Trade
Introduction
The Trade programme, implemented by Economic Cooperation and Trade Division, works to develop closer economic relations among member States, as well as to better integrate their economies into the world economy. The trade programme's inter-governmental bodies make policy recommendations, develop standards for use in trade and assist member States in implementing them. These bodies also suggest ways and means of creating legal and administrative frameworks for fostering trade. Work includes a range of activities to assist member States with: trade facilitation; regulatory and standards policy; commercial agricultural standards; and e-business standards.
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Key areas of work
In focus
The 41st UN/CEFACT Forum will be co-hosted with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) and take place in person at the United Nations Building in Bangkok, Thailand.
Aimed at reinvigorating partnerships, demonstrating the impact and relevance of key UN/CEFACT instruments and making progress on key deliverables, this Forum will unite experts from the public and private sectors to engage in interactive thematic discussions, seminars, and roundtables.
WP.6 hosted a successful annual forum of its subgroups from 22 to 26 May 2023. Three webinars (Back to Basics, Risk Management and Gender Action Plans) and annual meetings of GRM, GRS, MARS, START and START-ED. All of the presentations are available on the event web pages and the reports are being prepared for the WP.6 Annual Session meeting.
Highlights
- UN/CEFACT has recently published several White Papers, Guidelines and Executive Guides which are available on the website.
- UN/CEFACT has over a dozen active projects ranging from Single Window recommendations to eQuality Certificates and Sustainable tourism to Blockchain. If you are interested in joining our work, please contact us at [email protected]
- UNECE is keen to present one solution: the FeedUp@UN – a digital blockchain-powered food loss and waste management system. It is designed to identify and quantify the food which disappears on its way from the farm to our shops, the currently “invisible” food and make it available for redistributing, donating or further processing.
Please also check the latest food loss and waste FeedUP@UN video. - The 17th MARS Group meeting in Moscow showcased coordination possibilities of market surveillance worldwide with the example of the EU, addressed product non-compliance risk in international trade and the use of WP.6 Recommendations R, P, S and T in creating risk-based import compliance frameworks using predictive risk management tools. The meeting also outlined the important role of standards in the market surveillance agencies’ work.
- Working Party 6, in collaboration with the Kyrgyz Economic University, organized a Workshop on Women Entrepreneurship which raised awareness regarding the challenges faced by women in business, when trading internationally, and identify measures to build capacity for increased female entrepreneurship.
- New brochure on “Gender Responsive Standards”: Standards are often developed by technical committees where the participation of women is far below parity. Very few methodologies exist to probe if standards respond to gendered needs and to correct any gender bias in standards. The UNECE marked “World Standards Day” by raising awareness about UNECE Gender Responsive Standards Declaration, which aims at making standards work for women.
- New brochure on “Standards for Sustainable Development”: The UNECE marked World Standards Day by launching the Standards for the SDGs Portal a vital awareness-raising tool, that allows UNECE and other standards developing organizations to highlight how their work helps advance Agenda 2030 and shares stories about successful implementation. All users are invited to use the available templates to submit information to be added to the portal.
Upcoming Events
05 October 2023
UNESCAP
Bangkok
Thailand
05 October 2023
UNESCAP
Bangkok
Thailand
