Welcome to the: METRIC IMPORTERS OF NORTH AMERICA home page

minalog2.gif

Our Mission Statement:
To join as a common voice to correct the inequities being imposed upon the
metric fastener importers and distributors by the Fastener Quality Act
Underlined text indicates a clickable link. Just click on the links below to go to the appropriate page section or linked page. Please use your back button to return to the prior page or page section. We will try to list the latest bulletin information at the top of this page. Also see the What's New -- Index for other revised items.
updated or revised JUL 07, 1999:
rev JUL 07, 1999:
On Jul 06, 1999 there was a seven minute, forty second, NPR Morning Edition radio report on the FQA. This broadcast has been archived by NPR and can be found here.   Double click on the article titled "Nuts and Bolts Safety" to start the broadcast. The following quoted text is NPR's: " -- NPR's Peter Overby reports on a new law governing the industry that makes industrial strength nuts and bolts. Consumer advocates say much of the fastening hardware on the market in the United States is sub-standard and not properly tested. The fastener industry maintains that its product is safe. (7:40)"
It was not exactly a balanced bit of reporting and MINA hopes to comment to NPR about it.
You will need the (free) Real Audio/Real player software to hear it.

If you do not have Real Player installed on your computer, please use the icon below to connect to the download site. Install the Real Player software before attempting to listen to the report.


rev JUN 09, 1999, rev JUN 10, 1999, rev JUN 11, 1999, rev JUN 29, 1999:
BULLETIN:
H.R. 1183 ENR became law on June 8, 1999. It will be officially known as
P.L. 106-34, 'Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999'.
Its mandatory requirements will take effect on Dec 05, 1999.

Note: MINA will refer to the 'Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999'
as 'FQA99 ™'.

MINA is publishing more detailed interpretations of FQA99. You can see the first of these interpretations -- 'FQA99 (P.L. 106-34) Fastener coverage exemptions' here.

NIST has issued a press release on FQA99 titled
"SIMPLER, MORE FOCUSED FASTENER QUALITY ACT SIGNED"
and a summary page titled
"THE MAJOR AMENDMENTS TO THE FASTENER QUALITY ACT OF 1990"

rev 6/29/99:
NIST has taken the MINA suggestion on correcting the the above summary page to remove the statement about 'tensile strength' and has quietly replaced the original page with a revised version. "THE MAJOR AMENDMENTS TO THE FASTENER QUALITY ACT OF 1990 -- 6/29/99"

P.L. 106-34, 'Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999' in Adobe PDF format.

rev JUN. 23, 1999:
See the latest MINA press release on FQA99.
The Fastener Quality Act: Finally a Workable Law -- 6/23/99
rev MAY 27, 1999, rev MAY 28, 1999, rev JUN 06, 1999:
BULLETIN:
We are on the fast track for H.R. 1183 to become law by the June 23, 1999 deadline.
H.R. 1183 RDS has Passed the Senate on May 25, 1999 without amendment and by Unanimous Consent. The final congressionally approved text now labeled H.R. 1183 ENR has been sent to the President for his signature. On May 25, 99 an Executive Action Cleared the bill for the White House, and on May 26, 99 a message on the Senate action was sent to the House. The Presidential signing should occur within the next 10 working days, excluding Sundays.
Implementation: Remember that basically --
1. `The requirements of this Act shall be applicable only to fasteners fabricated 180 days or more after the date of the enactment of FQA99.
2. The use of accredited laboratories - shall take effect 2 years after the date of the enactment of FQA99.
After FQA99 has been signed into law MINA will publish more detailed interpretations. Text of Senate floor action is here.
rev MAY 22, 1999:
On May 20, 1999 the NIST FQA website finally acknowledged the existence of H.R. 1183 and S. 795. Click here to see their notice. The same notice supplemented with a MINA tip on 'how to use' is also available at the MINA website.
rev MAY 22, 1999:
MINA has excerpted some comments from the May 10, 1999 'TABD Mid Year Report' which concern the FQA.
The Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) offers an effective framework for enhanced cooperation between the transatlantic business community and the governments of the European Union (EU) and United States (US). It is an informal process whereby European and American companies and business associations develop joint EU-US trade policy recommendations, working together with the European Commission and US Administration.

MINA note: be aware that some of the TABD comments are not entirely correct; such as the 'repeal' statement.

rev MAY 11, 1999, rev MAY 12, 1999, rev MAY 16, 1999:
BULLETIN:
Senate Actions: On May 12, 99 H.R. 1183 EH was received in the Senate. MINA believes that there may be some text changes in the Senate which will help relieve some of the burden of the costly new House changes.
Be aware that we still are working under a tight date deadline of June 23, 1999 for S 795 IS to pass the Senate, go before a House/Senate committee for agreement with the House passed H.R. 1183 EH, and be signed into law by the President. This will bring the resolution of the FQA into a very, very tight squeeze against the date deadline.
There is also another possibility that congress could attach a rider to another bill that would delay the implementation date of the existing FQA -- P.L. 105-234 and give congress additional time to consider the new FQA act.
The Next Meeting of the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES will be at 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 11 in the House Chamber. The Program for Tuesday will include Consideration of Bill Suspensions. H.R. 1183, Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999 will be acted on. The suspension procedure is part of the congressional fast track program to ensure speedier processing of legislation through congress.

H.R. 1183 EH was passed by the House on MAY 11, 1999. Unfortunately, there were several significant changes to the the original amended text that came out of the committee meeting. These changes could complicate and add significant costs to the importation and sales of imported fasteners. MINA is attempting to learn how these text changes were made since there were no announced scheduled meetings between the APR. 29, 1999 hearing date and the submission of H.R. 1183 RH to the House floor.

rev MAY 02, 1999, rev MAY 06, 1999, rev MAY 09, 1999:
BULLETIN:
Click here for the text of S 795 IS as Amended by the May 5, 1999 Senate markup session. The amended text in this version as edited by MINA is shown in red Italic type. Senator HOLLINGS amendment could add a significant additional burden for importers as they are now treated as manufacturers. This new language contradicts the intention to relieve the discrimination between US manufacturers and non-US manufacturers. That intention was supposed to be one of the reasons for the latest congressional interest in revising the FQA.
There are now quite a few more differences between the Senate and House bills which will have to be worked out by the two bodies. However, since the two bills are still substantially similar and hopefully working out the differences should not become a major problem. Be aware that we are working under a date deadline of June 23, 1999 for these bills to pass both houses of congress, go before a House/Senate committee for agreement, and be signed into law by the President. This may bring this resolution of the FQA into a very, very tight squeeze against the date deadline.
Note: For those of you attending the Columbus, Ohio fastener show -- due to the probability that the above legislation will not be settled prior to the show dates; MINA will not hold a membership meeting. Just keep monitoring this page for the latest developments.
On May 5, 99: The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a scheduled consideration and markup session for S.795 at room SR-253 at 9:30 a.m.

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation met on MAY 5, 1999. The Committee ordered favorably reported: S. 795, to amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and eliminate unnecessary requirements, with amendments.
MINA will publish the text of these amendments as soon as they released by the committee. (Note: see the section above)

rev APR. 22, 1999, rev APR. 23, 1999, rev APR. 25, 1999, rev APR. 30, 1999:
BULLETIN:
Links to congressional and witness statements from the SENATE HEARING ON TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION FISCAL YEAR 2000 BUDGET AND THE FASTENER QUALITY ACT AMENDMENTS held on APR. 21, 1999.
Note: these statements are in Adobe PDF format.
  • Full text of STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD OF SEN. JOHN BREAUX
  • Full text of the Statement of Steven Schonholtz, President, Gardenbolt International, Inc. on behalf of the National Fastener Distributors Association, before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space.
  • Full text of the Statement Of Adrian Paul Cockman, Ford Motor Company To The Subcommittee On Science, Technology And Space Committee On Commerce, Science And Transportation, U.S. Senate Regarding The Fastener Quality Act.
  • Full text of the Statement of Raymond G. Kammer Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, And Transportation Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space, United States Senate The Technology Administration in the FY 2000 Budget and The Fastener Quality Act. For a quicker digest of the Kammer Statement: here is a 3 page extract of that portion; pages 17 through 19 that concerns the FQA. Also testifying was Robert E. Brunner, Illinois Tool Works, Inc., IL on behalf of the Industrial Fasteners Institute; but he apparently did not submit his statement* in electronic form. We have now reviewed the printed copy of the Brunner testimony and it is similar in view to the other fastener organizations. We will try to publish it here later. *(All witnesses are asked to provide electronic copies of their opening statements. Some witnesses' statements are missing because electronic copies of their remarks have not been provided to the Senate Committee.)
rev APR. 15, 1999, updated APR. 16, 1999, updated APR. 19, 1999, updated APR. 20, 1999:
BULLETIN:
On APR. 14, 1999, the Senator from Arizona (Mr. John McCain) introduced S.795; the Senate version of the FQA amendments act. The official title is: "A bill to amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes." S.795 has now been referred to the Committee on Commerce.
MINA will publish the text of the S.795 as soon as it becomes available in the congressional register.

Full text of S.795 as introduced into the Senate. There are a few differences between the Senate and House bills which will have to be worked out by the two bodies. However, the two bills are substantially similar and hopefully working out the minor differences should not be a major problem.

updated APR. 21, 1999
S.795 is scheduled for a Senate hearing on Apr 21, 1999 by the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space in room SR-253 at 2:00 p.m. MINA will issue a summary of this hearing as it becomes available.

updated APR. 20, 1999, rev APR. 30, 1999
Text of Senator John McCain's introductory statement on S.795. On APR. 19, 1999 an additional cosponsor, the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Ashcroft) signed onto S.795.
On APR. 27, 1999 additional cosponsors were added. At the request of Mr. McCain, the name of the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Abraham) was added as a cosponsor of S. 795, a bill to amend the Fastener Quality Act to strengthen the protection against the sale of mismarked, misrepresented, and counterfeit fasteners and eliminate unnecessary requirements, and for other purposes. At the request of Mr. Robb, his name was added as a cosponsor of S. 795, supra.
rev MAR. 22, 1999, updated Mar. 25, 1999, rev MAR. 27, 1999, rev MAR. 31, 1999, rev APR. 30, 1999, rev MAY. 03, 1999:
BULLETIN:
"Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999"
 H.R. 1183. A bill to amend the Fastener Quality Act has
been introduced into congress on March 18, 1999.
The science committee completed its markup of H.R. 1183 on Mar. 25, 1999.
There was an amendment introduced during this hearing which could again make burdensome and unworkable changes to H.R. 1183 and the FQA. We do not yet have the full text of that amendment, but will publish it here as soon as it becomes publicly available.
The above information was announced based on listening to the audio portion of the testimony during the markup hearing, but now examination of the actual En Bloc amendment text shows that it does not seem to be quite the problem that was projected in the above (purple text) sentence.

See the 'Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999' H.R. 1183 plus the text of the March 25, 1999 Morella/Barcia En Bloc amendments merged with the existing FQA.
As compiled by MINA.

On Apr 29, 99: H.R. 1183 was reported (Amended) by the Committee on Science. H. Rept. 106-121, Part I. This report has all the details and correspondence of the committee. It also includes the full text of the Mar. 25, 1999 hearing.
Also the Committee on Commerce discharged H.R. 1183, and it was placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 64. This means that the next action on H.R. 1183 will take place before the full house.

See the official full text of H.R. 1183 as amended here.

See the (before amendments) full text of H.R. 1183 here.

See the (before En Bloc amendments) text of 'Fastener Quality Act Amendments Act of 1999'. amendment merged with the existing FQA

H.R. 1183 is now scheduled to come before the commerce committee during the week of April 12, 1999.

Read it! Please let MINA have your feedback. We will have more comments about this proposed amendment to the FQA after further study. Stay tuned.

The Mar. 25, 1999 science committee hearing webcast has been archived and is now available for review if you were not able to catch it live.
This is the location of the Mar. 25, 1999 archived webcast (as of MAR. 27, 1999). Note: once the hearing has started to display, advance your Real Player slider to about 56 minutes into the hearing. This is the point in the time line where the discussion of H.R. 1183 begins. The portion of the hearing concerning H.R. 1183 lasts about 14 minutes.

rev APR. 30, 1999:
The National Fastener Distributors Association has an FQA information page with some helpful materials on HR1183 and S795. It includes sample form letters for sending to your congresspersons.
rev MAR. 6, 1999:
See the latest MINA press release on the FEB. 25, 1999 congressional hearing.   The Fastener Quality Act: Can A Decade of Digression be "Unscrewed"? -- 3/5/99
BULLETIN:
"Unscrewing the Fastener Quality Act"**.

rev FEB. 27, 1999:
Special attention to: Fastener Industry CEO's, COO's, Managers, Principals, Owners, Partners. We need your help! Click here for a printable version of the CBNSA's FASTENER QUALITY ACT POSITION/PETITION (FQA) on the FQA. The originals of this petition will be submitted to the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, with copies going to the offices of the congress persons in the districts covered by companies signing the petition. We also welcome submissions from companies outside the USA.

rev FEB. 27, 1999, rev MAR. 2, 1999, rev MAR. 4, 1999, rev MAR. 6, 1999, rev MAR. 31, 1999:

Click here for the full (MINA corrected) NIST Press release on the FQA report.
This is a short quote from the press release: "In order to approach the original intent of Congress to cover "1 percent of high-strength fasteners used in critical applications," the report recommends coverage under the Act should be limited to only high-strength fasteners—those possessing a minimum tensile strength 830 megapascals*** (120,000 pounds per square inch), the generally accepted level for "high-strength" steel fasteners throughout the industry."
The original uncorrected NIST Press release is here.

***as of Mar. 31, 1999 the copy of the official NIST press release posted on the NIST website is still erroneously reading "millipascals" instead of "megapascals" and also within the same press release there is another error implying that 5 mm=0.25 inch "a nominal diameter of 5 millimeters (0.25 inch)". You would think that NIST would know better. MINA has pointed these errors out to NIST over a month ago and they have apparently chosen not to correct the errors.

rev FEB. 26, 1999, rev MAR. 4, 1999, rev MAR. 6, 1999, rev APR. 16, 1999:
Hearing update:
NIST/SoC (Secretary of Commerce) did not deliver the FQA report which was due on Feb. 1, 1999 to congress until 4 PM on Feb 24, 1999. This was just a few hours before the hearing was scheduled to begin. The congressional committee was so displeased with this lateness that they withdrew the invitation to the NIST/DoC officials including NIST Director Ray Kammer, that were scheduled to testify at the hearing. This reduced the number of witnesses testifying to just 3.
The following quote is from the committee hearing charter posted for the week of Feb. 22, 1999: "P.L. 105-234 directed that the Secretary of Commerce report its study of the fastener industry and recommended changes that are necessary to the FQA by February 1, 1999. Unfortunately, the Science Committee is yet to receive the report."
The inaction by NIST/SoC automatically postpones the FQA implementation date until no earlier than June 23, 1999.
The simple synopsis of the hearing is that the FQA will probably undergo a significant rewrite tending toward a simplification of the rules and with an emphasis on curbing the fraudulent misrepresentation of fasteners. The committee chairperson, Congresswoman Constance A. Morella acknowledged that the current FQA is flawed and that the committee intends to fix the FQA "once and for all!" The late delivery of the report by NIST/SoC may necessitate scheduling another congressional hearing after the committee has had time to analyze the NIST/SoC report. MINA has made the text of the congressional and witness statements available at the following links. It includes statements from Chairwoman Constance Morella,  Congressman Barcia,   Ed McIihon,  John O'Brien,  George Parker,  and;   Raymond Kammer even though he was barred from testifying in person. The full text of the FQA/SoC report is here (it is in PDF format and is quite long; a 2654 byte file). We have also extracted a one page summary of the report in PDF format here.
The final paragraph of the summary is below:
"After analysis of all available information, weighing significant advances made by industry in the manufacture of fasteners, and assessing public safety needs, if Congress determines that it is appropriate to continue to regulate fasteners, the Department recommends that Congress amend the Act to limit its application to fasteners where public safety may remain a problem. The Department recommends application of the Act be limited to "high strength" fasteners, the paperwork burdens be streamlined, the Act be amended to recognize quality management systems in manufacturing and provide simpler compliance requirements for those manufacturers using quality management systems of sufficient rigor and consistency, and amend Title 18 of the United States Code by adding a criminal penalty for fraudulent activity in commercial transactions involving fasteners. The intent of these changes is to have a statute that recognizes the positive developments in the fastener industry, focuses on assuring public safety, and imposes the least possible burden on industry."
 If you want to submit any comments on the hearing, the congressional committee will keep the record open until March 5, 1999.

updated FEB. 23, 1999, rev FEB. 25, 1999, rev FEB. 27, 1999, rev MAR. 6, 1999, rev MAR 27, 1999:

Another congressional hearing on the Fastener Quality Act will be held on February 25, 1999, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM in room 2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building before the Technology Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science.
The **official government title of this hearing is: "Unscrewing the Fastener Quality Act". The hearing is the third in a series of hearings to review the need for the 1990 Fastener Quality Act (FQA) (PL 101-592). The hearing will focus on the Department of Commerce’s report on the fastener industry and discuss recommendations on amending FQA, including the views of fastener manufacturers, distributors and consumers. Click here for the full text of the hearing charter which includes the list of witnesses and the main issues to be discussed.


You may attend this hearing from anywhere in the world through an internet connection!
A very special feature of this hearing is that it will be carried live as a webcast on the internet. (Note: now that the hearing has already taken place, see the instructions below for accessing the archived edition.)
Webcast provides both audio and video and is similar to a TV picture. Neat technology. To view the hearing you will need to have the free Real Player installed on your computer.

If you do not have Real Player installed on your computer, please use the icon below to connect to the download site. Install the Real Player software before attempting to view the hearing.


The hearing webcast has been archived and is now available for review if you were not able to catch it live.
This is the location of the archived webcast (as of MAR. 27, 1999).

Test your Real Player installation: To listen and view a sample archived hearing click on the icon

If anyone watched the hearing live, please send an e-mail to let us know. Just click on the following link. [ e-mail to webmaster about the webcast ]
rev JAN. 10, 1999:
Its now official. Denny Hastert (R. IL) is now Speaker of the House.
updated DEC. 20 1998, rev FEB. 27 1999:
If Congressman Denny Hastert (R. IL) becomes Speaker of the House, the fastener industry will have a very influential voice in Congress. His home district encompasses the location of many USA fastener manufacturers plants in Illinois. However we are not sure of his position on imports. The Statement of then Congressman J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL-14) at the Hearing on the Fastener Quality Act Before the House Subcommittee on Technology October 8, 1999. See also another MINA prior item about the congressman.
updated Dec. 13 1998:
MINA has published a summary table of the public comments received from the P.L.105-234 Fastener Quality Act; Statutorily Required Study
which ended on November 30, 1998.
Of the 137 responses (649 pages) that NIST received*: 38% favor repeal of the Fastener Quality Act. 66.4% favor changes to the Fastener Quality Act. Only 5.1% favor implementation of the Fastener Quality Act.

*The reason for the total exceeding 100% is that some commenters favored repeal, or if that was not possible, then they would favor significant changes to the Fastener Quality Act.

WHAT'S NEW! -- INDEX:

  1. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS:    last updated or revised: 05/27/99 -- Generally located at or near the top of this page.
  2. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA IMPLEMENTATION DELAY:    last updated or revised: 05/22/99 -- Generally located at or near the top of this page.
  3. WHATS NEW ON FQA LABORATORY ACCREDITATION STATUS:    last updated or revised: 06/09/99
  4. WHATS NEW ON FQA QS-9000 SELF DECLARED PROVISIONAL LISTING STATUS:    last updated or revised: 01/10/99
  5. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA/PTO HEAD MARKINGS:    last updated or revised: 01/10/99
  6. WHATS NEW FROM NIST -- FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES NOT MENTIONED ON THE OFFICIAL NIST FQA WEBSITE:    last updated or revised: 08/09/98, 10/10/98
  7. WHATS NEW ON THE LATEST NONSENSE FROM NIST:    last updated or revised: 07/12/98
  8. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA vs SBA:    last updated or revised: 07/19/98
  9. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA vs DISC:    last updated or revised: 07/01/98
  10. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA vs TABD:    last updated or revised: 07/19/98
  11. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA QUESTIONS and ANSWERS FROM NIST:    last updated or revised: 07/08/98
  12. WHATS NEW ON FQA FORMS:    last updated or revised: 06/04/98
  13. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA LAW and REGULATIONS:    last updated or revised: 11/10/98
  14. WHATS NEW ON THE FQA OMB EXEMPTIONS:    This interesting info has a bit of age on it, but we just discovered it. last updated or revised: 07/19/98
  15. CLICK HERE for the P.L. 105-234 history and time line . We have moved the text in order to reduce the page size and loading time for this page.    last updated or revised: 03/06/99
  16. WHATS NEW ON SUBHAS MALGHAN:    last updated or revised: 08/19/98, 10/10/98. Contrary to some published rumors, Dr. Subhas Malghan will still be the responsible person at NIST for the FQA program management. His FQA responsibilities have not yet been given to anyone else.

WHAT'S ALSO HERE -- INDEX:
Just Click on the links below to go to the appropriate page section or linked page. Please use your back button to return to the prior page.
  1. FQA RELATED LINKS PAGE: A 'MUST SEE' page with MANY FQA LINKS:
  2. MINA PRESS RELEASES: updated 06/23/99
  3. MINA questions to NIST 4/26/98 page:
  4. 5/20/98 NIST Answers to MINA FQA questions sent on 4/26/98: A must read!
  5. MINA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION via E-mail:
  6. MINA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION:
  7. MINA Mailing List:
  8. MINA GUESTBOOK: Add your name and comments on the FQA or MINA.
  9. MINA IN THE NEWS PAGE:
  10. FREE MINA LOGOS FOR GENERAL USAGE:
  11. HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR:
  12. PUBLIC LAW TASK FORCE OPINION SURVEY FORM:
  13. MINA INFORMATION REQUEST/COMMENT FORM:
  14. MEETINGS THAT NIST HAS CANCELED OUT ON AFTER THEY WERE SCHEDULED:    last updated or revised: 07/01/98. There may be more of these that we are unaware of. Please advise us if NIST has canceled a scheduled meeting with you or your organization. We will post that information here.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
  1. MINA forms: Example: How to submit a question to the U.S. government.
    Note: the NIST preferred format for attachments is WORD 97.
  2. Results of some questions sent to NIST, NVLAP, BXA, etc.**
    NEW! **See the MINA questions and answers to NIST page:
  3. A listing of other organizations proposing changes to the FQA. Some that we know of are: U.S. CONGRESS, SBA, DISC, TABD, NFDA, MINA, PLTF, IFI, WTO, EIFI, FAA, FAC. Please advise us if you know of any more organizations proposing changes to the FQA.
  4. A Mailing list that you may join to keep abreast of MINA actions.
    NEW! **See the MINA Mailing List page:
  5. NEW! Automatic e-mail notification of updates to this page. See the registration box at the bottom of this page.
  6. MINA will be publishing the names and contacts of NIST approved labs that will do commercial work. This is partially completed. Update: This work has been suspended until there is final action on the 1999 FQA amendments.
Click here to see the July 7, 1998 NIST update to its list of answers on FASTENER QUALITY ACT QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (June 10, 1998 - Version 1.0.) Even NAFTA gets no consideration from this new NIST answer!
This is an excerpt (the purple text) from the updated NIST Q & A page.
"To certify NAFTA to allow fasteners to be imported from Canada under the exemption, the United States would have to enter into negotiations with Canada to develop "satisfactory arrangements" by which purchasers in the United States can readily gain access to original laboratory testing reports for such fasteners. Such negotiations could take a considerable length of time.

For a couple of years, MINA has been asking NIST about these free trade exemptions. We have never received a satisfactory answer from NIST on why they have not pursued this option.

The appropriate section of the regulation follows:
Under Section 7(b)(2)(A) of the Act, the requirement that the delivery of any shipment of fasteners to an importer be accompanied by an original laboratory testing report shall not apply in the case of fasteners imported into the United States "as products manufactured within a nation which is party to a congressionally-approved free trade agreement with the United States that is in effect, so long as the Secretary certifies that satisfactory arrangements have been reached by which purchasers within the United States can readily gain access to an original laboratory testing report for such fasteners." Section 280.13(b)(1) of the regulations requires that the Director of NIST publish this certification in the Federal Register.

updated 09/27/98, rev 10/10/98: . . . Summary of NIST approved labs that will accept commercial work. As of 08/24/98 MINA had sent out 305 lab survey forms and had received back 158 replies. So far only 44 labs in the whole world (only 28 labs in the USA) will accept commercial work. Over 99% of the worlds countries and 74% of the states in the U.S. (100% of U.S. territories and possessions) have no FQA certified labs for commercial work. We have not sent out any survey forms lately. We have been waiting for the NIST response to P.L. 105-234 so that we may include any more appropriate and up-to-date questions on the survey. Now that NIST has finally announced a response to P.L. 105-234 we can revise the survey and send it to the new labs.

updated 06/09/99:
NIST lab approval progress -- As of 06/04/99   Lab approvals according to the latest posting from NIST are now DOWN to a total of 442. A drop of 8 labs from their last update. We are now seeing the downward trend in the number of labs that could be expected with the FQA99 legislation. Remember that the FQA99 will delay the need for certified labs for two years, so we can expect this downward trend to continue for some time. As the the date for the certified lab implementation approaches we can expect that the lab totals will rise again. However the number of labs needed with FQA99 should be substantially reduced since many fewer fasteners are covered.
Only one additional country; Australia with 1 lab has been added in recent months. Many states and territories of the USA and most of the world still do not have even a single NIST FQA approved lab. Remember that NIST had projected an impossible number of 525 labs by May 1998. As we had predicting for several years, that when May 1999 is here, NIST will still not have reached that original goal of 525 labs. Just continues to show how far off their original numbers were. Also remember that only a small portion of the FQA approved labs will accept commercial work! Also the QS9000 approvals have apparently been slowed considerably, with no new companies added since October 1998.

This is the latest (updated 04/22/99) approved lab summary by country.

Country: U.S.A. 296   Country: JAPAN 75
Country: TAIWAN 33   Country: CANADA 18
Country: FRANCE 8   Country: GERMANY 9
Country: U.K. 6   Country: NETHERLANDS 3
Country: BRAZIL 2   Country: KOREA 2
Country: INDIA 3   Country: ITALY 2
Country: FINLAND 2   Country: MEXICO 1
Country: AUSTRIA 1   Country: INDONESIA 1
Country: AUSTRALIA 1     .
Country: SWITZERLAND 3   TOTALS: 466
Click here for a USA state by state and USA territory breakdown.
Note that 75% of all the labs in the USA are concentrated in just 6 states. Certainly this geographical distribution will contribute to higher transportation costs and extra time needed for testing lab samples for those customers not located near the labs.

Laboratory geographical distribution by world regions
Region: NORTH AMERICA 314   Region: FAR EAST 114
Region: WESTERN EUROPE 34   Region: SOUTH AMERICA 2
Region: EASTERN EUROPE 0   Region: CENTRAL AMERICA 1
Region: MIDDLE EAST 0   Region: AFRICA 0
Region: CARIBBEAN 0   Region: ARCTIC/ANTARCTICA 0
Region: AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA 1   TOTALS: 466

 
[See the MINA lab survey summary (7/20/98 version).]


updated 06/21/98:
It is very obvious that there will NOT be anywhere enough commercial labs approved by July 26, 1998 to do the expected volume of FQA testing. Hopefully, NIST will now realize this and grant a further realistic extension of the implementation date (that means at least six months to a year). At this rate of lab certification it may take an additional year to get enough commercial labs approved. That assumes that there will even be enough companies interested in doing commercial work. Remember that even if a lab will accept your commercial work, they must be approved to do the exact tests that your fastener standard requires. This means that the real number of commercial labs is actually much smaller than the totals reflect. You will probably have to use more than one lab just to cover all the tests for a given lot of product. What happens if there is not any further interest from the business community in getting more labs FQA approved? Except for manufacturers with their own FQA approved labs (and there are not very many of them), will we be limited to just these few commercial labs trying to certify the whole worlds FQA fastener production?

updated 06/27/98 -- NIST's announcement on 06/24/98 grants a 90 day delay until October 25, 1998 (a little more realistic than the impossible prior 60 delay). This should give the Senate enough time to work on their version of the FQA amendments. Stay tuned.
September 28, 1998:
Federal Register Notice on P.L.105-234   09/28/98 The Director of NIST, under authority delegated by the Secretary of Commerce, and pursuant to Pub. L. 105-234, is postponing the effect of the Fastener Quality regulation by extending its implementation date until June 1, 1999. As a service to the public, those wishing to seek registration or accreditation, or record fastener insignia may continue to do so on a purely voluntary basis under the procedures set out in the regulation.


NIST projected that they expect only 10 responses to the first 07/15/98 notice and 50 responses to the second 07/15/98 notice. Not a surprising projection when they do not publish this information on their own FQA website. Both notices published on 07/15/98 have a comment period that ends September 14, 1998 so there is still time to respond.
The first 07/15/98 notice is for Paperwork Reduction Act comments on the Quality Act--Laboratory Accreditation Body Approval and Registrar Accreditation Body Approval.
The second 07/15/98 notice is for Paperwork Reduction Act comments on the Quality Act--Provisional Listing of Facilities.

Also there was a second FQA correction notice (2)  posted on 08/5/98 for the June 30, 1998 FQA Final rules.
"Summary: In the June 30, 1998 Federal Register notice announcing the final rule and extension of implementation date for the Fastener Quality Act, important information was inadvertently omitted from one of the amendments, which has created ambiguity in the final rule. Accordingly, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is publishing this notice to correct that amendment."
Note: this was NIST's second attempt to get it right. Their first FQA correction notice (1)  posted on 07/9/98 also concerned the June 30, 1998 Federal Register.

Rumor update 06/21/98 -- From 'Fastener Industry News' -- June 8, 1998: Staffers from the office of Congressman Denny Hastert (IL) met with Secretary of Commerce William Daley about the FQA, Daley indicated that he would NOT exercise his executive authority to delay the implementation date. This means congress needs to act before July 26, 1998.
Remember MINA still needs more members in order to help stop the irresponsibly costly and unnecessary FQA from becoming implemented. The more voices that we represent, the louder we are heard!

The latest official NIST information on the FQA is published on the OFFICIAL U.S. GOVERNMENT FQA WEB SITE. (caution: there is often some erroneous and outdated information posted on the NIST website)

If you do not have the Proper Acrobat Reader software, then follow the instructions below: GET ACROBAT
  • Download the free acrobat reader software from the: [Acrobat download page]
  • Then use your back button to return to this page.
    • CONTACTS AT: METRIC IMPORTERS OF NORTH AMERICA
    • BONNIE CARTER -- Phone:  781-245-3217     800-638-7421 -- fax:  781-246-3335     888-963-8742
    • c/o Metric Screw & Tool Company -- 9 Lake Street -- Wakefield, MA 01880-3196 USA
    • [ e-mail to BONNIE CARTER ]

    • LEE SACKS -- Phone:  410-358-3130     800-638-1830 -- fax:  410-358-3142     800-872-9329
    • c/o Maryland Metrics -- POB 261 -- Owings Mills, MD 21117-0261 USA
    • [ e-mail to LEE SACKS ]
    Now you can be notified automatically when this MINA page is updated.
    Just enter your e-mail address in the block below to receive e-mail.

    Please display this logo on your website: Click on the 'we support mina' logo or click on the link to get to the MINA logo download page.
    minasup1.gif
    Links to other fastener organizations with concerns about the FQA:
    National Fastener Distributors Association --- New England Fastener Distributors Association
    Industrial Fasteners Institute --- Chicago Bolt, Nut & Screw Association
    Press notice: You are welcome to freely use any MINA materials.
    Just credit MINA as the source.
    Be advised that any communications from MINA should not be taken as legal advice.

    [ To: METRIC IMPORTERS OF NORTH AMERICA home page ] [ e-mail to webmaster ]
    Please note that all Trademarks and Tradenames are the property of their respective owners.
    copyright 1997, 1998, 1999 METRIC IMPORTERS OF NORTH AMERICA -- all rights reserved --
    ver 10559 date 07/07/99 index.html [Enhanced for Netscape/IE]
    Thank you for visiting the MINA site.