WTO/TBT National Enquiry Point (NEP)

WTO/TBT National Enquiry Point (NEP)

Service & products, benefits of enquiry point and; information resources at the NEP.

  • In accordance with article 10.7 of TBT agreement, all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required to be as transparent as possible on issues related to standards, technical regulations and procedures of assessing the conformity of goods and services to relevant standards. Members are, therefore, required to notify WTO Secretariat, indicating standards and technical regulations being prepared or in the process of adoption.

  • It is in this scope that country members are required to set up a National Enquiry Point (NEP) to handle information on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).

  • Rwanda Standards Board has been designated as the WTO/TBT National Enquiry Point, to ensure that manufacturers, importers and exporters get the latest information on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures available in their target market.

Benefits of WTO/TBT NEP:

  • Access to WTO notifications

  • Information on export market requirements

  • Keep track of product requirements in export markets

  • Make the public aware of other member countries requirements with regard to standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures

  • Contribute to the implementation and development of standard/technical regulation and conformity procedures that will not have any unnecessary barriers to trading partners

  • Stakeholders are able to share information they receive from the ePing alert with their local counterparts

Figure 2: Add a hyperlink to ePing to cover the entire picture, please use: https://epingalert.org/ .

 Information resources

The ePing SPS/TBT platform facilitates tracking sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) measures. As a user, you can:

  • Browse notifications on new and updated product standards and regulations.

  • Find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT committees.

  • Sign up to receive email alerts  and to follow notifications on products and/or markets of interest.

  • Reach out to national and international counterparts.

  • Please visit the WTO SPS and TBT gateways for more information on these Agreements.

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