seismic action. international approach

huangyhg

seismic action. international approach?
hi all.
my company designs and manufactures different steel structures that are installed in very different countries. i have a problem when dealing with the seismic hazard because a lot of times is very difficult to find a construction code regarding earthquakes, even in countries with quite strong seismological activity.
i have been trying to find some kind of international "official" institution that could give a simplified mode of modelling the seismic action, for example a peak ground acceleration.
i would like to know if anybody has been in similar situatios.
thank you.
somewhere on the usgs site they have seismic risk maps for a few other countries or expect to have something soon.  it is interesting but not "official."
years ago when i designed concrete plant structures some of which shipped internationally, i had the same problem.  first of all even under the best of circumstances the determination of the proper design codes would be a difficult thing to do.  but mostly the problems were political.  additional cost to a project for seismic was viewed by the sales people and upper management as a deal killer, and the help engineering received was minimal.  
regards,
-mike
this might be of some use to you.  at least it's kind of interesting:
here is a better link...