diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/index.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/index.ts
index 23f31f3ec6f..e76488cf33f 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/index.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ export * from './metrics/ObserverResult';
 export * from './trace/attributes';
 export * from './trace/Event';
 export * from './trace/instrumentation/Plugin';
+export * from './trace/link_context';
 export * from './trace/link';
 export * from './trace/NoopSpan';
 export * from './trace/NoopTracer';
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/NoopSpan.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/NoopSpan.ts
index cfa3c9c4c08..342a587413e 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/NoopSpan.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/NoopSpan.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ export const INVALID_SPAN_ID = '0';
 const INVALID_SPAN_CONTEXT: SpanContext = {
   traceId: INVALID_TRACE_ID,
   spanId: INVALID_SPAN_ID,
-  traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+  traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
 };
 
 /**
@@ -59,11 +59,6 @@ export class NoopSpan implements Span {
     return this;
   }
 
-  // By default does nothing
-  addLink(spanContext: SpanContext, attributes?: Attributes): this {
-    return this;
-  }
-
   // By default does nothing
   setStatus(status: Status): this {
     return this;
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/link.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/link.ts
index 5baf8c30f9e..2125b82b6c7 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/link.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/link.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
  */
 
 import { Attributes } from './attributes';
-import { SpanContext } from './span_context';
+import { LinkContext } from './link_context';
 
 /**
  * A pointer from the current {@link Span} to another span in the same trace or
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ import { SpanContext } from './span_context';
  * single batch handler processes multiple requests from different traces.
  */
 export interface Link {
-  /** The {@link SpanContext} of a linked span. */
-  spanContext: SpanContext;
+  /** The {@link LinkContext} of a linked span. */
+  context: LinkContext;
   /** A set of {@link Attributes} on the link. */
   attributes?: Attributes;
 }
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/link_context.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/link_context.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5493f039a6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/link_context.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/*!
+ * Copyright 2020, OpenTelemetry Authors
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import { SpanContext } from './span_context';
+
+/**
+ * A pointer to another span.
+ */
+export type LinkContext = Pick<SpanContext, 'traceId' | 'spanId'>;
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/span_context.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/span_context.ts
index f776ea4c368..b99be63fc94 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/span_context.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/span_context.ts
@@ -47,9 +47,9 @@ export interface SpanContext {
    * caller may have recorded trace data. A caller who does not record trace
    * data out-of-band leaves this flag unset.
    *
-   * SAMPLED = 0x1 and UNSAMPLED = 0x0;
+   * SAMPLED = 0x1 and NONE = 0x0;
    */
-  traceFlags?: TraceFlags;
+  traceFlags: TraceFlags;
   /**
    * Tracing-system-specific info to propagate.
    *
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/trace_flags.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/trace_flags.ts
index 419af605791..8a593ec254b 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/trace_flags.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/trace/trace_flags.ts
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
  * whether a Span should be traced. It is implemented as a bitmask.
  */
 export enum TraceFlags {
-  /** Bit to represent whether trace is unsampled in trace flags. */
-  UNSAMPLED = 0x0,
+  /** Represents no flag set. */
+  NONE = 0x0,
   /** Bit to represent whether trace is sampled in trace flags. */
-  SAMPLED = 0x1,
+  SAMPLED = 0x1 << 0,
 }
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts
index 82114d16944..129e161d429 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ describe('API', () => {
     const spanContext = {
       traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
       spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
-      traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     };
     const dummySpan = new NoopSpan(spanContext);
 
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/noop-implementations/noop-span.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/noop-implementations/noop-span.test.ts
index a42d4711891..76b9a14621f 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/noop-implementations/noop-span.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/noop-implementations/noop-span.test.ts
@@ -39,18 +39,6 @@ describe('NoopSpan', () => {
     span.addEvent('sent');
     span.addEvent('sent', { id: '42', key: 'value' });
 
-    span.addLink({
-      traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
-      spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
-    });
-    span.addLink(
-      {
-        traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
-        spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
-      },
-      { id: '42', key: 'value' }
-    );
-
     span.setStatus({ code: CanonicalCode.CANCELLED });
 
     span.updateName('my-span');
@@ -59,7 +47,7 @@ describe('NoopSpan', () => {
     assert.deepStrictEqual(span.context(), {
       traceId: INVALID_TRACE_ID,
       spanId: INVALID_SPAN_ID,
-      traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     });
     span.end();
   });
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/B3Format.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/B3Format.ts
index 55681ddefeb..08ee1e89b43 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/B3Format.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/B3Format.ts
@@ -80,9 +80,7 @@ export class B3Format implements HttpTextFormat {
         traceId,
         spanId,
         isRemote: true,
-        traceFlags: isNaN(Number(options))
-          ? TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED
-          : Number(options),
+        traceFlags: isNaN(Number(options)) ? TraceFlags.NONE : Number(options),
       });
     }
     return context;
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/HttpTraceContext.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/HttpTraceContext.ts
index 12899eabf9a..e4bd3af94d6 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/HttpTraceContext.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/context/propagation/HttpTraceContext.ts
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ export class HttpTraceContext implements HttpTextFormat {
 
     const traceParent = `${VERSION}-${spanContext.traceId}-${
       spanContext.spanId
-    }-0${Number(spanContext.traceFlags || TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED).toString(16)}`;
+    }-0${Number(spanContext.traceFlags || TraceFlags.NONE).toString(16)}`;
 
     setter(carrier, TRACE_PARENT_HEADER, traceParent);
     if (spanContext.traceState) {
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/trace/spancontext-utils.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/trace/spancontext-utils.ts
index 1f20afd2347..42f91368fd7 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/trace/spancontext-utils.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-core/src/trace/spancontext-utils.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ export const INVALID_TRACEID = '0';
 export const INVALID_SPAN_CONTEXT: SpanContext = {
   traceId: INVALID_TRACEID,
   spanId: INVALID_SPANID,
-  traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+  traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/context/B3Format.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/context/B3Format.test.ts
index 22c327819df..df244b1f9c6 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/context/B3Format.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/context/B3Format.test.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ describe('B3Format', () => {
       const spanContext: SpanContext = {
         traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
         spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
-        traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+        traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
         traceState: new TraceState('foo=bar,baz=qux'),
         isRemote: false,
       };
@@ -82,13 +82,14 @@ describe('B3Format', () => {
         'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b'
       );
       assert.deepStrictEqual(carrier[X_B3_SPAN_ID], '6e0c63257de34c92');
-      assert.deepStrictEqual(carrier[X_B3_SAMPLED], TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED);
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(carrier[X_B3_SAMPLED], TraceFlags.NONE);
     });
 
     it('should not inject empty spancontext', () => {
       const emptySpanContext = {
         traceId: '',
         spanId: '',
+        traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
       };
       b3Format.inject(
         setExtractedSpanContext(Context.ROOT_CONTEXT, emptySpanContext),
@@ -98,25 +99,6 @@ describe('B3Format', () => {
       assert.deepStrictEqual(carrier[X_B3_TRACE_ID], undefined);
       assert.deepStrictEqual(carrier[X_B3_SPAN_ID], undefined);
     });
-
-    it('should handle absence of sampling decision', () => {
-      const spanContext: SpanContext = {
-        traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
-        spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
-      };
-
-      b3Format.inject(
-        setExtractedSpanContext(Context.ROOT_CONTEXT, spanContext),
-        carrier,
-        defaultSetter
-      );
-      assert.deepStrictEqual(
-        carrier[X_B3_TRACE_ID],
-        'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b'
-      );
-      assert.deepStrictEqual(carrier[X_B3_SPAN_ID], '6e0c63257de34c92');
-      assert.deepStrictEqual(carrier[X_B3_SAMPLED], undefined);
-    });
   });
 
   describe('.extract()', () => {
@@ -131,7 +113,7 @@ describe('B3Format', () => {
         spanId: 'b7ad6b7169203331',
         traceId: '0af7651916cd43dd8448eb211c80319c',
         isRemote: true,
-        traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+        traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
       });
     });
 
@@ -179,7 +161,7 @@ describe('B3Format', () => {
         spanId: 'b7ad6b7169203331',
         traceId: '0af7651916cd43dd8448eb211c80319c',
         isRemote: true,
-        traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+        traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
       });
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/NoRecordingSpan.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/NoRecordingSpan.test.ts
index f1706f733e4..b5855280edc 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/NoRecordingSpan.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/NoRecordingSpan.test.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe('NoRecordingSpan', () => {
     const spanContext = {
       traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
       spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
-      traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     };
 
     const span = new NoRecordingSpan(spanContext);
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/ProbabilitySampler.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/ProbabilitySampler.test.ts
index 9195682a4bd..b0426899a27 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/ProbabilitySampler.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/ProbabilitySampler.test.ts
@@ -24,13 +24,7 @@ import {
 describe('ProbabilitySampler', () => {
   it('should return a always sampler for 1', () => {
     const sampler = new ProbabilitySampler(1);
-    assert.strictEqual(
-      sampler.shouldSample({
-        traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
-        spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
-      }),
-      true
-    );
+    assert.strictEqual(sampler.shouldSample(), true);
   });
 
   it('should return a always sampler for >1', () => {
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/spancontext-utils.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/spancontext-utils.test.ts
index 612ca34a8c0..5ffa807efa8 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/spancontext-utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-core/test/trace/spancontext-utils.test.ts
@@ -16,12 +16,14 @@
 
 import * as assert from 'assert';
 import * as context from '../../src/trace/spancontext-utils';
+import { TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 describe('spancontext-utils', () => {
   it('should return true for valid spancontext', () => {
     const spanContext = {
       traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
       spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     };
     assert.ok(context.isValid(spanContext));
   });
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@ describe('spancontext-utils', () => {
     const spanContext = {
       traceId: context.INVALID_TRACEID,
       spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     };
     assert.ok(!context.isValid(spanContext));
   });
@@ -38,6 +41,7 @@ describe('spancontext-utils', () => {
     const spanContext = {
       traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
       spanId: context.INVALID_SPANID,
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     };
     assert.ok(!context.isValid(spanContext));
   });
@@ -46,6 +50,7 @@ describe('spancontext-utils', () => {
     const spanContext = {
       traceId: context.INVALID_TRACEID,
       spanId: context.INVALID_SPANID,
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     };
     assert.ok(!context.isValid(spanContext));
   });
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/src/transform.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/src/transform.ts
index 1d60c442e27..a1299ec8b92 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/src/transform.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/src/transform.ts
@@ -140,8 +140,8 @@ export function toCollectorLinkType(
   span: ReadableSpan,
   link: Link
 ): collectorTypes.LinkType {
-  const linkSpanId = link.spanContext.spanId;
-  const linkTraceId = link.spanContext.traceId;
+  const linkSpanId = link.context.spanId;
+  const linkTraceId = link.context.traceId;
   const spanParentId = span.parentSpanId;
   const spanTraceId = span.spanContext.traceId;
 
@@ -158,8 +158,8 @@ export function toCollectorLinkType(
 export function toCollectorLinks(span: ReadableSpan): collectorTypes.Links {
   const collectorLinks: collectorTypes.Link[] = span.links.map((link: Link) => {
     const collectorLink: collectorTypes.Link = {
-      traceId: hexToBase64(link.spanContext.traceId),
-      spanId: hexToBase64(link.spanContext.spanId),
+      traceId: hexToBase64(link.context.traceId),
+      spanId: hexToBase64(link.context.spanId),
       type: toCollectorLinkType(span, link),
     };
 
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/test/helper.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/test/helper.ts
index 46071b7e7fe..1cff15d01f2 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/test/helper.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-collector/test/helper.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
+import { TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import * as core from '@opentelemetry/core';
 import { ReadableSpan } from '@opentelemetry/tracing';
 import * as assert from 'assert';
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ export const mockedReadableSpan: ReadableSpan = {
   spanContext: {
     traceId: '1f1008dc8e270e85c40a0d7c3939b278',
     spanId: '5e107261f64fa53e',
-    traceFlags: 1,
+    traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
   },
   parentSpanId: '78a8915098864388',
   startTime: [1574120165, 429803070],
@@ -36,10 +37,9 @@ export const mockedReadableSpan: ReadableSpan = {
   attributes: { component: 'document-load' },
   links: [
     {
-      spanContext: {
+      context: {
         traceId: '1f1008dc8e270e85c40a0d7c3939b278',
         spanId: '78a8915098864388',
-        traceFlags: 1,
       },
       attributes: { component: 'document-load' },
     },
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/src/transform.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/src/transform.ts
index 5ed607e4534..04279deb35c 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/src/transform.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/src/transform.ts
@@ -103,12 +103,12 @@ function spanLinksToThriftRefs(
 ): ThriftReference[] {
   return links
     .map((link): ThriftReference | null => {
-      if (link.spanContext.spanId === parentSpanId) {
+      if (link.context.spanId === parentSpanId) {
         const refType = ThriftReferenceType.CHILD_OF;
-        const traceId = link.spanContext.traceId;
+        const traceId = link.context.traceId;
         const traceIdHigh = Utils.encodeInt64(traceId.slice(0, 16));
         const traceIdLow = Utils.encodeInt64(traceId.slice(16));
-        const spanId = Utils.encodeInt64(link.spanContext.spanId);
+        const spanId = Utils.encodeInt64(link.context.spanId);
         return { traceIdLow, traceIdHigh, spanId, refType };
       }
       return null;
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/jaeger.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/jaeger.test.ts
index 20ef8467c8b..1df78896584 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/jaeger.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/jaeger.test.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import * as types from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { ThriftProcess } from '../src/types';
 import { ReadableSpan } from '@opentelemetry/tracing';
 import { ExportResult } from '@opentelemetry/base';
+import { TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 describe('JaegerExporter', () => {
   describe('constructor', () => {
@@ -110,6 +111,7 @@ describe('JaegerExporter', () => {
       const spanContext = {
         traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
         spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+        traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
       };
       const readableSpan: ReadableSpan = {
         name: 'my-span1',
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/transform.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/transform.test.ts
index 2189b97d4d3..719b1ed5de6 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/transform.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-jaeger/test/transform.test.ts
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@ import { ReadableSpan } from '@opentelemetry/tracing';
 import * as types from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { ThriftUtils, Utils, ThriftReferenceType } from '../src/types';
 import { hrTimeToMicroseconds } from '@opentelemetry/core';
+import { TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 describe('transform', () => {
   const spanContext = {
     traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
     spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+    traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
   };
 
   describe('spanToThrift', () => {
@@ -45,7 +47,7 @@ describe('transform', () => {
         },
         links: [
           {
-            spanContext: {
+            context: {
               traceId: 'a4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
               spanId: '3e0c63257de34c92',
             },
@@ -194,7 +196,7 @@ describe('transform', () => {
         parentSpanId: '3e0c63257de34c92',
         links: [
           {
-            spanContext: {
+            context: {
               traceId: 'a4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
               spanId: '3e0c63257de34c92',
             },
@@ -227,6 +229,7 @@ describe('transform', () => {
         spanContext: {
           traceId: '92b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
         },
         startTime: [1566156729, 709],
         endTime: [1566156731, 709],
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/src/transform.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/src/transform.ts
index e88b6e9b2a1..d694f9e2162 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/src/transform.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/src/transform.ts
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@ export function getReadableSpanTransformer(
 function transformLink(link: ot.Link): Link {
   return {
     attributes: transformAttributes(link.attributes),
-    spanId: link.spanContext.spanId,
-    traceId: link.spanContext.traceId,
+    spanId: link.context.spanId,
+    traceId: link.context.traceId,
     type: LinkType.UNSPECIFIED,
   };
 }
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/exporter.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/exporter.test.ts
index 68e60baf23d..69634563cf9 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/exporter.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/exporter.test.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import * as assert from 'assert';
 import * as nock from 'nock';
 import * as sinon from 'sinon';
 import { StackdriverTraceExporter } from '../src';
+import { TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 describe('Stackdriver Trace Exporter', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
@@ -115,6 +116,7 @@ describe('Stackdriver Trace Exporter', () => {
         spanContext: {
           traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
           isRemote: true,
         },
         status: { code: types.CanonicalCode.OK },
@@ -147,6 +149,7 @@ describe('Stackdriver Trace Exporter', () => {
         spanContext: {
           traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
           isRemote: true,
         },
         status: { code: types.CanonicalCode.OK },
@@ -178,6 +181,7 @@ describe('Stackdriver Trace Exporter', () => {
         spanContext: {
           traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
           isRemote: true,
         },
         status: { code: types.CanonicalCode.OK },
@@ -207,6 +211,7 @@ describe('Stackdriver Trace Exporter', () => {
         spanContext: {
           traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
           isRemote: true,
         },
         status: { code: types.CanonicalCode.OK },
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/transform.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/transform.test.ts
index 6d9ddf7969f..4d52a8bac77 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/transform.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-stackdriver-trace/test/transform.test.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import * as assert from 'assert';
 import { getReadableSpanTransformer } from '../src/transform';
 import { LinkType, Span } from '../src/types';
 import { VERSION } from '../src/version';
+import { TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 describe('transform', () => {
   let readableSpan: ReadableSpan;
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ describe('transform', () => {
     spanContext = {
       traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
       spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
       isRemote: true,
     };
 
@@ -131,11 +133,9 @@ describe('transform', () => {
 
   it('should transform links', () => {
     readableSpan.links.push({
-      spanContext: {
+      context: {
         traceId: 'a4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
         spanId: '3e0c63257de34c92',
-        isRemote: true,
-        traceFlags: types.TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
       },
     });
 
@@ -158,11 +158,9 @@ describe('transform', () => {
 
   it('should transform links with attributes', () => {
     readableSpan.links.push({
-      spanContext: {
+      context: {
         traceId: 'a4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
         spanId: '3e0c63257de34c92',
-        isRemote: true,
-        traceFlags: types.TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
       },
       attributes: {
         testAttr: 'value',
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-zipkin/test/zipkin.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-zipkin/test/zipkin.test.ts
index 806f4fd0381..b88dbab9b07 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-zipkin/test/zipkin.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-exporter-zipkin/test/zipkin.test.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import * as types from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { ZipkinExporter } from '../src';
 import * as zipkinTypes from '../src/types';
 import { OT_REQUEST_HEADER } from '../src/utils';
+import { TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 const MICROS_PER_SECS = 1e6;
 
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ function getReadableSpan() {
     spanContext: {
       traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
       spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
     },
     startTime: [startTime, 0],
     endTime: [startTime + duration, 0],
@@ -130,6 +132,7 @@ describe('ZipkinExporter', () => {
         spanContext: {
           traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
         },
         startTime: [startTime, 0],
         endTime: [startTime + duration, 0],
@@ -156,6 +159,7 @@ describe('ZipkinExporter', () => {
         spanContext: {
           traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
         },
         startTime: [startTime, 0],
         endTime: [startTime + duration, 0],
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-node/test/NodeTracerProvider.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-node/test/NodeTracerProvider.test.ts
index a81dcc99f29..67ea5766082 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-node/test/NodeTracerProvider.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-node/test/NodeTracerProvider.test.ts
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ describe('NodeTracerProvider', () => {
       });
       const span = provider.getTracer('default').startSpan('my-span');
       assert.ok(span instanceof NoRecordingSpan);
-      assert.strictEqual(span.context().traceFlags, TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED);
+      assert.strictEqual(span.context().traceFlags, TraceFlags.NONE);
       assert.strictEqual(span.isRecording(), false);
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-dns/test/functionals/utils.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-dns/test/functionals/utils.test.ts
index cc35f6ec61c..b113c99b0a4 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-dns/test/functionals/utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-dns/test/functionals/utils.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
 import { NoopLogger } from '@opentelemetry/core';
 import { BasicTracerProvider, Span } from '@opentelemetry/tracing';
-import { CanonicalCode, SpanKind } from '@opentelemetry/api';
+import { CanonicalCode, SpanKind, TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import * as assert from 'assert';
 import * as sinon from 'sinon';
 import { AttributeNames } from '../../src/enums/AttributeNames';
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ describe('Utility', () => {
       const span = new Span(
         new BasicTracerProvider().getTracer('default'),
         'test',
-        { spanId: '', traceId: '' },
+        { spanId: '', traceId: '', traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE },
         SpanKind.INTERNAL
       );
       utils.setError(new Error(errorMessage), span, process.versions.node);
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/functionals/utils.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/functionals/utils.test.ts
index 2e845825980..6314d480924 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/functionals/utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/functionals/utils.test.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import { CanonicalCode, SpanKind } from '@opentelemetry/api';
+import { CanonicalCode, SpanKind, TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { NoopLogger } from '@opentelemetry/core';
 import { BasicTracerProvider, Span } from '@opentelemetry/tracing';
 import * as assert from 'assert';
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ describe('Utility', () => {
         const span = new Span(
           new BasicTracerProvider().getTracer('default'),
           'test',
-          { spanId: '', traceId: '' },
+          { spanId: '', traceId: '', traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED },
           SpanKind.INTERNAL
         );
         /* tslint:disable-next-line:no-any */
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts
index 69f809b4532..14c61e53923 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-import { Context, HttpTextFormat } from '@opentelemetry/api';
+import { Context, HttpTextFormat, TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import {
   setExtractedSpanContext,
   getParentSpanContext,
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ export class DummyPropagation implements HttpTextFormat {
     const extractedSpanContext = {
       traceId: carrier[DummyPropagation.TRACE_CONTEXT_KEY] as string,
       spanId: DummyPropagation.SPAN_CONTEXT_KEY,
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
     };
     if (extractedSpanContext.traceId && extractedSpanContext.spanId) {
       return setExtractedSpanContext(context, extractedSpanContext);
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-https/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-https/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts
index 69f809b4532..14c61e53923 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-https/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-https/test/utils/DummyPropagation.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-import { Context, HttpTextFormat } from '@opentelemetry/api';
+import { Context, HttpTextFormat, TraceFlags } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import {
   setExtractedSpanContext,
   getParentSpanContext,
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ export class DummyPropagation implements HttpTextFormat {
     const extractedSpanContext = {
       traceId: carrier[DummyPropagation.TRACE_CONTEXT_KEY] as string,
       spanId: DummyPropagation.SPAN_CONTEXT_KEY,
+      traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
     };
     if (extractedSpanContext.traceId && extractedSpanContext.spanId) {
       return setExtractedSpanContext(context, extractedSpanContext);
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-propagator-jaeger/src/JaegerHttpTraceFormat.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-propagator-jaeger/src/JaegerHttpTraceFormat.ts
index 45a85b7f0f0..aec84b7aa0f 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-propagator-jaeger/src/JaegerHttpTraceFormat.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-propagator-jaeger/src/JaegerHttpTraceFormat.ts
@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ export class JaegerHttpTraceFormat implements HttpTextFormat {
     const spanContext = getParentSpanContext(context);
     if (!spanContext) return;
 
-    const traceFlags = `0${(
-      spanContext.traceFlags || TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED
-    ).toString(16)}`;
+    const traceFlags = `0${(spanContext.traceFlags || TraceFlags.NONE).toString(
+      16
+    )}`;
 
     setter(
       carrier,
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts
index c854f4f5b0c..ecc4adf995b 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ function translateReferences(references: opentracing.Reference[]): api.Link[] {
     const context = reference.referencedContext();
     if (context instanceof SpanContextShim) {
       links.push({
-        spanContext: (context as SpanContextShim).getSpanContext(),
+        context: (context as SpanContextShim).getSpanContext(),
         attributes: { 'span.kind': reference.type },
       });
     }
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/src/Tracer.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/src/Tracer.ts
index 76553ee3606..15fef62dd84 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/src/Tracer.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/src/Tracer.ts
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ export class Tracer implements api.Tracer {
     }
     const traceFlags = samplingDecision
       ? api.TraceFlags.SAMPLED
-      : api.TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED;
+      : api.TraceFlags.NONE;
     const spanContext = { traceId, spanId, traceFlags, traceState };
     if (!samplingDecision) {
       this.logger.debug('Sampling is off, starting no recording span');
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/BasicTracerProvider.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/BasicTracerProvider.test.ts
index 6d3a5836f46..829f477070d 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/BasicTracerProvider.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/BasicTracerProvider.test.ts
@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ describe('BasicTracerProvider', () => {
         setExtractedSpanContext(Context.ROOT_CONTEXT, {
           traceId: 'd4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
           spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
           traceState: state,
         })
       );
@@ -256,6 +257,7 @@ describe('BasicTracerProvider', () => {
         setExtractedSpanContext(Context.ROOT_CONTEXT, {
           traceId: '0',
           spanId: '0',
+          traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
         })
       );
       assert.ok(span instanceof Span);
@@ -276,7 +278,7 @@ describe('BasicTracerProvider', () => {
       const context = span.context();
       assert.ok(context.traceId.match(/[a-f0-9]{32}/));
       assert.ok(context.spanId.match(/[a-f0-9]{16}/));
-      assert.strictEqual(context.traceFlags, TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED);
+      assert.strictEqual(context.traceFlags, TraceFlags.NONE);
       assert.deepStrictEqual(context.traceState, undefined);
       span.end();
     });
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/Span.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/Span.test.ts
index 7c56dc5e713..573d58a0fbe 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/Span.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/Span.test.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import {
   CanonicalCode,
   TraceFlags,
   SpanContext,
+  LinkContext,
 } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { BasicTracerProvider, Span } from '../src';
 import {
@@ -42,6 +43,10 @@ describe('Span', () => {
     spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
     traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
   };
+  const linkContext: LinkContext = {
+    traceId: 'e4cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
+    spanId: '7e0c63257de34c92',
+  };
 
   it('should create a Span instance', () => {
     const span = new Span(tracer, name, spanContext, SpanKind.SERVER);
@@ -169,10 +174,14 @@ describe('Span', () => {
       spanId: '5e0c63257de34c92',
       traceFlags: TraceFlags.SAMPLED,
     };
+    const linkContext: LinkContext = {
+      traceId: 'b3cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
+      spanId: '6e0c63257de34c92',
+    };
     const attributes = { attr1: 'value', attr2: 123, attr3: true };
     const span = new Span(tracer, name, spanContext, SpanKind.CLIENT, '12345', [
-      { spanContext },
-      { spanContext, attributes },
+      { context: linkContext },
+      { context: linkContext, attributes },
     ]);
     span.end();
   });
@@ -255,9 +264,9 @@ describe('Span', () => {
       SpanKind.CLIENT,
       undefined,
       [
-        { spanContext },
+        { context: linkContext },
         {
-          spanContext,
+          context: linkContext,
           attributes: { attr1: 'value', attr2: 123, attr3: true },
         },
       ]
@@ -266,11 +275,11 @@ describe('Span', () => {
     assert.strictEqual(readableSpan.links.length, 2);
     assert.deepStrictEqual(readableSpan.links, [
       {
-        spanContext,
+        context: linkContext,
       },
       {
         attributes: { attr1: 'value', attr2: 123, attr3: true },
-        spanContext,
+        context: linkContext,
       },
     ]);
 
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/export/SimpleSpanProcessor.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/export/SimpleSpanProcessor.test.ts
index ad4b3f6d514..572883b115a 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/export/SimpleSpanProcessor.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-tracing/test/export/SimpleSpanProcessor.test.ts
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ describe('SimpleSpanProcessor', () => {
       const spanContext: SpanContext = {
         traceId: 'a3cda95b652f4a1592b449d5929fda1b',
         spanId: '5e0c63257de34c92',
-        traceFlags: TraceFlags.UNSAMPLED,
+        traceFlags: TraceFlags.NONE,
       };
       const span = new Span(
         provider.getTracer('default'),