How can new technologies improve trade facilitation?

ha de acking list which CHAPTER TNCALITATING INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FLOWS 131 Ne you will need to prepare the goods and documents for export. This will include the com The invoice which replicates the terms areed in the contract and the purchase order; (2) the the freight Forwarder, caves, customs and consignee with informa plon about your hand the packing details, a shipper's letter of instruction to have a needed: (4) bills of lading for land and marime transport and is the required sanitary and written record of, for example, who recewed the showing documents and whom to contact need to include a certificats and inspection Certificates. Finally, in some cases, you will also - this is particularly relevant for customs duties phytosanitary certificates, o trion of the goods TRADE FACILITATION While the information provided by trade documents is critical to ensure the rights of each party national regulations, cumbersome administrative procedures can harm international trade. Involved in an international transaction, as well as ensuring compliance with national and inter- Empirical evidence, for example, shows that each additional day freight spends in transit reduces the probability that a country will export to the US by 1%. Given the importance of trade to economic development, there is increasing emphasis on trade facilitation. Each year the World borders (measured by way of the time and cost associated with exporting and importing a stand- Bank publishes its Doing Business report, which includes analysis of the ability to trade across ardised cargo of goods by sea transport). Trade facilitation is also a key focus of much of the work of UNCTAD's Transport and Trade Logistics Branch among developing countries. Two main con- cerns of those advocating for trade facilitation are elimination of time as a trade barrier poor international transport links increase time to market) and reducing bureaucracy caused by proce- dural, administrative and legal impediments. Indeed, UNCTAD estimates that around 40 docu- ments are involved in the average customs transaction, with 70% of data needed to be rekeyed at least once. The World Trade Organization (WTO) reported that the cost of complying with customs for malities can even cancel the benefits brought by tariff Trade facilitation refers to the reductions through international agreements. simplification, harmonization and automation of international In this context, the goal of trade facilitation is to make trade procedures, providing international trade transactions easier, quicker and less trade transactions with more costly. In particular, trade facilitation refers to the simpli- fication, harmonisation and automation of international efficiency. trade procedures, providing trade transactions with more transparency, predictability and efficiency (Table 9.3). transparency, predictability and Impact on international trade and supply chains With the aim of fostering trade facilitation across the globe, the members of the World Trade Organization developed in 2013 the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which entered into force 2017 after being ratified by two-thirds of its member countries. The agreement contains prova sions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, as well as for improvin cooperation between customs and other agencies on trade facilitation and other customs compl ance matters. The full implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement could reduce trac costs by more than 14% and increase global trade by up to US$1 trillion per year. For Asis 200892