Export Alert! gathers, organizes and disseminates notifications of proposed regulatory changes issued by any of 142 nations that are members of the World Trade Organization. Under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, WTO members are required to report proposed central government regulations that may have an impact on trade. These TBT notifications are submitted to the WTO Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. In turn, notifications are made available to designated TBT inquiry points in member nations. The U.S. inquiry point is NIST's National Center for Standards and Certification Information, or NCSCI, which manages the new service.
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By electronic mail, Export Alert! automatically sends WTO-distributed notifications to subscribing organizations and individuals. Notifications are sorted among 41 fields of activity that range from health-care technology to agriculture to construction materials. Subscribers can specify the fields of activity that they wish to track. They also monitor developments in selected countries or regions. In addition to describing the proposed regulation, notifications list the country of origin, the product covered and the deadline for comments. Interested subscribers can contact NCSCI to receive full-text copies of the proposals. The center also distributes comments from U.S. organizations to the notifying country.
Export Alert! makes it easier for U.S. companies to stay on top of foreign technical regulations that affect their overseas business. Early warning helps to ensure that U.S. organizations have adequate lead time to review and comment on proposed regulations—and perhaps head off regulations judged to pose a barrier to trade. Last year, WTO members issued more than 750 TBT-related notifications. The greatest numbers were issued in the areas of telecommunications, appliances, beverages, chemicals, food products, electrical equipment, motor vehicles and construction products.
For additional information, contact:
NCSCI
Tel.: (301) 975-4040
E-mail: ncsci@nist.gov
Website: http://ts.nist.gov/ncsci