Test Labs to Develop International Standards : * Marketing: Regulators want to be sure that a confusing patchwork of procedures doesn’t prevent U.S. from selling its products in Europe.

WASHINGTON —  U.S. and European officials took a step forward Friday in their efforts to harmonize the dizzying array of product regulations, standards and testing procedures that manufacturers face as they attempt to market their products globally.

After their third meeting in two years, U.S. Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher and European Community Commission Vice President Martin Bangemann issued a statement pledging to work closely to prevent these regulations and standards from becoming “technical barriers to international trade.”

To further that goal, major testing laboratories from both continents have agreed to work together to more quickly develop international standards and to develop a system under which they can monitor each other’s procedures and share information.

In other words, they hope to “get out of the business of sniping at each other constantly,” said Charles Ludolph, the Commerce Department’s European Community affairs director.

The major laboratories agreed to report back to Mosbacher and Bangemann on the progress of their efforts by year-end.

“All of this will make it easier for firms in both the U.S. and Europe to get their products into each other’s markets. Consumers will have a broader choice of products. This benefits everyone,” Mosbacher said.

The issue has been of particular concern to U.S. officials, who fear that this country’s firms will be at a disadvantage as the 12-nation European Community begins to function as a single market--with a single set of standards for products that are sold there.

“It’s important for us to make certain that that system, when it is put into place, does not disadvantage U.S. firms,” said J. Michael Farren, the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for international trade.

Although the talks involve only the United States and Europe, Farren added, those markets represent $12 trillion in annual production, which means “the conversation clearly has broader implications in terms of its impact on standards globally.”

Ludolph noted that conflicting standards have been a particular problem for high-technology firms, such as manufacturers of computers, telecommunications equipment and medical devices.

The European Community has consolidated its testing into two or three laboratories serving the entire continent. Businesses in the United States test their products in separate, industry-run labs for various sectors--the most familiar of which is Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

Testing and certification remains a major issue that must be resolved, Farren said. Under the current system, if a U.S. manufacturer produces a product it wants to market in Europe, it must ship it to a laboratory on the continent for testing and wait for an assurance that it meets European standards.

Farren said the two sides hope to work out an arrangement under which U.S. firms can utilize labs in this country to certify that their products meet European standards.