Ministers Agree on Switch from Paper to Digital Trade Documentation
APEC Member Economies committed this week to a new plan for paperless trading. The plan lays out specific actions to reduce costs and improve efficiencies for business by replacing paper international trade documentation with their electronic equivalents.
Endorsed by APEC Ministers at their meeting this week in Chile, the "APEC Strategies and Actions Towards a Cross-Border Paperless Trading Environment" will reduce duplication and waste in trade transactions by promoting cooperative efforts among a wide range of government agencies and private transportation businesses.
The Strategies include initiatives to harmonize domestic laws and customs declaration procedures through the establishment of a web-based single-window information exchange framework.
As a further step to push forward paperless trading and to facilitate seamless trade, Ministers agreed to adopt the new "Strategies and Actions" in order to achieve cross-border electronic transmission of trade related information.
This strategic approach has required significant levels of cooperation from a wide range of agencies and private sector representatives and it has involved capacity building efforts and collaboration with other organizations. In response to a recommendation by the APEC Business Advisory Council, further cooperative actions are underway to develop a "single window" for all trade-related documents.
The strategies and actions being taken reflect the e-APEC Strategy on both domestic and regional levels. Through the implementation of these action plans, the region will benefit from the creation of an open, secure, and seamless environment for the cross-border electronic transmission of trade-related information.
The Strategies is the latest effort in the APEC Paperless Trading Agenda, which aims to eliminate the requirement for paper documents needed for trade administration, customs clearance and international transport. The Action Plan expects that most economies will enhance their domestic paperless trading system and begin pilots for cross-border exchange by 2010. The aim is to establish a comprehensive paperless trading environment across the region by 2020.