Author, not the first, trapped by agency standards (8)
I believe the answer is:
criteria
'standards' is the definition.
(I know this)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for criteria that I've seen before include "Standards on which to base judgments" , "Erratic, I embrace standards" , "'Standards, reference points (8)'" , "Standards on which to base judgement" , "Principles on which to base a judgement" .)