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EPING
AN SPS AND TBT NOTIFICATION
DISSEMINATION SYSTEM
The “ePing” is a notification system that is being
developed to enhance the communication
between public and private sector stakeholders in
least developed countries (LDCs) on changes in
technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and
phytosanitary (SPS) measures of (potential)
trading partners. The ePing notification system will
result in better informed stakeholders who can
request assistance to address challenges related to
product standards and trade. The system is
developed under the UN DESA project “Building
institutional capacity in the use of trade-related
International Support Measures (ISMs) in LDCs”.
THE GAP
Studies carried out in two pilot countries (Uganda
and the Gambia) demonstrated that national
stakeholders are poorly informed about changes in
SPS and TBT regulations of trading partners.
Communication flows among and between the
public and private sector on SPS and TBT topics are
often fragmented or non-existent.
In order to keep WTO members informed about
changes in SPS and TBT regulations of other
member States, the WTO has established a
notification system. Whenever a member state
issues new SPS or TBT regulations, it is required to
notify the WTO. This should happen before the
regulation is implemented to give trading partners
time to adjust to the new regulation1, ask for more
information, give comments or request assistance
(if it concerns a developing country).2
The notifications are made public via the online
WTO Information Management Systems and the
WTO’s ‘documents online’ service and
disseminated via WTO newsletters. While these
means of communication are by and large
sufficient to inform relevant government entities,
they do not necessarily reach all private sector
stakeholders (e.g. farmers, producers, exporters)
in LDCs. The ePing will bridge this information gab.
THE BRIDGE
The ePing enables LDCs to easily access
information and to facilitate communication on
changes in SPS and TBT regulations of (potential)
trading partners. The system will be implemented
in three phases, starting with the development
and roll-out of a simple automated electronic
information tool. During each subsequent phase,
the system will be adjusted and elaborated, based
on results of feed-back loops, evaluation sessions,
and opportunities to cooperate with relevant
organizations and development partners.
During the first phase, a basic IT system will be
developed to disseminate WTO SPS and TBT
notifications among stakeholders in LDCs. Via an
online platform, stakeholders can subscribe to
receive notification alerts, indicating products
and/or markets of interest. The IT system retrieves
1
Unless it concerns an emergency.
2
In case of emergency, the notification can happen after the
new regulation is implemented.
notifications from the WTO data base on a daily
basis and forwards these notifications to
subscribers based on their interests. To illustrate,
a notification concerning fish imports into the EU
will be forwarded to all subscribers that indicated
their interest in the product fish and/or the EU as
an export market. This notification system is
accessible world-wide and will thus be available for
all LDCs.
The second and third phases focus on two
additional objectives:
i)
improving the
understanding of the notifications and ii)
increasing communication between national and
international stakeholders and partners to
effectively address SPS and TBT related issues.
Notifications often entail very technical provisions.
To fully comprehend the notifications, a certain
amount of expertise is required. The second phase
of the ePing project will focus on the development
of a feature that will make it possible for
stakeholders
to
add
summaries
and
interpretations of notifications to the system.
These interpretations and summaries will enhance
the understanding of the new measures for
recipients less familiar with the technical jargon of
notifications and thus allow for reaching a wider
audience.
The third phase focusses on facilitating the
communication of comments and requests related
to the notifications. Once a notification is
published by the WTO, governments and private
sector stakeholders may wish to undertake several
actions related to the regulation: make a
comment, request further information or
extended time to make comments, or request
assistance to adjust to the new measure. The
notification system will be elaborated with
additional functionalities to facilitate these
actions.
In support of the roll-out of the ePing system, UN
DESA, in cooperation with national stakeholders
and international development partners, will
undertake capacity development activities in
Uganda and the Gambia. Activities will include
training for intermediaries and end-users of the
system, promotion and feed-back activities.
For further information, please contact Roland
Mollerus (email: mollerus@un.org) of the UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
or visit our website www.un.org/ldcportal.