Does OSHA participate in mutual recognition or similar agreements?
At this time, OSHA does not participate in any such agreements but previously participated in the 1998 Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) through the now suspended Electrical Safety Annex. Under the terms of this MRA, European laboratories were allowed to submit applications to OSHA for recognition as an NRTL, which OSHA would have processed under its normal procedures. The US/EU MRA did not change OSHA’s NRTL application process but only provided a mechanism to address a provision in our regulations that requires OSHA to consider policies on “reciprocity,” in determining the eligibility of foreign-based organizations for recognition. You can find the provision in paragraph I.A.1.b of Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.7.
