This section of the magazine gathers several articles on the “Blockchain,” a term which refers to a type of data structure that identifies and tracks transactions digitally and shares this information … across a distributed network of computers. Blockchain is one type of distributed ledger: distributed ledgers use independent computers – referred to as nodes – to record, share and synchronize transactions, instead of keeping data centralized as is the case with a traditional ledger.

The border is a national asset. To boost national competitiveness, facilitating legitimate cross-border trade must be high on every government’s agenda. The World Trade Organization (WTO) estimates … that ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement could boost global trade by up to 1 trillion US dollars and reduce total trade costs by 13% for upper-middle income countries. Put simply, making cross-border trade more efficient offers a sizeable pay-off for governments and citizens.

The movement of goods and means of transport from, across or to, the European Union (EU) involves many actors in the supply chain who must exchange information and comply with several pieces … of EU legislation and, in particular, with Customs, transport, environmental protection, safety, and security regulations. This renders the process of cross-border operations highly complex.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has been supporting the development of a blockchain solution to enable automated, secure and efficient information sharing on Authorized Economic Operators … (AEOs) among the Customs administrations of Mexico, Peru and Costa Rica to ensure the efficient implementation of Mutual Recognition Arrangements/Agreements (MRAs).

“Did you pack this bag yourself?” It’s a question many of us are used to being asked when checking in at an airport. For a shipping container, the situation is more complex. Most organizations … never communicate directly with the party that stuffed the container. Underpinned by blockchain technology, the TradeLens platform lays the foundation for global, digital supply chains.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with its Hong Kong counterpart in November 2017 to jointly develop a cross-border distributed ledger technology … (DLT) based infrastructure that will link up digital trade platforms and the growing number of trade-related DLT platforms and communities around the world. In this article, Singapore Customs presents this new initiative called the ‘Global Trade Connectivity Network,’ which is expected to be operational in 2019 as well as the new trade information management ecosystem called the ‘Networked Trade Platform,’ which was officially launched in September 2018, and explains how the two systems play complementary roles in stitching up the global trade ecosystem, empowered by both DLT and non-DLT based technologies.