U.S., Japan Settle Software Dispute

Industry officials from Japan and the United States said Wednesday they have settled a dispute over software quality standards that U.S. manufacturers had warned would create a trade barrier.

A Japanese standards group had proposed that computer software companies voluntarily submit their products for quality review. But American companies feared the reviews would become mandatory, and that standards introduced unilaterally would make it harder to sell in Japan.

In the settlement, the two sides agreed that unique standards and national accreditation systems were wrong because they inhibited trade, U.S. industry officials said.

The Japanese group, the Japan Accreditation Board for Quality System Registration, also revised its proposal to conform with international norms. That would ensure that quality standards were uniform in the two countries.