Information technology and e-commerce
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Holistic use of technologies for Smart Customs of the future
2021 has highlighted the critical role that Customs play in enabling global trade. To make the global supply chains of the future more efficient, Smart Customs have to minimize Customs clearance time and costs, while intelligently managing inbound and outbound goods and vehicles. Disruptive technologies such as IoT devices are enabling autonomous equipment to drive effective monitoring of cargo and tracking of journeys.
Foreword by the WTO Director General
We live in a time of rapid technological change that has the possibility of profoundly altering the conduct of international trade. For many people keeping up to date with the latest technology and fully understanding its implications can be daunting. This report will help illuminate the so-called “disruptive technologies” that are most relevant to border management, as well as assist governments to better understand the challenges and benefits of their use by Customs.
Executive summary
The promise of TradeTech – the set of technologies that enables global trade to become more efficient, inclusive and sustainable – is multifaceted, from trade facilitation to efficiency gains and reduced costs, to greater transparency and resilience of supply chains. Of particular interest for this publication is the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) and the internet of things (IoT) to shape the global trade ecosystem.
Global legal recognition of electronic transactions and documents
On average, a cross-border transaction requires the exchange of 36 documents and 240 copies (Fletcher, 2019). A shipment of roses from Kenya to Rotterdam can generate a pile of paper 25 cm high, and the cost of handling it can be higher than the cost of moving the containers (Allison, 2016).
Global digital identity
Identity and trust lie at the core of each trade interaction. As global value chains become increasingly digital, organizations need to ensure that they can trust the digital identity of legal and physical persons1 or products they deal with, and can efficiently link that digital identity with a real organization, specific product or device (see Box 17).
Global trade rules access and computational law
Businesses operate in an environment of increasing legal complexity. At a global level, trade compliance is particularly time consuming and costly, as enterprises need to be aware of and comply with rules under different international agreements as well as meet their contractual obligations.
How to use this toolkit
This toolkit aims at raising awareness of the technical and legal tools to be called upon to adopt cross-border paperless trade systems and national single windows (NSWs).
Introduction
Using electronic documents and transactions can speed up and increase trade. Electronic messages can eliminate the need to enter data into a computer manually at each supply chain checkpoint and can provide opportunities for the potential reuse of data.
Strategy behind technology
Recommendations
This section provides a set of recommendations regarding the introduction and scaling up of technologies by Customs. These recommendations were provided by Customs, the private sector and academia in discussions held on different occasions in the last four years, including at the October 2017 Permanent Technical Committee, the annual dialogue held between the Private Sector Consultative Group and the Policy Commission in June 2018, the WCO technology conferences and regional workshops on disruptive technologies held in 2021 and 2022, the WTO 2018 research workshop and the 2019 and 2021 Global Trade and Blockchain Forums.