1、White PaperWindows of Opportunity:Facilitating Trade with Blockchain TechnologyJuly 2019 World Economic Forum2019 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,including photocopying and recording,or by any information storage and retrie
2、val system.The views expressed are those of certain participants in the discussion,and do not necessarily reflect the views of all participants or of the World Economic Forum.REF 180118-case 00040020Contents This white paper has been published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a proje
3、ct,insight area or interaction.The findings,interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum,but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum,nor the entirety of its Membe
4、rs,Partners or other stakeholders.Preface 3Introduction 4State of single windows 5 Benefits 5 Pain points 7Potential use-cases with blockchain 10 Challenges 11 Use-cases 11Guidelines for operationalizing use-cases 15Next steps 19Appendix 20Acknowledgements 21Endnotes 223Windows of Opportunity:Facili
5、tating Trade with Blockchain TechnologyThe Fourth Industrial Revolution,driven by rapid technological change and digitization,is having a profound impact on global trade.By applying innovative new technologies to trade,“TradeTech”promises to increase efficiency,drive economic development and grow in
6、clusivity.However,challenges and uncertainties remain on the policy governance of TradeTech.Public-private partnerships are needed to maximize the benefits and mitigate the potential downsides of applying new technologies to global trade.Building on global developments and aspirations for TradeTech,
7、the World Economic Forums Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,through its Digital Trade team,collaborated with the Inter-American Development Bank(IDB)to launch a new project.This project aims to guide public-sector stakeholders to make informed decisions about using emerging technologies to
8、 facilitate trade,drive economic development and improve competitiveness particularly in the case of blockchain deployment in trade single windows.Given its prioritization of emerging technologies and having worked closely with Latin American and Caribbean(LAC)governments,the IDB has valuable experi
9、ence and knowledge to help co-design and shape the trade agenda.Within trade facilitation,trade single windows serve as the single electronic point for exporters and importers to submit regulatory and commercial documents to respective government ministries and agencies.However,promises of increased
10、 efficiency are hindered by pain points and challenges,such as the lack of interoperability among agencies,persistence of outdated processes and limited visibility and traceability of shipped goods.By exploring the application of new technology blockchain in the trade single windows network,this Whi
11、te Paper outlines the current obstacles governments face in implementing and maintaining single windows,and the potential for blockchain to address those issues while understanding the experimental nature of the technology.The White Paper draws on the expertise of more than 80 project community memb
12、ers globally across various industry sectors,government agencies,intergovernmental organizations and academic institutions as well as in civil society.The policy framework laid out in this White Paper is also intended to be applied in a proof of concept with the support of the IDB.This project refle
13、cts the mission of the World Economic Forums Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution:to provide an international platform of expertise,knowledge-sharing and public-private collaboration and to co-design and pilot innovative new approaches to policy and governance in the Fourth Industrial Revolut
14、ion.This project will encourage proofs of concept within and outside of the project community,share and scale lessons learned using the World Economic Forums platform on international trade and investment.PrefaceZiyang Fan,Head of Digital Trade,World Economic ForumPablo M.Garcia,Director of the Inst
15、itute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean,Inter-American Development Bank4Windows of Opportunity:Facilitating Trade with Blockchain TechnologyTrade costs the costs of moving cargo from one country to another are a leading constraint for companies wanting to engage in trade.A signi
16、ficant share of these costs stems from the time and money that companies spend on paperwork and in multiple submissions of the same information,as required by various government border agencies to release goods for export and allow them to enter the importing country.Trade single windows have consid
17、erably improved this process,acting as one-stop electronic platforms for registered users to lodge the required import and export trade documents.Studies suggest that electronic single windows have helped halve document processing times in border agencies,cut trade compliance times to one-third,incr
18、eased adopting countries exports and gross domestic products(GDPs)and encouraged an overall improvement in transparency and user experience for border clearance.Single windows have proliferated in recent years;as of 2017,27 countries had a full electronic single window and 36 had a partial single wi
19、ndow.All 164 signatories to the Trade Facilitation Agreement(TFA),which entered into force in 2017,are encouraged to adopt an electronic single window.Their benefits notwithstanding,single windows leave a good deal of room for improvement.Implementation has been challenging,especially for many devel
20、oping countries;surveys have revealed such problems as agencies long response times,a reliance on paper-based documents and a requirement to submit the same data multiple times to different authorities.Such challenges undermine government progress in facilitating trade and enabling small-and medium-
21、sized enterprises(SMEs)to engage in trade.It is also a good time to address such issues:Companies are digitizing their trade operations and thus demand automated processes,including those provided by governments.There is also a compelling case for improving single windows due to the growth of e-comm
22、erce:whereas previously border agencies mostly dealt with a limited number of large companies doing regular,container-based transactions,now they have to contend with an avalanche of parcel-based shipments and new traders with whom they are less familiar.In response,governments around the world are
23、considering using new methods and the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to improve the operation,data quality,risk management and user experience in single windows.IntroductionThe purpose of this policy framework is to help governments in these explorations by focusing on the potentia
24、l for blockchain in single windows.Blockchain,a database that retains information on all transactions on a ledger visible to all stakeholders,is already being considered and piloted in various areas of world trade such as trade logistics,supply-chain management,customs and border regulatory processe
25、s,cross-border payments and trade finance.This policy framework(1)analyses the main pain points in single windows around the world;(2)assesses specific use-cases where blockchain might alleviate some of these pain points;and(3)develops guidelines for governments to consider and apply blockchain in t
26、rade single windows.The policy framework is aimed at government agencies involved in border clearance;however,private-sector organizations engaged in trade can also use this report to consider how best to encourage governments to use this technology.The following section discusses the importance of
27、trade single windows in trade facilitation and reviews the main pain points experienced by single window operators and users.The next section assesses the value propositions of blockchain and analyses how these are best applied to remove the main pain points experienced by single window operators an
28、d users,while also developing a series of use-cases for blockchain in single windows.The section thereafter focuses on the considerations for operationalizing blockchain use-cases in single windows.The final section discusses what steps can be taken next.5Windows of Opportunity:Facilitating Trade wi
29、th Blockchain TechnologyExploring blockchains usefulness in single windows requires an understanding of the essential challenges facing single windows and their users.This section discusses the gains and pain points single windows have created,based on academic literature and structured interviews w
30、ith single window operators in various geographic regions.Benefits Introduced in the late 1980s in Sweden and Singapore,where they reduced border clearance times from four days to 15 minutes,trade single windows have become a centrepiece of trade facilitation efforts around the world.The TFA encoura
31、ges signatories to adopt electronic single windows single windows powered by information technology.The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has been instrumental in developing definitions,guidelines and standards for single windows,and several entities including development banks and the W
32、orld Customs Organization have helped countries build and finance them.By 2017,trade single windows had been adopted in full or in part in 63 countries(Figure 1).They typically bring together dozens of government agencies in charge of such areas as health,agriculture,quarantine,immigration and techn
33、ical standards.For example,in Uruguay,the single window brings together 27 agencies such as tax and customs authorities and ministries of agriculture and State of single windowsfisheries,environment,energy and mining,and enables traders to submit 127 different types of documents required by the vari
34、ous border agencies.Single windows have delivered a notable return on investment in a wide range of countries,facilitating trade considerably and lowering companies international trade costs(Table 1).Their benefits have been compounded by the digitization of trade documents:such“paperless trade”obvi
35、ates the need for exporters and importers to spend time filling out paper documents,re-entering the same data multiple times and visiting government agencies in person to secure signatures and stamps.3 Many governments have digitized customs clearance and duty payments;research suggests this has cut
36、 border compliance time for imports by one-third,and significantly reduced corruption in the customs process.4Such efficiency gains can be even greater when trade single windows are combined with port community systems(PCS)that enable the exchange of information among players in port environments.Fo
37、r example,in Benin,Togo and Democratic Republic of the Congo,traders receive a“single invoice”,where all costs at the port(such as terminal handling charges)and regulatory costs(for instance,duties and taxes)are combined into a single invoice that is automatically sent to the importer or relevant pa
38、rty.Once the full invoice is paid,the bank pays all of the individual stakeholders and goods are released.Figure 1:Trade single window adoption among 120 analysed countries,2017Source:Author processing from the UN Paperless Trade Database,20176Windows of Opportunity:Facilitating Trade with Blockchai
39、n TechnologyTable 1:Selected impacts of digital technologies in border processesDigital approachesGeneral objectivesSelected impactsCountries that have adopted by 20175Digital single windowsDigital payments of customs duties and feesInformation on export and import processes available onlineDigital
40、trade documents,“paperless trade”Improve and accelerate trade compliance by enabling traders to submit all documents required for border clearance in one“window”,typically electronicallyEnable agencies to process trade documents faster,thereby accelerating the clearance of cargo at bordersReduce inv
41、oicing times by automating computation of duties and feesReduce corruption in customsReduce time for importers to make payments onlineAccelerate reconciliation and thus customs clearanceMake trade requirements easily accessible,including for new exporters and importers,and promote transparency of tr
42、ade operationsReduce re-entry of same information on multiple paper-based documentsLower processing times for traders and staff at trade agencies that process documentsImprove legibility of trade documents traditionally filled out by handReduce probability of errorIn Kenya,the average time spent on
43、processing applications dropped by 50%,the number of documents required for processing halved and traders saved time previously spent on visiting various agencies.6In Cameroon,the time to import used cars fell from seven to two days,the time to lodge shipping manifests from seven days to one minute
44、and the time to obtain import licences from eight hours to 15 minutes.7In Colombia,the time to import a container fell from 48 to 13 days and the time to export a container from 34 to 14 days in 20062011.8Costa Rica reaped$16 in economic gains from every$1 invested in the single window.Without the s
45、ystem,exports would have been on average 2%lower than they were between 2008 and 2013,or 0.5%of GDP.9In Tanzania,digitization of customs clearance and duties cut import clearance times from nine days to less than one day.13Small and remote firms accelerating their access to trade requirements,inform
46、ation and documents in a single place reduces processing time and enables them to work without intermediaries.Exporters and importers in countries with paperless trade spend far less time on paperwork for border clearance:Sub-Saharan African importers spend on average 98 hours on paperwork for a con
47、signment,as opposed to only four hours in Thailand and one hour in Canada and Sweden where traders use digital documents.10In Costa Rica,exporters became able to fill out a single form online,which the single window distributed automatically across trade agencies to issue permits;trade in this chann
48、el grew 1.4%faster than exports processed via traditional methods.Paperless trade has facilitated global supply chains,such as by enabling just-in-time delivery.1127536467127Windows of Opportunity:Facilitating Trade with Blockchain TechnologyPain points While they have delivered significant gains,si
49、ngle windows in many countries have yet to be implemented in full and thus work as seamless one-stop shops for traders to submit trade documents and accelerate border clearance.Research and interviews reveal several pain points in single window systems related to interoperability among the stakehold
50、ers,paperless trade,traceability of goods,document and payment processing and trustworthiness of data(Table 2).The following section details some of the main challenges.Limited interoperability National single windows are disconnected from one another.The TFA calls for countries to coordinate their