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DHS Establishes United States-United Kingdom-Australia Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group (SCRCG) to Tackle Supply Chain Threats
This week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United Kingdom (U.K.)’s Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Australia’s Department of Industry, Science, and Resources established the United States-United Kingdom-Australia Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group to enhance efforts to… Read more
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African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Legal Texts and Policy Documents
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, a blueprint for attaining inclusive and sustainable development across the continent over the next 50 years. It aims to boost intra-African trade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement among the State Parties… Read more
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The Digital Standards Initiative (DSI) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is on a mission to digitalise global trade by addressing some of the biggest challenges facing governments, businesses and people today. Among the four challenges1we have identified, perhaps the steepest one is around standards for interoperability. With hundreds… Read more
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With trade in goods valued at £1.7 trillion and services valued at £896 billion, trade matters to the economy. The UK has a unique opportunity to drive economic growth and improve productivity, by digitalising international trade, reducing bureaucracy, and leveraging the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 (ETDA). As the first… Read more
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In May 2024, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) began work on a project aimed at enhancing the practical understanding of public-private partnership (PPP) models. The work included examining their use to support standards development for CETs, the role of government in the related activities, and identifying key elements of… Read more
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EU and China launch Cross-Border Data Flow Communication Mechanism
On 27 August, the EU and China launched the first discussions under the new Cross-Border Data Flow Communication Mechanism. Sabine Weyand, director-general of DG Trade at the European Commission, met with Vice-Minister Wang Jingtao of the Cyberspace Administration of China to formally launch the new mechanism. The mechanism will focus on… Read more
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CBP Champions Trade Modernization Through Global Interoperability Standards Testing
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the agency’s 2024-2025 plan to accelerate testing and adoption of global interoperability standards, kicking off a new testing phase for innovative trade technology. The agency will work with private and public sector partners during the 2024 testing phase this fall, leading up to… Read more
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The emergence of the Port Community System (PCS). The PCS represents a pivotal development in the world of maritime trade facilitation and logistics. These sophisticated digital platforms enable seamless exchange of information, coordination, and collaboration among the port community stakeholders. By streamlining communication and automating data exchange, the PCS drives… Read more
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The Use of Insurance Documents in International Trade – Enabling Digitalisation
For the past few years, work has been underway to harness emerging technologies such as blockchain, smart contracts, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the insurance industry. The technologies can be harnessed to digitalise cargo insurance documentation. However, one of the barriers to adopting and using… Read more
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Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce
The following communication, dated 26 July 2024 is being circulated at the request of Australia, Japan and Singapore as Co-Convenors on behalf of the participants of the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce. We recognise the importance of global electronic commerce and the opportunities it creates for inclusive trade and… Read more