G/TBT/GEN/336  
G/SPS/GEN/2058  
 
11 October  2022 
(22-7638) Page: 1/6 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
OFFICIAL  LAUNCH OF THE EPING  SPS&TBT PLATFORM  
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT  
The ePing SPS &TBT Platform was officially launched on the margins of the  TBT Committee meeting 
held on 13 July 2022 , with the participation of senior officials from the three partner agencies , 
the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the International Trade Center (ITC) 
and the WTO . This document provides a record of the launch event . 
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1  WELCOMING REMARKS  
1.  The Chair of the TBT Committee, Mr Anwar Hussain Shaik (India)  welcomed all to the official 
launch of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform1. As the ePing Platform contain ed regulatory information  
managed under both the SPS and TBT Committees, he first gave the floor to the Chair of the 
SPS Committee, Mr Tang -Kai Wang  (Chinese Taipei) , who recalled that the new platform, which  went 
live on 28 March 2022 , integrated  the SPS and TBT transparency tool s, as well as the former ePing 
alert system. By having all these functionalities in one place, the new ePing Platform was a 
formidable tool for improving transparency. In particular, it could  be used to facilitate the  work of 
the SPS and TBT committees, to  fulfil notification obligations, and to strengthen collaboration 
between the public and private sectors.  
2  STATEMENTS BY UNDESA, ITC AND WTO  
2.1  Ms Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary -General of the United Nations2 
2.  It is a great pleasure to participate in the launch of the new ePing global alert system for 
Sanitary  and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). It is unfortunate that I am 
not able to join you in person. However, allow me to provide some remarks remotely to con tribute 
to this important event. Since its birth in 2016, ePing has grown exponentially and has now well 
over 10,000 users from 185 countries. Almost half of the registered users are from the public sector, 
40% from the private sector, and the remainder fr om NGOs and academia. This continuous growth, 
as well as the direct feedback that we have received from the field through our capacity development 
projects, is clear evidence of its success. ePing was developed initially as a pilot version by my 
department , the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, as a result of assessments carried 
out in several Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that showed that public and private sector 
stakeholders were not accessing crucial product requirements and export market s information in a 
timely manner. ePing provides this information through notification alerts via email and by providing 
a platform which facilitates a dialogue between the private and public sector. The platform also 
allows users to connect with other sta keholders at the national and international level.  
3.  The renewed ePing platform launched today, now streamlining various important trade data 
sources and more user friendly, is most welcome. Also, in recognition of the developmental impact 
of mobile technolo gy, an ePing smartphone app was funded by DESA and is soon ready to be used 
by smartphone users all over the world. We are proud that ePing is a successful joint initiative, 
as we in DESA partner in this endeavour with the World Trade Organization and the International 
 
1 http://www.epingalert.org/en . 
2 Delivered through pre -recorded video.  G/TBT/GEN/336 • G/SPS/GEN/2058  
 
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  Trade Centre. Today, after 6 years of joint activities, our inter -agency collaboration shows the world 
that, by using the expertise of different development organisations, we can address real -life 
problems, reach more people and move from dia logue to action. Since the launch of ePing, requests 
for training and assistance for the implementation of ePing in LDCs and non -LDCs have greatly 
increased. More training workshops are planned for the coming years. For example, together with 
our partners,  we in DESA are currently assisting countries that are graduating from the list of LDCs. 
It is my hope that the renewed ePing system will be increasingly recognized as a concrete example 
of how to foster a global partnership for sustainable development by fostering knowledge and export 
opportunities for developing countries. We in DESA continue to be committed to the ePing tripartite 
partnership and, in line with our mandate and the 2030 Agenda, look forward to continue working 
with you to deliver ePing to interested countries. I thank you for your attention and I wish you a 
very successful event.  
2.2  Ms Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director, International Trade Centre  
4.  I am pleased to be with you today to launch this new ePing phase. It 's great to be back at the 
WTO and on a podium with my dear friend Jean -Marie and so many distinguished colleagues. 
In 2016, ITC was proudly part of the collective effort with the UNDESA and the WTO to set up this 
online alert mechanism for Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Tech nical Barriers to Trade notifications. 
It's my great pleasure to be here on behalf of my Executive Director and the whole ITC family as we 
formally hand over the ePing mechanism to the WTO. It couldn 't be in better hands. Some may 
wonder why such a technic al tool matters. It 's easy to forget sometimes that the lack of transparency 
on the updates of trade regulations has a high cost. Companies struggle to make sense of the 
multitude of health and safety requirements, product regulations, testing and certific ation 
procedures and other measures necessary for reach international markets. This burden is especially 
high for the micro and small firms in developing and least developed countries – which, after all, 
have been ITC 's stakeholders since we were set up by  the then -GATT and UN almost sixty years 
ago. ITC business surveys conducted in more than 70 countries reveal that half of business trade 
obstacles are related to SPS and TBT measures. These obstacles are challenging. That 's why we set 
up ePing to provide up-to-date information that businesses need to stay informed and thereby 
reducing obstacles to trade.  
5.  We are also proud to see that the team has not rested on its laurels and is continually working 
to improve ePing 's possibilities. When we launched the pla tform, our shared priority was to make 
ePing system more accessible internationally, notably through partnerships with local institutions to 
translate the notifications into languages beyond English, French, and Spanish. Last year, this goal 
came true with  a pilot project in Viet Nam. The Vietnamese version of ePing helps businesses receive 
information in a timely manner about regulatory changes in partner countries. This innovative 
project also included a translation function from legal to business languag e. We wanted users to 
clearly understand what the changes concretely mean for the businesses in question, and the impact 
which they are likely to have. This successful experience in Viet Nam encourages us to move forward 
and continue working to make this a  reality in other WTO Members . 
6.  Today, we pass on the torch of the technical maintenance of the platform to the WTO. However, 
we would like to emphasize this is not the end of our successful collaboration:  
• We will continue investing in sharing knowledge thr ough a network of ITC local 
certified trainers on market access and non -tariff measures in our target 
countries.  
• We will continue to put our expertise at the service of the MSMEs to support local 
traders reach global markets.  
• We will continue to foster dia logue between the business community and the 
public sector through our ePing dissemination activities.  
7.  We are confident that the new features and improvements provided by this new ePing version 
will pave the road for the growth: both in the number of users  benefiting from the platform to stay 
informed, as well as anticipating and better understanding regulatory changes in export destination 
markets. Let me close by saying that ITC renews today its commitment to be an ePing champion. 
I firmly believe that wi th this platform, we can help small business go global, change lives and 
achieve the SDGs.  G/TBT/GEN/336 • G/SPS/GEN/2058  
 
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  2.3  Mr Jean -Marie Paugam, WTO Deputy Director -Genera l 
8.  It is very easy to fish with pesticides: you pour the pesticide; the fish comes belly up to the 
surface and you jus t have to collect. Now, it will not be so easy to sell a fish with pesticides. Not  only 
because it is probably a crime in most countries but at any rate because there are some technical 
standards and regulations which would absolutely prohibit such a dange rous product.  
9.  Technical standards and regulations are the reason why we are gathering today, to celebrate the 
launch of the ePing SPS -TBT Platform. As suggested with my rather extreme example of fishing with 
pesticides, standards and regulations, the WTO r ule book fully recognizes the legitimacy, use and 
value of these regulations, for all sorts of obvious reasons.  At the same time, the WTO recognizes 
that they can have a significant impact on trade flows. Thus, our mission is to preserve the integrity 
of the world trading system by upholding the overarching principles of transparency and 
non-discrimination, which are cornerstones of the TBT and SPS Agreements. Transparency ensures 
predictability for public and private stakeholders to get information on regu latory developments, 
whether they are about protecting the environment, ensuring food safety, preventing the spread of 
pests – or even responding to C OVID -19, and many other policy objectives.  
10.  The centrepiece of this transparency effort relies on one commi tment from our Members: that  is 
notifications. It just means that Members have to say to other Members what they do, to inform 
them and give them an opportunity to engage. And our Members do it quite well! 
Around  77,000  notifications were distributed throu gh the TBT and SPS Committees since 1995. 
Last year alone, the WTO circulated almost 6,000 TBT and SPS notifications, or more than 110 per 
week on average. It represents close to 75% of all notifications circulated in the WTO, under all 
Agreements. An incr easing share of these notifications are submitted by developing Members, and 
some of the least developed Members are among the top notifiers. I can only encourage you to 
maintain this level of engagement. The more notifications are shared, the more valuabl e the process 
becomes. And once you have notified, we take care of the rest. It is our job to make sure that 
everyone can benefit from your transparency efforts.  That is precisely what the ePing platform is 
about.  
11.  The platform was created back in 2016, by UNDESA, ITC and the WTO. The idea was sparked 
by a recommendation in the TBT Committee and then expanded. I would like to commend and thank 
our partners for developing it with us. There are three key features of ePing that I want to underline : 
• It is an ale rt service , that allows users, more than 17 ,000 registered today, to 
receive updates on product requirements.  
• it is an inclusive service , that brings together all interested stakeholders - public 
and private, domestic and international - under one roof. It  facilitates regulatory 
monitoring for all of them . 
• it is a digital service , up to date with state -of-the-art advanced technologies. 
ePing is now the one-stop-shop for tracking notifications, specific trade concerns 
and related documents. I am also happy to announce that a first version of an 
ePing mobile App has just been released and is now available in the App stores, 
making it easier for users to t rack notifications of interest to them.  
12.  This is particularly relevant for the private sector and in regions where the mobile phone or 
tablet is more widely used than a personal computer, in particular in developing countries. The  App is 
a novelty: not only  for the ePing project – but also for the WTO. Alert, inclusive, digital. 
For these  reasons, an increasing number of Members, developed and developing alike, 
are integrating ePing into their domestic transparency and outreach mechanisms. The Secretariat 
stands ready to provide technical assistance to that end.  We look forward to expanding the use of 
ePing and our successful collaboration with UNDESA and ITC.  
3  DISCUSSION  
13.  The Chair of the TBT Committee thanked the representatives of the three partner organizations 
as well as their staff who had worked so diligently to offer this improved service. He recalled that in 
November 2021, in the context of its Ninth Triennial Review, the TBT Committee had adopte d a G/TBT/GEN/336 • G/SPS/GEN/2058  
 
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  series of recommendations related to transparency , one of which had called for the integration of 
TBT online tools into a more comprehensive and centralized platform. He welcomed the rapid and 
successful delivery of this mandate, in close consultation with delegations , stating that  ePing would 
also be instrumental in advancing with many of the other recommendations on transparency. 
The Chair said that using ePing would further improve the implementation and benefits of 
transparency  and encouraged Member s to reach out to ePing partner agencies with feedback to 
enable further adjustments and improvements to the platform . In summing up, he said that the 
ePing tool could  only benefit their work, and assist in facilitating reliable and safe trade for 
stakehol ders. 
14.  The representative of the United States  express ed her delegation's  heartfelt appreciation to the 
WTO, especially the colleagues in the TBT Secretariat , as well as the IT colleagues, who h ad worked 
tirelessly to make the ePing SPS&TBT Platform a reality. She noted that this undertaking  was a 
culmination of several years' worth of dedicated effort to turn a recommendation from the 
WTO membership into a reality. Prior to ePing, Members needed t o develop individual solutions to 
the challenges of creating awareness of and sharing information about TBT with their stakeholders.  
15.  In the last several years, the WTO TBT Secretariat, in collaboration with the ITC and UNDESA, 
had undertaken a major projec t to create and upgrade the ePing system  for all WTO Members . 
Officially available in upgraded form in March 2022 as the ePing SPS&TBT platform, this online 
system provide d access to notifications and statements on Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) made by 
WTO Members under the SPS and TBT Agreements, and distributed by the WTO from 16 January 
1995 to present. ePing allowed all interested stakeholders to browse notifications on past as well as 
new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal a nd plant health standards and 
regulations, to locate information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees 
and information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review 
current and past notifications o n products, food safety and animal and plant health measures and/or 
markets of interest.  
16.  Anyone worldwide with internet and/or mobile (cellular) network access could  register with 
ePing to receive customized email alerts and learn of proposed product requi rements in markets of 
interest. National notification authorities, including the United States, also rel ied on ePing to submit 
notifications under the SPS and TBT Agreements, thereby streamlining and allowing for 
customization of the process national SPS a nd TBT Enquiry Points use to meet their obligations under 
those Agreements. Additionally, ePing offer ed powerful communication features allow ing 
collaboration between international and national stakeholders. As of 31 December 2021, ePing had 
15,443 registe red users from 184 countries and territories. At last count on 7 July, the United States 
had over 850 national ePing subscribers, and expect ed registration by national stakeholders to 
increase in the coming weeks and months. The Notify US system, created a nd used by the United 
States since 2003 to facilitate awareness of notifications made by Member s to the TBT Committee, 
would  be discontinued later in 2022 . Subscribers to that system were being directed to the ePing 
SPS&TBT Platform to receive notification  alerts. This change was new and exciting, yet also a 
daunting prospect for some of the US  stakeholders.  
17.  While the ePing SPS&TBT Platform ha d been built and officially launched, and Members were 
increasingly reliant on the system to make information access ible to stakeholders as well as meet 
their notification obligations, the US recognize d that the ePing SPS&TBT Platform was a work in 
progress. Efforts and planning continue d behind the scenes and within the SPS and TBT Committees 
to facilitate the use and adoption of the ePing platform by stakeholder groups around the world, to 
ensure understanding, access and use by all WTO Members, especially Least -Developed Countries 
(LDCs) and their constituents. Additionally, the WTO's ongoing upgrades and planned impr ovements 
to its other eTools, such as Documents Online3 and the continued improvement of the WTO's new 
Notifications Portal4, may require integration and compatibility with ePing to ensure all of the 
WTO e-tools function ed logically and optimally for all  users, and users ha d the information and 
materials they need ed to understand how to use these systems and recognize when they were not 
functioning as intended.  
18.  The ePing Platform ha d been remarkably useful immediately upon its release earlier in 2022 , 
and the United States was grateful for the quick resolution of technical difficulties reported with the 
 
3 https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/FE_S_S005.aspx . 
4 https://notifications.wto.org/en . G/TBT/GEN/336 • G/SPS/GEN/2058  
 
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  system, as well as the quick responses to questions.  Her delegation would welcome seeing continued 
enhancement of communication and administrative fea tures in the Platform, especially concerning 
the provision of texts that are not provided by Members at the time notification is made, as well as 
(additional) tutorials and user guides to facilitate use of the system. To that end, the US looked 
forward to further opportunities to engage with other WTO Members and the WTO Secretariat. 
Learning from domestic  stakeholders and from each other about the WTO's eTools ha d been and 
would continue to be invaluable to ensure optimized use and adoption by all.  In summ ing up, the 
US stressed that t he creation and launch of ePing and now the ePing SPS&TBT Platform ha d been 
a major development in enabling equal access to tools and information needed by all Members to 
meet their obligations, enhance and guide communication s with their stakeholder and other national 
Enquiry Points, and facilitate the use and awareness of information about technical barriers to trade 
to all sectors and stakeholder groups. She encouraged the Committee to continue the good work 
and collaboratio n that ha d created such a powerful and indispensable tool.  
19.  The representative of Mexico  thank ed the secretariats of all three organizations for the efforts 
taken in recent years leading to the launch of this dynamic ePing update  and which was extremely 
important for the TBT and SPS Committees , recalling th at this ha d fulfilled an obligation to Members 
which was raised in the Ninth Triennial Review. The ePing platform allow ed the organization to 
function better, improve d transparency and facilitate d access t o crucial information to make sure 
WTO obligations were fulfilled, in a ddition to being a key tool in the oversight of how these measures 
impact ed operators in their work. The updated platform , she said,  would allow Mexican industries to 
have access to rel evant information for the marketing of their products, as well as the possibility of 
enriching the work of Committees in being update d on potential trade irritants and to address them 
in an early manner to overcome potential barriers and unnecessary costs.  ePing strengthen ed the 
message of the importance of cooperation in transparency and fulfilment of international standards. 
She underlined that i t was a key message to be reiterate d to their operators.  
20.  The previous day, panellists had shared the benefits of using ePing  and Mexico was confident 
that this would be a superhighway for the organization within the work of this important Committee , 
underlining the importance  of providing timely and accessible information in facilitating trade.  ePing 
allowed the Committee to take a major step forward in efforts to improv e the operationalization and 
implementation of the TBT A greement. The TBT and SPS teams were thanked for their availability 
and knowledge sharing in recent capacity building even ts delivered to government and private 
sector ; moreover, improvements in cooperation and coordination had been seen in their industry.  
Mexico stress ed its availability to continue to work on improving online tools in the future and the 
functioning of the TBT and SPS Committees.  
21.  The representative of the European Union  expressed appreciation for the words of the opening 
speakers and congratulated the TBT Secretariat for the hard work in achiev ing this integrated online 
tool, key to facilitating the work of a ll Members and stakeholders. The EU believe d that transparency 
was crucial to the work of the TBT Committee and that the new ePing platform was essential to 
improve this. She recalled that the EU had participated in the pilot project and indeed had switche d 
from the well-working EU system to adopt the ePing platform. The European Union would continue 
to engage with the WTO, with all Members and stakeholders to continue to work on this important 
subject to improve transparency and the work of the TBT.  
22.  The re presentative of Colombia  joined others in congratulati ng the Secretariat for the launch of 
ePing  and highlighted two points. Firstly, the i mportance of consulting SPS and TBT notifications 
under one roof and being able to follow up on these – single window for regulators, government 
entities and private sector. Secon dly, ePing promote d dialogue between government agencies. 
In Colombia, it acted as a tool that brought together regulators and facilitated interaction and 
teamwork among agencies in the go vernment. Regarding the new interface, thanks to the 
Secretariat's excellent work, including consultation of Geneva - and capital -based officials, the needs 
expressed had been responded to through many improvements  in the interface and accessibility . 
Colomb ia back ed the Chair's comment on the new tool  and new challenges  by encourag ing the  
Secretariat to keep up the good work, updates and good implementation.  
23.  The representative of Viet Nam  expressed thank s and congratulations to the ePing partners 
team as wel l as to ITC and WTO for successfully developing the Vietnamese version of ePing, officially 
launched in April 2021. It ha d helped enterprises, especially MSMEs, in accessing information on 
product requirements ; as language was a huge barrier in many develo ping counties , the Vietnamese 
version benefit ted their business community.  G/TBT/GEN/336 • G/SPS/GEN/2058  
 
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  24.  The representative of Canada  joined other delegations in congratulating the Secretariat for the 
announcement of the new ePing , especially as the work had been carried out in a diffi cult situation 
where in -person meetings were not possible and in a very short timeframe . The integration of other 
tools resulted was an efficient instrument respond ing to the needs of all users.  
25.  The representative of Australia  express ed its congratulations  to the Secretariat, partner 
organizations, and all those who had contributed to the development of the new integrated ePing 
platform , in particular the TBT team . Australia found the integration of the various tools into one 
invaluable in supporting transp arency in the area of TBT and in facilitating trade , and looked forward 
to using and learning ePing's various functions . 
26.  The representative of the United Kingdom  joined others in congratulating the Secretariat  on the 
launch of this platform, thanking the organizations that had made it possible. The platform 's 
usefulness and relevance to policy makers and other stakeholders  could not be underestimated . 
With transparency being one of the key elements of the TBT a nd SPS Agreements, th e platform 
facilitate d work in these areas by ensuring access to key regulatory information. The UK would 
continue to raise awareness of the importance of this platform with its stakeholders and would work 
together with the partners to  make sure that it remain ed the one -stop-shop for accessing 
information. The UK looked forward to testing  the mobile phone application.  
27.  The representative of the World Bank Group  (International Finance Corporation) praised the 
launch of the e Ping platform , noting its importance for regulatory and policy making areas , especially 
for developing countries transforming their food safety systems. In its worldwide work at business  
and government levels, the World Bank would bring the platform to the attention of its stakeholders.  
28.  The Chair conclude d the launch session by thanking the representatives of partner agencies as 
well as the Chair of the SPS Committee for their valuable contributions.  
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