contributed a full percentage point out of an average growth rate of 3.3 percent to GDP growth and have contributed over 1.5 percentage points to growth in the last year. This was a larger contribution than consumption or fixed investment. One reason American products compete well globally, and Americans benefit, is because of the development of voluntary consensus-based standards and the adoption of those standards in international markets. Standards help promote U.S. competitiveness by facilitating market entry.

Standards and trade

Although standards are well known for technical quality, their role in global trade is less well known but equally important. In the context of global trade, standards play several key roles:

allow businesses to use a common language when seeking the sale or purchase of products.

remove technical barriers to trade that would occur if product standards differed from country to country or region to region.

provide for certainty of rules and regulations which allows companies to plan and more rationally allocate resources.

In the context of the United States, voluntary consensus based standards are developed with the input of business, safety advocates, academia, and other key stakeholders that provide firms with an international competitive edge. Companies have long become accustomed to quick reactions to produce better products to effectively compete in the global marketplace; voluntary consensus standards aid that adoption.