UNECE and UNCEFACT Recommendations
UNECE and UN/CEFACT develop recommendations in response to the needs of the global economy and facilitate cross border trade.
These recommendations are published on the UNECE website list of trade recommendations.
Below is the list of UNECE Recommendations that are discussed in this guide.
| No. | ISO | Name | Description |
| 1 | 6422 | United Nations Layout Key for Trade Documents | Provides standardization of International trade document layout including the visual representation of such documents |
| 3 | 3166 | ISO Country Code: Code for Representation of Names of Countries | AKA the “ISO ALPHA-2 Country Code”, Containing Country codes, names,dependencies, and other areas of special geopolitical interest for purposes of international trade |
| 4 | National Trade Facilitation Organs: Arrangements at the National Level to Coordinate Work on Facilitation of Trade Procedures | Recommends that Governments establish and support national trade facilitation bodies | |
| 5 | Abbreviations of INCOTERMS; Alphabetic Code for INCOTERMS 2000 | International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) trade terms, known as INCOTERMS. Used in Cross Border trade to help define transport contracts. | |
| 6 | Aligned Invoice Layout Key For International Trade | Applies to the design of commercial invoices for international trade in goods. | |
| 7 | 8601 2000 | Numerical Representation of Dates, Time and Periods of Time | Establishes a standardized and unambiguous all-numerical date, time of day and period of time |
| 9 | 4217 | Alphabetic Code for the Representation of Currencies | Codes for the representation of currencies and funds, for application in international trade and their use in commercial transactions when currencies are expressed in coded or abbreviated form. |
| 12 | Measures to Facilitate Maritime Transport Documents Procedures | Aims at the simplification, rationalization and harmonization of procedures and documents used to evidence the contract of carriage in maritime transport. | |
| 15 | Simpler Shipping Marks | Recommends the use of a standardized and simplified shipping mark for marking on packages and for reproduction in documents. | |
| 16 | UN/LOCODE; Code for Trade and Transport Locations | Recommends a fiveletter alphabetic code for abbreviating the names of locations of interest to international trade, such as ports, airports, inland freight terminals, and other locations where Customs clearance of goods can take place | |
| 17 | Abbreviation for Terms of Payment | Provides abbreviations to certain terms of payment, referred to as “PAYTERMS”, for use in international trade transactions as appropriate. The “PAYTERMS” apply to commercial transactions relating to the provision of goods and/or services. | |
| 18 | Facilitation Measures related to International Trade Procedures | Outlines a series of measures related to the movement of goods in an international trade transaction, which Governments should consider implementing. | |
| 19 | Codes for Modes of Transport | Establishes codes for representing transport modes in international trades | |
| 20 | Codes for Units of Measure used in International Trade | Provides codes for units of measurement for length, area, volume/capacity, mass (weight), time, and other quantities used in international trade | |
| 22 | Layout Key for Standard Consignment Instructions | Can be used as a basis for the design of standard consignment instructions intended to convey instructions from either a seller or a buyer to a freight forwarder, carrier or other provider of service, enabling the movement of goods and associated activities. | |
| 23 | Freight Cost Code-FCC; Harmonization of the Description of Freight Costs and other Charges | Provides a naming system to be used for the establishment of harmonised descriptions of freight costs and other charges related to the international movement of goods | |
| 24 | Trade and Transport Status Codes | Provides Transport Status Codes to satisfy requirements for exchanging coded information about the status of consignments, goods or means of transport at a certain time or place in the transport chain. | |
| 25 | Use of the United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT) | UN/EDIFACT as the single international standard for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between public administrations and private companies of all economic sectors worldwide. | |
| 26 | Commercial Use of Interchange Agreements for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) | Promotes the use of interchange agreements between commercial parties using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in connection with international commercial transactions | |
| 28 | Codes for Types of Means of Transport | Establishes a common code list for the identification of the type of means of transport in international trade. | |
| 31 | Electronic Commerce Agreement | Proposes a model for a contractual approach to electronic commerce operations. This approach takes into consideration the need for a framework of basic provisions to be agreed by business entities combined with the flexibility required to conduct day-to-day commercial transactions. | |
| 32 | E-Commerce Self-Regulatory Instruments (Codes of Conduct) | Emphasizes the need for the development, support and promulgation of voluntary codes of conduct for electronic business so as to support the development of international trade, and calls on Governments to promote and facilitate the development of relevant self-regulation instruments, national and international accreditation schemes, codes of conduct and trust mark schemes. | |
| 33 | Recommendation and Guidelines Establishing A Single Window | A Single Window allows parties involved in international trade and transport to lodge standardized documents to a single entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements. | |
| 34 | Data Simplification and Standardization for International Trade | Recommends that Governments should develope a national dataset in a simplified, standardized form that can be used to provide information requirements in various syntax formats using a range of technologies | |
| 35 | Establishing a legal framework for international trade Single Window | Recommends that Governments should undertake a study and use UN/CEFACT checklists and guidelines to ensure a sound legal framework to support the operations of an International Trade Single Window | |
| 36 | Recommendation on Single Window Interoperability | Addresses the fundamentals of cross-border electronic data exchange along value chains, namely information exchange between Single Windows. | |
| 40 | Consultation Approaches: Best Practices in Trade and Government consultation on Trade Facilitation Matters | Recommends governments and private sector to undertake all measures necessary to sustain and enable consultations, including through information sharing, capacity building, awareness raising, and performance measures so as to build trust and consolidate views. | |
| 41 | Public-Private Partnerships in Trade Facilitation | Provides guidance to governments and private sector stakeholders that PPPs can facilitate trade in specific infrastructure and supportive systems such as a Single Window system, a National Trade Facilitation Body, infrastructure support for port communities, trade and transit corridors and coordinated border management. | |
| 42 | Trade and Transport Facilitation Monitoring Mechanism (TTFMM) | Provides guidance to governments on establishing a trade and transport monitoring mechanism, namely with regards to building the institutional framework and capacities for carrying out the assessments. |
