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New Web Service Tracks Foreign Tech Regulations

Want to know about pending changes in technical regulations in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Korea or any of the 148 nations that are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO)? Then sign up for the Notify U.S. service to be unveiled July 1 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Notify U.S. is the successor to Export Alert!, the e-mail regulations-notification system previously offered by NIST and the International Trade Administration. This new Web-based service offers a fast, comprehensive, global perspective on proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that might influence U.S. access to export markets. Notify U.S. provides users with access to notifications and full texts of regulations issued by the WTO members. In addition, users can monitor proposed changes across chosen countries and 41 fields of industrial or technical activities, or they can select a subset of fields.

As in Export Alert!, users will receive e-mail messages informing them when proposed regulations are issued by countries or in fields of technical activity they monitor.

The new, free service is operated by NIST's National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI). NCSCI is the nation's designated Inquiry Point under the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. At the request of Notify U.S. users, the Center will secure the full text of a proposed regulation referenced in a notification. To learn more—and to sign up—go to the Notify U.S. Web site at www.nist.gov/notifyus.

Released June 30, 2005, Updated February 2, 2023