E-commerce services and digital economy - UNDESA

Through its capacity development activities UNDESA initiated an electronic platform (ePing) assisting countries in keeping up with product requirements in export markets. With ePing, stakeholders can track and respond to notifications on products relevant to their export markets, furthering opportunities and avoiding trade disruption. ePing (www.epingalert.org) is a publically available online tool that enables private and public stakeholders to quickly access and discuss new SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) and TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) notifications. The tool can be customised at the domestic level so that registered enquiry point officials can monitor activities and better engage national stakeholders.

UNDESA, the WTO and the International Trade Centre (ITC) established the ePing initiative in 2016, pooling expertise and experience. UNDESA built the pilot version of ePing as part of a trade capacity building project for least developed countries. The WTO manages the depository of the SPS and TBT notifications and works together with members' SPS and TBT enquiry points. ITC brings significant experience in developing and maintaining online trade-related tools, targeted mainly at SMEs, and hosts the IT infrastructure and development.]