US-Mexico MRA

Introduction
 

The Mutual Recognition Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Mexican States for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment  was signed on May 26, 2011 and was implemented (by the US) on September 26, 2017.

The Agreement provides for the mutual recognition of testing laboratories, and for the mutual acceptance of the results of testing undertaken by these recognized testing laboratories in assessing conformity of equipment to applicable technical regulations. 

Specifically for the US, the Agreement provides for the Mexican regulatory authority IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones) to accept test results from third-party US laboratories for the conformity of telecommunications equipment to specific Mexican technical regulations. 

Standards Available for Recognition

View the NOMs and IFT Technical Provisions Available for Designation (as of April 20, 2020).

Status of Implementation

As of September 26, 2017, the NIST MRA Program Office is accepting applications from qualified US testing laboratories seeking to recognized by IFT of Mexico under the terms of the MRA.

Designation Requirements & Application Instructions

Please refer to the Criteria for NIST Designation of US Third Party Testing Laboratories to Mexico Under the US-Mexico Mutual Recognition Agreement (January 29, 2020, Version 2.1). 

MRA Facts

(1)   The bi-lateral Agreement covers the recognition of testing laboratories (and acceptance of test reports) only. 

(2)   Mexico will recognize qualified third-party U.S. testing laboratories (national treatment) only.  Manufacturers' laboratories (first-party) are not eligible to apply for recognition under this Agreement.  

(3)   This Agreement covers equipment regardless of the equipment's country of origin.

(4)   The Agreement does not cover recognition of certification bodies.

(5)   The Agreement does not include homologation.  Homologation is handled directly by IFT.

(6)   The Agreement does not cover electrical safety of telecommunications equipment. 

(7)   The technical regulations for which Mexico will accept test reports from recognized U.S. testing laboratories designated by NIST are provided above .   Translation of relevant standards and other supporting documents is the responsibility of each CAB.     

 (8)   The laboratory's ISO/IEC 17025 Scope of Accreditation must include the relevant technical regulations for which recognition is being sought. 

Understanding Mexico’s Telecom Conformity Assessment System

IFT has provided a sequence of flow diagrams illustrating how the MRA fits in to the broader conformity assessment system for telecommunications equipment in Mexico.  The flow diagrams show the process for testing (if covered under the MRA), use of certification bodies, use of experts (peritos), and IFT homologation process.

For additional information, please see the IFT homologation web page  http://www.ift.org.mx/industria/homologacion

Questions?

Please contact mra [at] nist.gov (mra[at]nist[dot]gov).