36 CFR Part 1194 - Proposed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines NPRM - Preamble

D. Executive Order 13609: Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation

Executive Order 13609 serves to promote international regulatory cooperation and harmonization. The Access Board has tried to promote the principles of the executive order by making concerted efforts with a number of foreign governments throughout the development of the proposed 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines. For example, the Board and the European Commission have made every effort to coordinate development of their respective ICT standards. This cooperation began with the 2005 EU-US Economic Initiative (http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/june/tradoc_127643.pdf) and continued through the work of the Access Board with representatives from the European Commission, Canada, Australia, and Japan serving on the Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee which informed the proposed 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines. In our view, the proposed 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines are the product of the Board’s coordination with international regulatory partners, which will ultimately help American companies better compete globally.