APEC Initiative on Paperless Trade

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APEC Initiative on Paperless Trade
YounKyong KANGDeputy Director, E-Business Policy
Division Ministry of Commerce, Industry
EnergyRepublic of Korea
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Contents

• What is APEC?
• APEC Initiative on Paperless Trade
• Benefits and Challenges
• Strategies to move forward

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What is APEC?(1)

• Established in 1989

• Membership 21 economies in AP regions

• Goal to enhance economic growth and prosperity
  for the region by - trade and investment
  liberalization - business facilitation -
  economic and technical cooperation

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Structure
Leaders Meeting
MinisterialMeeting
Sectoral Ministerial Meetings
APEC BusinessAdvisory Council
Senior OfficialsMeeting(SOM)
Committee on Trade and Investment
EconomicCommittee
SOM Committeeon ECOTECH
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Contents

• What is APEC?
• APEC Initiative on Paperless Trade
• Benefits and Challenges
• Strategies to move forward

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Vision

• APEC Blueprint for Action on Electronic
  Commerce(1998) - Ministers agreed that member
  economies should endeavor to reduce or eliminate
  the requirement for paper documents needed for
  customs and other cross-border trade
  administration and other documents and messages
  relevant to international sea, air and land
  transport, Paperless Trading, where possible,
  by 2005 for developed and 2010 for developing
  economies, or as soon as possible thereafter
• The APEC Trade Facilitation Principles in 2002

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SOM
ATCWG
SCCP
ECSG (Electronic Commerce Steering Group)
Tel
Privacy Sub-group
Paperless Trade Sub-Group
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How APEC Move from Paper to Paperless Trading?
- (1) IAP -

• Paperless Trading IAP(Individual Action Plan) -
  The 11th Ministerial Meeting in 1999 Auckland
• The Template of Paperless Trading Individual
  Action Plan

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How APEC Move from Paper to Paperless Trading?
- (2) Pathfinder Projects -
- e-C/O (electronic Certificate of Origin)-
e-SPS (Electronic Sanitary and PhytoSanitary
Certificate)
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Pathfinder Project (1)Electronic Certificates
of Origin

• Implications
• Between Singapore and Korea
• Confidentiality, authenticity and non-repudiation
• Potential savings of US100/certificate
  (Crimsonlogic,
  Singapore)

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Pathfinder Project (2)Electronic SPS Certificate

• Implications
• Between Australia and New Zealand- Australian
  Quarantine and Inspection Service and New
  Zealand Food Safety Authority- especially with
  meat shipment

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Contents

• What is APEC?
• APEC Initiative on Paperless Trade
• Benefits and Challenges
• Strategies to move forward

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Benefits

• Savings to business
• Communication cost reduction
• Fewer errors
• Lower interest payments on trade finance
• Efficient supply chains
• Savings for government agencies, banks, insurers
  and shipping companies

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Challenges (1)

• Lack of legal, institutional infrastructure
  - some economies lack of electronic transaction
  law - some economies lack of electronic
  signature law - lack of mutual recognition
  of electronic signature
• Reluctance to changes - too many
  stakeholders - banks

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Challenges(2)

• Pathfinder Project - e-C/O(electronic
  Certificate of Origin) International message
  standard for e-C/O- e-SPS(electronic Sanitary
  and PhytoSanitary Certificate) lack of
  awareness

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Contents

• What is APEC?
• APEC Initiative on Paperless Trade
• Benefits and Challenges
• APEC Strategies to move forward

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Strategies to Move Forward(1)

• Initiating new pathfinders for other priority
  areas- harmonize customs declaration items
  among interested member economies(CTI/SCCP)- a
  new Pathfinder on cross-border electronic
  transmission of customs clearance
  data(CTI/SCCP)- discussing cross-recognition of
  PKI domains
• Intensifying capacity building activities - ECSG
  sponsors assessment and benchmarking of current
  practices in paperless trading - training
  program, workshop etc.

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Strategies to Move Forward (2)

• Collaborating with other international
  organizations - especially with UN/CEFACT
  (the standards of e-SPS, e-C/O)

• Strengthening of public private partnership