Readiness Assessment for Cross-Border Paperless Trade: Azerbaijan
This report provides an assessment of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s readiness for cross-border paperless trade, i.e., the conduct of international trade on the basis of electronic data and documents. Following a brief review of the state of play in trade facilitation implementation in the Republic of Azerbaijan, findings from the technical and legal readiness assessments for cross-border paperless trade are presented. Recommendations on both technical and legal aspects of cross-border paperless trade are then provided, followed by an initial action plan for the Republic of Azerbaijan to move forward.
The complete set of Cross-Border Paperless Trade Readiness Assessment reports can be accessed here.
Using the UN/CEFACT Multimodal Transport Reference Data Model and Semantic Standards In Roll-Out Projects, Notably for Road Transport
This project was undertaken in the context of implementing the UN Development Account project in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to connectivity, trade, and transport, as well as to support the development of digital multimodal transport corridors with a view to increasing the harmonization and standardization of data exchange in multimodal international transport, trade, and logistics to encourage electronic data exchange and thereby to reduce person-to-person contacts during and after the COVID-19 crisis in the post-pandemic recovery.
It aims to develop and test electronic document equivalents for the e-CMR: XML schemas and JSON API specifications aligned to the UN/CEFACT Reference Data Model and other standards, the e-CMR Protocol to the CMR Convention, and the Eurasian Economic Commission Data Model, to be used in the Belarus-Ukraine and Eurasian Economic Union multimodal corridors. Another important element of the project consisted in exploring the use of specific instruments (trusted third party, blockchain or other) ensuring acceptability of electronic equivalents of documents accompanying goods (e-CMR and other documents).
Readiness Assessment for Cross-Border Paperless Trade: Philippines
This report provides an assessment of the Philippines’ readiness for cross-border paperless trade, i.e., the conduct of international trade based on electronic data and documents.
A team of experts conducted this assessment following readiness checklists developed by the ESCAP Interim Intergovernmental Steering Group on Cross-Border Paperless Trade Facilitation, of which the Philippines is a member. National consultation on facilitating cross-border paperless trade was co-organized by the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) and ESCAP on 8 March 2021, when preliminary findings from the visits and interviews were further reviewed, consolidated and validated.
The report is co-published by ESCAP and the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The complete set of Cross-Border Paperless Trade Readiness Assessment reports can be accessed here.
Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation: Global Report 2021
This report reviews the progress of trade facilitation reforms across 144 countries, based on the fourth UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation. The analysis is based on 58 trade facilitation measures that are classified into four groups (General Trade Facilitation, Digital Trade Facilitation, Sustainable Trade Facilitation and Other Trade Facilitation) covering both binding and non-binding WTO TFA measures, as well as measures beyond the scope of WTO TFA. The report aims at enabling countries and development partners to take a forward-looking approach to trade facilitation, better understand and monitor progress, support evidence-based public policies, share best practices, and identify emerging capacity-building and technical assistance needs.
For more information on the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation and other reports, please visit untfsurvey.org
Airship Technology for Air Connectivity and Humanitarian and the Caribbean and the Pacific
The Airship transport alternative, in its diverse engineering variants, has the potential to be a game-changing technology with significant development in recent years. It offers the technical capabilities to make a broad contribution to the optimization of mobility and logistics networks in isolated communities and territories, especially but not only in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This is particularly important in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as in the event of a disaster, different aid agencies are deployed with support in the distribution and logistics of perishable and essential cargo, equipment, and assistance personnel. This innovative mode should be incorporated into the transport matrix (both nationally and regionally), for the latter to move towards more efficient, sustainable, and resilient networks.
Air Way Bill Standard Package
The Air Way Bill Standard Package was developed as part of the United Nations response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic under the United Nations multiagency project “Transport and Trade Connectivity in the Age of Pandemics: UN solutions for contactless, seamless and collaborative transport and trade” in cooperation with ICAO.
This electronic document equivalent Standard Package consists of the following elements:
Air Dangerous Goods Declaration
The Air Dangerous Goods Declaration Standard Package was developed as part of the United Nations response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic under the United Nations multiagency project “Transport and Trade Connectivity in the Age of Pandemics: UN solutions for contactless, seamless and collaborative transport and trade” in cooperation with ICAO.
This electronic document equivalent Standard Package consists of the following elements:
Air Consignment Security Declaration
The Air Consignment Security Declaration Standard Package was developed as part of the United Nations response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic under the United Nations multiagency project “Transport and Trade Connectivity in the Age of Pandemics: UN solutions for contactless, seamless and collaborative transport and trade” in cooperation with ICAO.
This electronic document equivalent Standard Package consists of the following elements:
Assessment of the use of electronic documents based on the UN/CEFACT Multimodal Transport Reference Data Model (MMT RDM) in the execution of formalities for the registration of the arrival and departure of ships in the seaports of Ukraine
The current project focuses on reporting formalities in the seaports of Ukraine as a part of global supply chains. The crossing of multimodal transport corridors at seaports leads to the need to use the UN/CEFACT multimodal transport reference data model (MMT RDM) as a core tool for data harmonization and seamless sharing. There is also a need to link this tool with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), national and regional regulations. The project will result in practical recommendations for the further development of digitalization of documentary procedures in Ukrainian seaports.
The objective of the project is to assess the present state of the ship-shore interaction, identify customary practices, formulate the concept of positioning of a national maritime Single Window (MSW) in regional and global multimodal transport corridors and supply chains, and then perform practical tests to prove the concept.
Alignment of documents used in multimodal transportation along the GUAM transport corridor with the UN/CEFACT reference data model
The objective of this project is further development of the digital transport documents that could provide seamless information flows accompanying cargo flows between countries along the GUAM transport corridor. Due to its position in the middle of the cargo transport routes between Europe and Asia, the use of UN/CEFACT standards and recommendations for cargo information sharing along this route makes much sense.
The focus of the project is on the practical application of the data models and standards to facilitate real-world transport operations that take place along this transport route. This is achieved by creating digital twins of real business documents that are mapped to the UN/CEFACT multimodal transport reference data model (MMT RDM) to ensure interoperability both in terms of changing jurisdictions and modes of transport along the route.