The report was prepared at the United Nations Trade Point Development Centre

Setting up of the Global Trade Point Network (GTPN)

"Last Mile connection" - Development of Information Technology software and applications to provide Trade Points in developing countries with full Internet access to the Global Trade Point Network.

Summary

The United Nations International Symposium on Trade Efficiency (held in Columbus, Ohio, United States from 17 to 21 October 1994) officially launched the Global Trade Point Network. The interconnection of Trade Points constitutes the core objective of the second phase of the Trade Point Programme. Such interconnection will allow Trade Points and their users (especially small and medium-sized enterprises) to access competitive trade-related information services worldwide, and to enhance the efficiency with which they trade with each other. However, the current state of telecommunications infrastructures in most developing countries still prevents large segments of the world population from accessing conventional information networks. This is why, within its Trade Point Programme, UNCTAD has started to develop innovative alternate solutions to allow the interconnection of Trade Points through the Internet, a worldwide 'network of networks' that offers unparalleled possibilities to exchange information at virtually no cost. To benefit from this possibility, Trade Points need 'last mile connection', i.e. the local interface, software and connectivity without which they will not have access to emerging information highways. Providing for this 'last mile' includes the creation of local servers and the development of adapted information technology services and interface. That is the purpose of this project.

BACKGROUND

In this age of rapid globalization of markets, information is a strategic tool for traders worldwide. For any successful trade transaction, traders need to have in their possession a certain amount of key trade data including: Market information, transportation options and prices, insurance facilities, credit availability, Customs' requirements, import/export regulations etc. However, many potential traders (especially small and medium-sized enterprises) are still unable to reach trade-related information or to make their products known to would-be customers because they do not have the equipment and software necessary, or because such access is too expensive. Moreover, efficient use of information demands that the data be provided in a user-friendly and accessible format.

Trade Points are designed to support and foster efforts made in many sectors (government, enterprise) to stimulate the trade competitiveness and trade efficiency of national economies. At Trade Points, public and private sector cooperate to improve efficiency in six main areas, namely: Customs, banking and insurance, transport, business information, business practices, and telecommunications. The work of individual Trade Points, however, will only generate its full benefits through the global interconnection of Trade Points, which will allow information to be exchanged on a rapid, cost-effective and worldwide basis.

Customs are a good example of how the interconnection of Trade Points into a global network can create synergies with efforts made to introduce information technologies in order to increase efficiency in trade. The establishment of efficient Customs systems is a basic objective of Trade Points, which where possible, will be pursued through UNCTAD's Automated SYstem for CUstoms DAta (ASYCUDA), to which Switzerland has been a major contributor. The Global Trade Point Network (GTPN), by enhancing the possibilities to use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in international trade, will create the ideal environment in which different national ASYCUDA systems will be able to interact more efficiently. The development of an Internet/WWW interface will give traders an easier access to Customs-related information. It will also foster the setting-up of Direct Trader Input (DTI) services. Besides, countries in which Customs still need to undergo reforms to streamline procedures and to benefit from information technologies, will have additional incentives to introduce the system once they are exposed to it through their interconnection to the GTPN. Electronic mail (E-mail), or for more advanced Trade Points EDI, which allows direct interaction between computers can provide such interconnection. Trade Points should also provide gateway services to national databases and trade-related organizations such as Chambers of Commerce, Trade Boards, Trade Promotion Organizations, etc. As members of the Global Trade Point Network, all Trade Points should be sharing the information presently available via the Electronic Trading Opportunities (ETO) system. To offer developing countries an option to use strategic information for trade efficiency, the Trade Point Development Centre (TPDC) of UNCTAD initiated the compilation of sources of information on trade and investment presently available on the Internet. To realize the full potential of this large amount of information, it is now necessary (1) to provide Trade Points in developing countries with proper Internet connections, and (2) to provide Trade Points with software interfaces that allow them to organize their databases at the national level, so that these countries can exchange their data with other Trade Points in the network. This project is a fundamental element of the second phase of the Trade Point Programme, and benefits from the experience gathered by UNCTAD and the Trade Points from 1992 to 1994. It builds on the complementary approaches used by the various organizations that cooperated with UNCTAD in the Trade Point Programme, in particular the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the International Trade Centre (ITC UNCTAD/GATT). The connection of Trade Points will allow the further dissemination of norms and standards produced by UNECE in the area of EDI, in particular UN-EDIFACT. On the other hand, the Global Trade Point Network will be an ideal instrument for the promotion and dissemination of ITC's services. Many ITC references and documents have already been uploaded onto the TPDC Gopher, and such efforts will be pursued systematically within the GTPN.

Current state, assets and needs of the Global Trade Point Network

A substantive body of experience and expertise has already been made up during the first phase of the Trade Point Programme. A sound basis is now available to carry out the actual connection of developing countries into the Global Trade Point Network. As of January 1995, some 60 Trade Points are in the process of being connected and exchanging data and services within the Global Trade Point Network. The connectivity is point-to-point allowing Trade Points to connect from places traditionally excluded from so-called Information Highways. An important feature of the Global Trade Point Network is that it is genuinely decentralized. Trade Points stock data at the national level and provide gateway access to the data of other Trade Points.

What are TPDC Labs? The first Trade Point Development Centre Lab was located in Bangkok (Thailand) in cooperation with the Asia Institute of Technology; it is currently coordinating the Internet access for Trade Points in the region. Given the rapid multiplication of Trade Points worldwide, the Bangkok TPDC can no longer suffice to provide global backstopping of information-related activities in Trade Points. That makes it necessary to set up TPDC Internet Labs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The primary objective of TPDC Labs will be to assist Trade Points in their respective regions in having an active presence in the Internet. TPDC Labs could be physically at research institutes or EDI boards. This would allow the use of infrastructures that already exist, thus reducing the costs of setting up a TPDC Lab. At this stage, the following sites are being considered for TPDC Internet Labs: Australia, Brazil, China, India, Kenya and the United States. The central node of the system would be in Geneva, since all TPDC Internet servers will be interconnected via the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC). Each Trade Point will be free to select its own way to connect to the GTPN as long as it maintains full compatibility with the TPDC-UNICC Internet Server. Developing countries (and sometimes other countries without PDN) can be connected via Internet and/or SITA. All TPDC Labs will be interconnected with high-speed data communication networks. This will allow to share services among regions. It will also encourage both economies of scale and South-South cooperation.

What are ETO Associates?

Public or private sector institutions wishing to promote information brokering services and provide information to the Global Trade Point Network (GTPN) through the ETO (Electronic Trading Opportunities) System, can become ETO Associates.

ETO Associates resposibilities:

- provide information to the Global Trade Point Network (GTPN)

- use the GTPN to promote information brokering services

- Act as agents of local Trade Points and help them in promotion and marketing

- Product/Services -Specific providers

Type of ETO Associates :

ETO Associates are normally: Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCIs), On-line Information Providers, Trade Promotion Organization, Board of Investments, Product/Services Associations, Product Boards, Private information broadcasting companies, Trade Information Services (TIS), Government Offices, Overseas Trade Offices, Consulting Groups, World Trade Centres, Individuals with Server capabilities.

Requirements to become an ETO Associate:

1. Be recognized by SPTE/UNCTAD;

2. Provide original information to the GTPN using international standards (i.e. information which is not available from other sources using EDI-EDIFACT standards);

3. To provide records on previous experience on International Trade, Investment activities related to trade information, electronic commerce or related areas.

4. Share the data and services with the GTPN

5. Respect the geographical area on action of other ETO Associates.

3. Adapt as a means of information exchange the vehicle used by Trade Points and TPDCs.

Benefits:

1. Participate actively in the GTPN;

2. Participate in meetings organized by the Trade Efficiency Programme;

3. Obtain information available at the GTPN.

4. Benefit from the international exposure provided by the GTPN

5. Have priority access to new developments on Electronic Commerce, EDIFACT, ISO standards, International Nomenclatures and coding and Trade Opportunities geerated by the GTPN.

Procedures of Application:

A formal application has to be submitted to UNCTAD/SPTE indicating the type of activity of the ETO Associate:

- Inventory of services of the ETO Associate:

- Type and characteristics of the information/data to be provided to the GTPN.

- Conditions to made available the data to the GTPN

- Data Structures, Coding and nomenclatures (if the ETO Associate is an information provider).

The approval of the application and the establishment of a formal relationship will be made on a case-by-case basis.

TPDC Labs Internet Services

Internet is a collection of thousands of existing computer networks, tens of thousands of computers, and more than 30 million users. They share a compatible means for interacting with each other to exchange data in the three formats that together make up the so-called 'multimedia' mix: text, images, sound. Since early 1995, the Bangkok TPDC offers services to Trade Points through the Internet in both Gopher and WWW formats. Presently the TPDC WWW offers links both to major Web information services and to those United Nations organizations that already allow Internet access to their databases via the Web (UNECE, World Bank, UNIDO, UNICC, ESCAP, UNDP, WHO, GATT, ITU, inter alia). The TPDC offers traders a simple, one-stop access to a broad array of databases dealing with trade and investment including trade Information, trade facilitation and trade procedures. Access to the TPDC Internet services is free of charge. Trade Points without Internet capabilities are invited to locate their databases at the TPDC 'Internet Trade Point Incubator' which offers temporary assistance and support to infant Trade Points.

PROJECT STRATEGY

A major objective of the Trade Efficiency initiative is to facilitate the integration and participation of developing countries and small and medium-sized enterprises in international trade. Access to the right information at the right time and at the right cost has now become a sine qua non condition to such participation. Experience has proved that, when small entrepreneurs can reach strategic information they use it as well as (and sometimes better than) larger competitors. Trading efficiently is not just exporting more successfully; it also means buying at better prices and conditions. In both cases, reliable and timely information is necessary. Therefore, providing traders with reliable and cost-effective access to pertinent and valid strategic information is a major objective in Trade Efficiency. To reach potential markets, traders need first to identify them: market intelligence, in this regard, is a strategic asset. In addition, traders cannot make adequate business decisions without minimal information on the legal aspects of the transaction considered. Over the last two years, UNCTAD's Trade Point Programme has allowed the international community of Trade Points to build up a sizeable amount of highly valuable trade-related information, and to develop specific applications and software to collect, format, store, transmit and process such information. However, only a relative small proportion of existing Trade Points (most of them in developed countries) can now make full use of such information because transmission costs remain high, whereas economic alternatives require infrastructures and equipment that generally do not exist outside OECD countries. The Internet offers now such an alternative. It is a worldwide network of networks on which information can be transmitted free between any connected users. Connecting to the Internet, however, is not free: it requires specific hardware setups (including lines, gateways, and - ideally - local servers), and proper software and interface, which should be customized to the needs of users (i.e. Trade Points). This includes in particular: (1) The creation of 'Gophers' (which allow the efficient retrieval of information through efficient addressing and indexing) and WWW interfaces (which allow both comfort and ease of use as well as multimedia communication), and (2) The development of adequate communication software for the exchange of data among Trade Points, with appropriate levels of security and strict respect of international norms supported by the UN (including UN-EDIFACT) To provide the necessary maintenance and support to this decentralized network, and to generate economies of scale at the regional level, it will also be essential to set up regional GTPN focal points in the shape of 'TPDC Internet Labs' in a selected number of countries. One function of such labs will be to disseminate knowledge and training at the regional level, and to stimulate interregional exchanges of experience, especially in a South-South context.

OBJECTIVES

Currently only a small number of Trade Points are fully connected and receiving information from the Global Trade Point Network. Generally, they are connected via E-mail using a composite mixture of services provided by General Electric, AT&T and Internet. Thus, those with Internet access can benefit from the Internet resource developed by the Trade Point Development Centre (TPDC) Gopher and the multimedia (WWW) server recently established on the Internet by the TPDC. Trade Points outside developed countries are not yet in position to benefit from the Information Databases created by the TPDC and to broadcast this information at national level, and the difficulty is even greater when it comes to providing Gopher and WWW services to their members at national level. This project will contribute to the connection of Trade Points in developing countries to the Trade Information databases available on the Internet, especially the trade information services developed by the TPDC: Electronic Trading Opportunities (ETO), the Global Trade Point Database (accessible via an Internet Gopher) and Electronic Product Catalogues (via WWW, also on the Internet). Such a connection will be provided to Trade Points through the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) in Geneva, which is the Internet provider for the United Nations organizations based in Geneva. At the national level, access will be established via local Internet nodes, national Packet Data Networks (PDNs) and/or using the SITA-UNICC connection agreement allowing Internet connection from any SITA node. The final objective of this project is to fill the current gap between existing international networks (e.g. Internet) and many Trade Points. That is what this project designates as "last mile connection", and it is only when this connection exists that a Trade Point becomes a true tool for competition in electronic commerce. To achieve this, this project will aim at: (a) Connecting existing Trade Points through the Internet to the trade and investment databases that are presently available at the TPDC in Gopher and WWW formats. (b) Developing Internet WWW-Gopher Trade Information labs in selected areas. These labs will help Trade Points in establishing Internet servers in areas which currently have no access to the Global Trade Point Network, e.g. the least developed countries. Once this "last mile connection" exists an effort will have to be made to establish an "ultimate link" between the interconnected Trade Points and their final users. The promotion of Trade Points among small and medium-sized enterprises will require a substantial amount of resources. With this aim in view, SPTE has already submitted projects to several donors. Both efforts (last mile connection and ultimate link)will therefore be carried out in parrallel during the second phase (1995-97) of the programme.

Why rely on the Internet?

Advantages The experience of the last two years allows to conclude that Trade Points can use the Internet effectively as a tool for communication, exchange of data and decentralization of information databases. Some advantages that such a choice would offer are: - Quick and convenient method of exchanging information with a relatively low cost operation (often just a local telephone call is required to access Internet). Many countries in the world can access the Internet either via local providers (Universities and Research Centres are normally providing local Internet access) or via Public Data Switching Network PADS. - Access can also be obtained in an increasing number of countries through organizations and companies such as SITA, General Electric, AT&T, and British Telecom. UNDP is also now providing Internet access in the field for its local offices. In Geneva, the ITU is presently providing Internet access and Gopher/WWW (database) services. Similar approaches will need to be developed under the present project to allow unconnected countries (such as most sub-Saharan African countries) to access the Internet. - Worldwide access to a large array of databases, information services and experts through electronic mail. Each Internet user is an E-mail user with a unique address. Trade Points are one of the active communities (called 'domains') on the Internet. - Users receive large amounts of free information. The TPDC supervises the quality of the information to be broadcasted to the Global Trade Point Network as a clearing house for Trade Efficiency Information. - Users of the Internet can interact with one another across town or across continents. The concept is close to that of a Bulletin Board System (BBS), or 'kiosque' in the French Minitel terminology. It is however a truly decentralized system, in which any user can connect with any other user, without having to go through a predetermined 'focal point' or communication node.

Potential problems The Internet currently offers little possibilities for 'secure' (i.e. confidential and un-taamperable) communications. This drawback is not an obstacle to the use of the Internet by the Global Trade Point Network for the following two reasons: - Analysts estimate that within twelve to eighteen months, secure transactions will become available on the Internet, and - At this point in time, Trade Points exchange trade-related information, rather than transaction-based information flows (i.e. payments or electronic contracts); it is not expected that the 'transactional component' of GTPN will be added to its current 'informational component' in the next eighteen months.