Digitising cross-border trade could “unlock £250bn in economic growth” and mitigate the impact of rising tariff volatility.
This is according to a new study from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), reported in the Independent, which claims that current paper-based trade models are stifling productivity.
The paper comes ahead of a free webinar this week from the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, in which a panel of experts will present some of the digital supply chain solutions already available in the marketplace and that are being developed at a governmental level.
The webinar on ‘Supply Chain Innovations’ is taking place at 2pm on Wednesday 2 April and will feature Ilona Kawka, the Chartered Institute’s lead on digital trade, and Sean Copeland, the CEO of Boex.
You can sign up to it here.
SMEs to benefit most
The ICC’s report claims that digitalising cross-border processes could create a more efficient and cheaper trading system, with 35% efficiency savings for SMEs and increased access to £22bn in working capital.
This could lead to an estimated £25bn in trade growth and £224bn in efficiency savings.
“The ICC and Chartered Institute have both been trumpeting the benefits of trade digitalisation for a number of years,” says Kawka, who also leads the Institute’s Imports Advisory Practice.
“The Electronic Trade Documents Act, which passed into law in 2022, has created the regulatory landscape for digitalisation to take place. As part of the UK’s mission to boost economic growth, government and business should be looking to exploit this new regulatory framework to improve the efficiency of cross-border trade.
“Wednesday’s webinar will include examples of some of the digital solutions that have already been developed – including some of the pilots the Chartered Institute has been involved in, establishing digital trade corridors between the UK and EU for certain goods movements.”
Spring Statement disappointment
Chris Southworth, the secretary general for the ICC in the UK, told the Independent t[IK1] hat the UK has the opportunity to “lead the way” on digitalisation, but added that it was disappointing that trade was not mentioned in last week’s Spring Statement from chancellor Rachel Reeves.
“We had the Spring Statement that didn’t mention anything about trade,” he said.
“Within 24 hours, we then have 25% tariffs from the Trump administration. It just demonstrates the strains that businesses are under and the impact that has on our economy.”
Single Trade Window needed
Kawka further notes that it is surprising that the government isn’t currently pursuing the further development of a ‘Single Trade Window’ as a means to reducing complexity for traders.
The government put the development of the portal, which would have allowed traders to file trade-related documentation digitally in a single place, on hold last year.
Referring to a recent survey the Chartered Institute held with its members, as part of its response to a Cabinet Office consultation on how businesses are currently experiencing moving goods over the border, she said:
“More than two-thirds of the businesses we surveyed said the Single Trade Window would be either ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’ to their day-to-day operations.
“This is a strong endorsement from the trader community that the project would streamline cross-border processes, reduce administrative burden and enhance efficiencies across the entire UK border ecosystem.”
Four options
Sources close to the Single Trade Window project have told Politico that the government is now assessing four options.
The first would be to “do nothing” and let the project fade away.
The second would be to “maintain the current STW asset” and investigate whether further funding could be secured at a future spending review.
Third, would be creating a “data-centric” hub for software developers or a “two-way messaging service” for firms to submit additional data to government.
The final option would be to re-continue the project in line with the work already completed on it.
For more information about the latest developments and innovations in trade digitalisation, sign up to our free webinar on Wednesday 2 April here.
