G/TBT/GEN/358  
 
1 September 2023  
(23-5871) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
  
TENTH SPECIAL MEETING ON PROCEDURES FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE  
19 JUNE 2023, 10:00 -18:00  
Chair's Report1 
_______________  
 
 
Pursuant to its decision to hold regular meetings of persons responsible for information exchange, 
including persons responsible for enquiry points and notifications2, the TBT Committee held its Tenth 
Special Meeting on Procedures for Information Exchange on 19 June 2023. The Special Meetings 
provide an opportunity for Members to discuss issues relating to infor mation exchange and review 
periodically the functioning of notification procedures and the operation of enquiry points. They also 
facilitate follow up on specific transparency -related recommendations agreed by the TBT Committee 
during its triennial reviews .3 The Tenth Special Meeting was organized in three panel sessions 
focusing on (i) the ePing SPS & TBT platform; (ii) operation of enquiry points (responding to queries 
and preparing comments); and (iii) the Harmonized System (HS). This document provides a 
summary of the meeting while further information regarding the programme and presentations as 
well as the recording are available through the dedicated webpage  on the WTO website.  
 
SESSION 1: USE OF EPING FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH  
1.1.  One of the recommendations from the Ninth Triennial Review was for the Secretariat to improve 
and streamline online tools and work towards a comprehensive centralized platform.4 The Secretariat 
followed up on this recommendation with the  launch of the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform  in July 
2022, integrating and improving the services offered previously through five separate online tools.5 
During this session, the Secretariat presented key features  of ePing  and Members shared their 
experiences in using ePing to implement and benefit from the TBT transparency mechanisms.  
1.2.  The Secretariat  presented ePing's suite of services and m ain functions: (i) submitting 
notifications, (ii) tracking Committee work (notifications, specific trade concerns  and other 
documents) and (iii) communication. Through specific examples, the Secretariat  demonstrated how 
these functions could be of benefit for various types of users. Some of the recent ePing developments 
included: i)  the possibility to search  Committee documents other than notifications based on 
metadata ; ii) the possibility for notification admins to update contact information for their Enq uiry 
Points directly on the platform;  iii) the availability of nine new video tutorials explaining different 
functions of the platform; iv)  the incorporation of the latest versions of HS and ICS codes ; and 
(v) the single sign -on system , which allows delega tes with access credentials to navigate easily 
between ePing and eAgenda. For capacity building options, delegates were invited to contact the 
Secretariat.  
 
1 Ms Anna Vitie  (Finland). This report is provided on the Chair's own responsibility.  
2 G/TBT/1/Rev.15 , para. 6.8.1.a . 
3 For example, see further information on the Ninth Special Meeting  held on 18 -19 June 2019, which  
focused on topics identified during the Eighth Triennial Review concluded in November 2018 ( G/TBT/41 ). 
4 G/TBT/46 , para. 6.29.a.i.  
5 The SPS Information Management System (SPS IMS), the TBT Information Management System 
(TBT IMS), the SPS Notification Submission System (SPS NSS), the TBT Notification Submission System 
(TBT NSS) and the SPS/TBT notification alert system ePing.  G/TBT/GEN/358  
 
- 2 - 
 
  1.3.  Following the presentation, the Secretariat was requested to prepare an explanatory document 
outlini ng the access rights and functions available for the different types of users, namely 
notifications admins, outreach admins and regular users.  
1.4.  Ms Lahya Hambinga (Namibia)6 gave an overview of the main functions and initiatives 
undertaken by the TBT Notif ication and Enquiry Point , which is housed in the Namibian Standards 
Institution (NSI). She then focused on Namibia's participation in the WTO's TBT Transparency 
Champions Programme.7 This programme has directly impacted the NSI's uptake and efforts to 
promote the use of ePing. There have been (i) improvements in domestic coordination and capacity 
building for regulatory authorities and business stakeholders and (ii) dedicated efforts to register 
more ePing users during training events. One novel innovatio n for Namibia has been the creation of 
an ePing form, which is used to gather information on interested stakeholders and to register them 
on the platform. Since the launch of the Champions programme in October 2022, Namibia has 
significantly increased its number of national ePing users, submitted new notifications through the 
ePing platform, increased awareness via its continued outreach efforts and established a national 
TBT committee.  
1.5.  Mr. Alex Chaparro (Chile)8 provided an overview of the role and responsibilities of the Chilean 
Enquiry Point, which is managed by the Sub -secretariat of Economic Relations (SUBREI) in the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He explained the interaction between their office and stakeholde rs, which 
include regulators, public and private sector as well as other Members' Enquiry Points. Regarding 
their current operation and diffusion of ePing, every two weeks, the Enquiry Point sends a file to 
both public and private sectors with the latest i nformation relevant to Chile. The Enquiry Point also 
manages the flow of comments and requests from different stakeholders.  They have been using 
ePing for submitting and tracking TBT notifications and for outreach to stakeholders. To encourage 
further diff usion and use of ePing, the Enquiry Point is planning training sessions with the Civil 
Society Council (COSOC) and the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) . In addition, a new ePing 
signature has been added to the Enquiry Points' email account to raise  awareness and encourage 
stakeholders to register on ePing.  
1.6.  Ms MaryAnn Hogan (United States)9 shared the US Enquiry Point's ePing experience as 
managed under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). She began by providing 
background on t he original national notification alert system (Notify US) which was widely used 
before it was retired in January 2023 when the NIST moved fully to ePing, following a nine -month 
transition period for their 3,000 subscribers. To assist stakeholders with the  transition, NIST offered 
several ePing training sessions. Their outreach has been tailored to specific sectors, covering 
amongst others, beverages, waste and scrap, medical technology, cosmetics and food. Ongoing 
contacts and engagement with different sta keholders regarding ePing has also allowed to better 
understand their unique ePing uses and needs. Ms Hogan emphasized the enhanced transparency 
in their work and access to information for stakeholders, especially the private sector. She also 
underlined th e usefulness of ongoing communication with the WTO Secretariat regarding the 
platform and welcomed the announcement of the new video tutorials.   
1.7.  In response to a query, there was discussion on delegations' experiences in using ePing to 
disseminate comments  on notifications. It was noted that ePing's international forum was a good 
option to update other Members on any comments provided.  In doing so, Members could either 
include the full content of the comments on ePing or simply announce that they have submi tted 
comments and provide further information upon request.  
1.8.  Delegates also exchanged experiences and views on how certain administrative and 
non-substantive changes with regards to technical regulations, such as consolidation of existing 
texts, could best  be brought to the attention of other Members (without necessarily starting a 
comment period).  Various options were suggested, including the use of Addenda or the indication of 
 
6 Manager , WTO/TBT Notification and Enquiry Point, Namibian Standards Institution.  
7 Transparency Champions Programme  is a WTO capacity building initiativ e, which was piloted in the 
Africa region to enhance the application and benefits of TBT transparency mechanisms.  
8 Adviser at the Regulatory Affairs Division, Undersecretary of International Economic Affairs, Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, Chile.  
9 Team Lea der, USA TBT Enquiry Point, Standards Coordination Office, National Institute of Standards 
and Technology (NIST).  G/TBT/GEN/358  
 
- 3 - 
 
  "other" in the regular notification format.  More generally, the usefulness and value of facilitating 
access to regulatory information was underlined.  
1.9.  Mr. Lucian Cernat (European Union)10 made a presentation on the value of WTO transparency 
and the use of ePing to address complex trade requirements , based on a recent policy brief . 
Currently, it is estimated that these complex trade requirements affect 15 trillion dollars of global 
merchandise trade.  He stated that the TBT Committ ee is one of the best forums for transparency by 
providing business -friendly information online via the ePing platform. Despite the valuable features 
offered and its use by the business community, he asserted that the ePing system is far from 
reaching its true potential. He contended that the current user base was too small to make a systemic 
difference and the number of business users in particular was too small. In closing, he suggested to 
further improve ePing services by drawing on AI technologies and c reating a "chatTBT tool".  
1.10.   There was discussion on inclusion of and attracting MSMEs to ePing . It was noted that trade 
or industry associations can be a useful bridge between MSMEs and the government to disseminate 
information on the platform. The Secretariat explained that in addition to the video tutorials, a 
general ePing video targeting the pr ivate sector would be prepared to assist in awareness -raising.  
SESSION 2(A): OPERATION OF ENQUIRY POINTS: RESPONDING TO QUERIES  
2.1.  The second session focused on the operation of Enquiry Points, beginning with good practices 
and challenges in responding to q ueries/requests from Members and other interested parties 
regarding notified measures.  
2.2.  Ms MaryAnn Hogan  (United States) shared the US Enquiry Point's practices in responding to 
queries/requests. She provided an overview of the types of queries received fr om other WTO 
Members on a range of good s such as cosmetics, food products, consumer goods, energy 
requirements, etc. She outlined the US' response time which is within three to five days in keeping 
with the TBT Committee recommendation. She underlined two key practices: (i) close collaboration 
between Enquiry Points and relevant agencies, including becoming familiar with their websites and 
(ii) acknowledging receipt of incoming requests/comments and providing an indicative timeline for 
any follow up.  
SESSIO N 2(B): OPERATION OF ENQUIRY POINTS: PREPARING COMMENTS AND REPLIES  
3.1.  One of the Committee recommendations from the Ninth Triennial Review was to develop a 
good practice guide on how to comment on a notification.11 A group of seven Enquiry Points12 have 
volunteered to contribute to the drafting of the guide and developed a set of guiding questions  to 
assist with this work. This session was organized to compile inputs towards the preparation of the 
guide. Members were invited to share their inputs in light of the aforementioned guiding questions.  
3.2.  Ms Bexci Sanchez (United States)13 shared the guidance they provide to US stake holders on 
commenting activity. This guidance is divided into several sections which include overview, preparing 
and submitting comments, comment deadlines, procedure after submitting comments, other 
considerations and additional information. Regarding preparing comments, she explained that this 
is divided into two areas: formal and substantive as pects. The formal aspects include the operational 
framework such as the dedicated inbox, timeline for submission (typically two days before the 
deadline), information such as the notification symbol, etc. Substantive aspects in the preparation 
of inputs fo r a comment include: a rationale statement, estimated trade value and potential trade 
impact, potential unintended consequences, suggestions of less trade restrictive options or edits to 
avoid unnecessary barriers while legitimate objectives are met, refer ences to international standards 
context, requesting clarification of text, consideration of transition timelines, reference to TBT 
Committee decisions and recommendations. She briefly explained the economic criteria which is 
used to prioritise comments. F or the Department of Agriculture, for example, the measure or 
regulation in question must have an impact of above $1 million USD to be considered for commenting 
activity. Other aspects such as systemic impact, industry interests, future interests in future  markets 
 
10 Head of Global Regulatory Cooperation and International Procurement Negotiations, European 
Commission.  
11 G/TBT/46 , para. 7.13.b.  
12 Australia, Ken ya, Namibia, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, and the United States.  
13 International Trade Specialist, USDA Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS).  G/TBT/GEN/358  
 
- 4 - 
 
  are also considered. She also shared the positive responses received from other Members to sending 
comments such as clarifications, withdrawal of measures, alignment with international standards, 
delay in implementation, etc . 
3.3.  Ms Eleanor Sanderson (Australia)14 shared Australia's approach to preparing and submitting 
comments. Australia's TBT Enquiry Point is located within the Department of Foreign Affairs and 
Trade (DFAT), Office of Global Trade Negotiations. Australia views comme nts as an important tool 
to seek clarification, better understand notified measures, possibly influence final outcomes 
and inform STC decision making. Preparation of comments is divided into two main areas: 
(i) identifying notifications of interest and (ii ) assessing and drafting. Australia focuses their review 
of notifications on their key trade interests in terms of goods and markets. In this process, they 
maintain communication with their stakeholders: policy makers, industries, DFAT trade law team 
and c ountry posts. The Australian approach to both sending and responding to comments is 
centralised around the Enquiry Point, but given its small size, the Enquiry Point draws on the 
expertise of subject specialists, regulators and industry and strives continu ously for efficiency gains. 
Regulators or policy areas with relevant or corresponding responsibility will draft comments on other 
Members ' notifications and the regulator responsible for a notification drafts their response to any 
comment received on an Au stralian notification. The Enquiry Point reviews for suitability, including 
ensuring all questions are answered in responses, and is responsible for sending comments and 
responses. An acknowledgement of receipt is also sent in response to any comments rece ived, and 
the commenting Member 's Enquiry Point is always copied in correspondence.  
3.4.  There was some discussion regarding coordination of comments and possibility of direct contact 
between stakeholders in an exporting country with regulators and other entiti es in the notifying 
Member. While practices may vary, it was noted that the Enquiry Point remains the consistent point 
of contact and funnel for information. Delegations also noted the importance of clear timelines for 
responding to comments and of acknowl edgement of receipt, including an expected response time, 
to enhance predictability.  
SESSION 3: WORKSHOP ON THE HARMONIZED SYSTEM (HS)  
4.1.  One of the recommendations from the Ninth Triennial Review was for the Secretariat to 
organize trainings on HS and ICS C odes and provide an update to the Committee on suggestions for 
increasing uniformity in the use of ICS /HS Codes and product names in notifications.15 In response, 
the Secretariat organized a workshop on HS Codes, drawing on the work and expertise of staff in 
the Market Access Division and the Central Registry of Notifications (CRN).  
4.2.  The Secretariat  led an interactive workshop on the Harmonized System (HS) managed by 
the World Customs Organization (WCO). First, he explained the basics of tariff classificati on and 
gave an overview of the HS including the Convention; the Nomenclature; the Notes for Sections, 
Chapters, Headings and Subheadings; General Interpretation Rules (GIRs);  the classification 
opinions ; and the explanatory notes (HSEN). He underlined that  GIRs are an integral part of the 
nomenclature and set out the principles for classification in the HS. He explained how HS works in 
practice drawing on specific examples  such as different types of chocolate s and products with 
multiple components/functions . He also pointed out the evolution of HS Codes over the years and 
the adoption of updated versions by the WCO, reflecting developments such the designation  of new 
product  categories  (e.g. electronic textiles and drones). He referred to an online WTO -WCO system  
called HS Tracker  (beta version), which assists users in tracking changes across different HS 
versions.  
4.3.  The Secretariat  also provided an overview of the functions of the C entral Registry of 
Notifications (CRN) and introduced the Secretariat's product dictionary initiative. She referred to the 
Decision on Notification Procedures  which mandates the CRN to act as the official repository of 
notifications and to inform Members of their notification obligations. Specific to the TBT Committee, 
she also described what happens in the background when a TBT notification is submitt ed to the 
WTO. Currently, the information on product coverage of a regulation is provided by the notifying 
Member, using the HS codes, the ICS codes or free text. Where possible, the CRN also adds HS or 
ICS Codes to notifications to facilitate searches in databases, but this additional information does 
 
14 Assistant Director, Non -Tariff Barriers Strategies Section, Office of Global Trade Negotiations, 
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australian TBT Enquiry Point).  
15 G/TBT/46 , para. 7.13.a  G/TBT/GEN/358  
 
- 5 - 
 
  not appear in the official notification. She then explained that the CRN, in collaboration with other 
Secretariat teams, has been working on a product dictionary initiative since 2021. The purpose of 
the dict ionary is to facilitate searches and to assist Members in the preparation of their notifications. 
The CRN is currently attempting to develop a comprehensive collection of terms (product names) 
with corresponding HS code(s) via a mapping exercise. The tool is intended to be flexible and cover 
overlapping terms as well as synonyms. Once a first version of the product dictionary has been 
validated, it could be integrated into ePing to assist Members in identifying HS Codes when preparing 
notifications, and all  ePing users in tracking and receiving customized alerts on notifications covering 
products of interest to them.  
COMMENTS BY THE CHAIR  
5.1.  I noted several takeaways from the special meeting.  
During the first session on ePing, the Secretariat demonstrated how e Ping can be a powerful 
tool for delegates. It helps with both tracking Committee work and for reaching out to domestic 
stakeholders. I also note that the further use of ePing's communication functions for clarifications 
on notifications could help reduce t he number of STCs that are brought to the Committee. 
Enquiry Points have a key role to play in ensuring that their public and private stakeholders draw 
maximum benefits from ePing. In this regard, the exchange of experiences among Enquiry Points 
was very b eneficial, and I believe that this exchange should continue at future occasions. We 
also heard suggestions for ePing to evolve further taking advantage of recent digital innovations 
and reference was even made to a possible ChatTBT . One follow -up action fr om this session will 
be for the Secretariat to prepare an explanatory note on the different user profiles and the admin 
rights that they can have.  
During the second session on  the operation of  Enquiry Points, we heard how Members respond 
to queries and pre pare comments and replies. The deliberations from this session will serve as 
useful input towards the preparation of the good practice guide on how to comment. This work 
will respond to a mandate of the Committee from the Ninth Triennial Review.  As announc ed 
during the meeting, seven Enquiry Points have volunteered to work on this guide. I would like 
to thank this group of seven and would invite them to provide an update at the next meeting of 
the Transparency Working Group.  
The third session provided an ov erview of HS codes. Delegates had the opportunity to practice 
their skills in assigning HS Codes to several  selected products. The Secretariat colleagues from 
the Market Access Division did an excellent job in making this technical topic understandable to 
all. The session also demonstrated the challenges Enquiry Points and Notification Authorities 
may have in assigning HS codes to notifications. In this regard, the Secretariat also presented 
a new "product dictionary" initiative, which could eventually assi st delegations in both identifying 
and searching by HS Codes/product groupings.  I suggest that we also continue discussing the 
topic of product coverage in the Transparency Working Group.  
Overall, I believe that this interactive Special Meeting provided ve ry valuable insights as well as 
tips and tricks for improving our regulatory transparency efforts. I would like to thank all 
speakers for their presentations and Members for their active engagement in the meeting.   
__________