By Martin Gagne

Jul 26, 2016

Barriers to trade are real, and these are found not only outside of the United States. In his March/April Plain Talk column, "Barriers," Jim Thomas fails to mention some of the ways that ASTM itself hinders the development and use of standards. Some self-reflection is in order.

As a purported international standards organization, ASTM standards are not widely available in many languages except English, and I am not aware of any committee meetings that have been held outside of the United States.

ASTM is addressing these issues with translations, and virtual meeting capability, but language and accessibility issues definitely have an impact for international participation in the development and use of standards.

-Martin Gagné

Zelixir Inc.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Thank you for your comments, Martin. While ASTM International remains headquartered in the United States, its global reach has never been stronger and it continues to grow every day.

As you noted, we have professionally translated standards – thousands in fact – and robust virtual meeting activities that incorporate input from members worldwide.

In addition, many ASTM International technical committees have held in-person meetings outside of the United States, with recent examples being amusement rides, aviation and restricted substances. Notably, our international membership has grown by more than 1,000 members over the last five years.

Also, ASTM International now has memorandums of understanding with over 95 standards bodies, supporting both participation in standards development as well as usage of ASTM standards.

Tellingly, ASTM's services are also thriving globally, with laboratories from more than 90 countries now participating in our Proficiency Testing Program.

I should also note that ASTM International leadership is prioritizing global outreach. Our chairman this year is from your country, our incoming president is embarking on a roadshow this month in Latin America, and our fall board meeting activities will be in Dubai.

Finally, I should note that Standardization News itself is translated into Spanish, Chinese and – for the January/February issue which focused on Canada – French.

Can we do more? Absolutely, and we welcome your and other suggestions for more standards translations, new meeting locations and more.

Thank you for your commitment to ASTM and your role in helping us continue to meet our goal of "helping our world work better."

-Maryann Gorman, Editor in Chief, ASTM Standardization News