The purpose of SMART borders and Trade Single Windows
The ultimate objective of SMART borders and Single Windows is to reduce the time on the cost of doing international trade business. This is where the government and private sector really must work together because most of the regulatory facilities are provided by the government with business conducted by the private sector. Therefore, stakeholder cooperation is especially important and even more critical in the pandemic period.
“The COVID19 Crisis and Trade Facilitation” ICC Survey Highlights
The ICC and partners conducted a survey titled “The COVID-19 Crisis and Trade Facilitation”. The survey shows that over 95 countries have implemented restrictions and banning measures on the export of some critical goods. Whereas these may be temporary non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that are introduced legitimately, it is important to mitigate the risk of these measures becoming permanent. Almost all trade procedures have become cumbersome, particularly in the area of testing on critical medical supplies, which are sometimes needed in critical situations of life and death. These regimes that have come into play must be balanced with health and safety as well as critical needs.
Likewise, the flow of transit goods to landlocked countries has also become a serious barrier to trade. These are all NTBs that are seeping into the supply chain. Although these are immediate challenges that need mitigating, it is also important to work to ensure that the agreements that are put into place rapidly find solutions to remove these NTBs.
These challenges clearly show that contingency planning and disaster management is no longer a hidden clause needed in agreements or programmes only. They must be robust and timely, since, as we find in these times, it is not just about the movement of goods, but also life-saving goods. There is now the added balancing act of balancing health and safety matters such as physical distancing with matters such as trade facilitation, not to mention the already existing balancing act of trade facilitation and revenue collection. We need to ensure that strategies are deliberate in ensuring that the private sector can go about their duties while the government regulates the necessary areas without putting processes in place that impede the movement of goods.
Storyboard of lessons learned – Digitalisation
Digitisation and access to timely trade information are components that are critical for ensuring that business can be conducted in time, anywhere in a “contactlessness” environment. We must look at trade information. In the last few months, information has been changing by the second, minute, or hour. How do we ensure that this information is disseminated to the people who need it to ensure the flow of goods? It is important to understand national and regional infrastructures to determine what measures can be put into place whilst working towards a harmonised supply chain.
Some of the components that are relevant to the challenges that are being faced:
Pre-arrival processing
Pre-arrival processing is now critical. There are finite resources and physical distancing measures that still need to manage the critical goods that are moving across borders. Access to data before the goods arrive means that the regulatory agent can do their work before the physical arrival of goods at the port, easing the flow of traffic.
National risk management
Pre-arrival processing cannot be done without a robust national risk management system from a regulatory point of view. All the necessary authorities need to work together to ensure clarity and certainty about which goods are risks and which need to be stopped upon arrival, even before the goods arrive. Joint and coordinated inspections are also a part of this process.
AEO – Trusted Trader, Single Windows, and physical infrastructure
The above also brings to bear the Trusted Trader (AEO). If there is a list of trusted traders in the database, customs should expedite those compliant goods and work on post-clearance audit facilities that can check them while ensuring the decrease in time and cost of moving these goods across borders.
Landlocked countries faced a stifling of trade flows into critical areas. It is important to ensure that critical routes remain open to ensure that landlocked countries receive their critical goods, which can be assisted through Regional Single Window.
It is impossible to fully realise all the benefits of digitisation programmes without the necessary physical infrastructure. It is important to ensure that telecom infrastructures, port facilities for container management, movement of goods and people, and the road networks are sound. These tools should be considered a priority, since they have been proven to be successful. They are no longer just a ‘nice-to-have’ but are now critical to implement.
Priority next steps
Priorities — specific to each country — need to be put in place. The fact that ESA is moving towards paperless systems is an important foundation. It is a call to action to review National Trade Facilitation Strategies, ensure that priorities are put in place, and blueprints are created specifically for each country.
The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement has been ratified; countries must align their blueprints with these agreement priorities. The free flow of information and data, closely aligned with the movement of physical goods, is important. The only way to exchange data nationally and across borders is by ensuring safe systems and harmonised data sets. This is why the WCO Data Model is really important. It is important to rapidly integrate systems domestically and across borders. Priority and planning are key.
To achieve all the measures outlined above, the necessary tools need to be put into place rapidly, because there is a long road ahead towards economic recovery. Having these foundations in place will allow countries to bounce back more quickly.
*By Valentina Mintah (Member, Executive Board of the International Chamber of Commerce)
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