Significantly reduce the time and cost of customs clearance! The first multilateral agreement on cross-border paperless trade in the Asia-Pacific takes effect today

According to news from the Ministry of Commerce on the 21st, the "Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific" came into effect on the 21st. This is the first multilateral agreement in the field of cross-border paperless trade under the framework of the United Nations, which will facilitate the products of Asia-Pacific members More convenient access to each other’s markets.

This agreement was initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Negotiations were initiated in April 2015 and completed in May 2016. Nearly 30 ESCAP members including China, Russia, South Korea, India and Indonesia have joined. At present, the agreement has entered into force for five founding parties that have completed domestic approvals, including China, the Philippines, and Bangladesh.

The agreement requires all parties to work hard to establish a national policy framework for cross-border paperless trade, use existing or create new cross-border paperless trade systems to realize the exchange of trade data and documents in electronic form, and in particular encourage all parties to accelerate the promotion of " The “Single Window” system is built and used for cross-border paperless trade.

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The head of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce stated that the Agreement requires all parties to use existing or create new cross-border paperless trade systems to realize the exchange of trade data and documents in electronic form, and in particular encourages all parties to accelerate the promotion of the "single window." System construction and use it for cross-border paperless trade. The Agreement promotes the establishment of a cross-border mutual recognition mechanism for trade data and documents in electronic form among members, and allows members to conclude bilateral and multilateral mutual recognition arrangements for the implementation of cross-border mutual recognition of trade data and documents in electronic form.

He said that the "Agreement" also encourages all parties to work hard to adopt international standards to ensure the compatibility of paperless trade, develop safe, insurance and reliable data exchange and communication methods, and actively participate in the formulation of relevant international standards and best practices. These arrangements will effectively improve the efficiency and transparency of cross-border paperless trade in the region, and greatly reduce the time and cost of customs clearance. Especially in the post-epidemic era, it can help local enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to more effectively deal with the challenges posed by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, better participate in international trade and enhance their competitiveness.

At present, China has recognized that electronic data and paper documents have the same legal effect through the pilot paperless reform of customs clearance operations nationwide. In the next step, all parties will further develop a comprehensive action plan to promote the implementation of the agreement, including specific measures and timetables.