Overview
Standardization in Guyana is flexible, and market driven attributed to standards being voluntary and are implemented based on the discretion of businesses. However, some mandatory standards exist which are used by regulators to ensure health, safety, and preservation of the environment. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) monitors 17 categories of products based on compulsory standards. The GNBS prepares an annual work program which can be found here. Public comments are invited for the development of standards.
Standards
The national standards body in Guyana is the GNBS. Guyana accepts U.S. standards, but they are subject to review by the GNBS. Many national standards are adoptions of U.S. standards such as ASTM, API, and other ANSI approved standards. The GNBS has adopted several international standards primarily from ISO, IEC, and Codex. Other adoptions include those from CARICOM and British Standards Institution (BSI).
Testing, Inspection and Certification
Products can be tested at the GA-FDD. After meeting local standards or passing FDA testing, many products are accepted.
Publication of Technical Regulations
All standards undergo a public comment period of 60 days. This is advertised in the local newspapers and GNBS social media platforms. Known stakeholders are invited for comment during this period. Upon approval by the national standards council, standards are recommended to the subject minister followed by cabinet approval. Upon cabinet approval, a notice is published in the Official Gazette, stakeholders are notified and usually a 6-month period is allowed for implementation.
Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts. Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life. Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat. All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.