International Standards & Information Exchange for Single Window –a Regional Perspective by Derrese Degefa African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) A presentation prepared for the National Stakeholder Conference 23 April 2012, Nigeria Customs Service Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria

Outline Background Single Window: National vs. Regional Regional Single Window Initiatives African Alliance for E-Commerce Challenges of Regional Single Window What needs to be done to address the Challenges of RSW? – AAEC – Governments – International Organizations

Background Africa’s trade performance has been weak –The share of Africa in global trade is around 3% compared to 8% in 1948 –Intra-Africa trade is the least compared to other regions: Africa (10%) Europe (60%) North America (40%) ASEAN (30%)

Trading Across Borders ( ) Trading Across Borders (World Bank: Doing Business 2012 Report ) World Bank: Doing Business 2012 Report

Access to Documentation Requirements for Trading Across Borders Share of economies where documentation requirements are easily accessible –Latin America and Caribbean (78%) –East Asia and Pacific (71%) –South Asia (63%) –Eastern Europe and Central Asia (58%) –SSA (49%) –Middle East and North Africa (33%) Note: Documentation requirements are considered easily accessible if they can be obtained through the website of the relevant authority or government agency or through public notices, without a need for an appointment with an official.

What Africa is currently doing to address the problem of intra-Africa trade? African Heads of State and Government convened in January 2012 to launch a continent-wide free trade area (CFTA) The Summit focused on four main to boost intra-African trade: – trade facilitation – productive capacity – trade related infrastructure & – trade policy

Trade Facilitation –has been identified as one of the major barriers to intra- African trade –can be addressed relatively quickly and without much cost, given political will and strong commitment to promote intra-African trade –will not only assist in the deepening of Africa’s market integration but also enhance the performance of African countries in global trade –Therefore, trade facilitation is a key component of trade policy Why the focus is on Trade Facilitation?

Why Single Window? Single Window is a trade facilitation tool can play a decisive role in facilitating paperless trade is a platform for a paperless (electronic) exchange of trade information between participants in the trade process has become a major instrument for simplifying and automating trade procedures helps to facilitate regional & global collaboration on exchange of trade information is an important tool for supporting regional and global integration

National vs. Regional Single Window National Single Window is a countrywide facility that provide users (regulatory agencies and the trading community) to submit standardized information only once, at a single entry point, to fulfill all import, export and transit- related regulatory requirements Regional Single Window is broadly defined as an environment where National Single Windows operate & integrate The National Single Window is a prerequisite of the Regional Single Window (ASEAN case)

Regional Single Window Regional networking of National Single Windows is for cross-border information sharing for security, trust and efficiency For effective & efficient implementation and operation of RSW, National Single Window project operators/managers should collaborate at a regional level – to analyze cross-border supply-chain issues – ensure technical interoperability in the development of SWs – develop and implement data harmonization as well as common interconnectivity strategies, policies and standards

Regional Single Window Initiatives The Association of South East Asian Nations-ASEAN- was one of the first organizations to conceptualize a RSW project – In Dec. 2005, ASEAN concluded the agreement to establish and implement the ASEAN Single Window – In April 2006, established protocol for the RSW The ASEAN Single Window (ASW) is the first regional initiative that seeks to enhance regional connectivity –ASW’s implementation is planned for 2015

Regional Single Window Initiatives... Cont’d African Alliance for E-Commerce (AAEC) –is a Regional Single Window initiative which was officially set up on 13th March 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia –its establishment was spearheaded by ATPC of UNECA –is an important and concrete contribution of ATPC to the Trade Facilitation agenda of Africa Members (11 ): 5WA, 2CA, 2NA, 1SA, & 1EA –Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroun, Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal, & Togo

What are the objectives of AAEC? The Objectives of the AAEC are: promoting Single Window concept within Africa defining common objectives of electronic business in general and Single Windows in particular creation of a platform for exchange of best practices on Single Window implementation in Africa helping African countries in the implementation of international standards provision of capacity building and guidelines in the implementation of NSW and RSW promoting projects related to paperless trade among members of the Alliance: e-certificate of origin, e-invoice, e-declaration, certification of digitalized documents, certification of companies, etc.

Objectives of AAEC …. Cont’d representing Africa in international forums and contributing to the development of the Single Window at global level supporting the application of international standards and norms in the implementation of Single Windows in Africa to ensure interoperability within Africa and with other regions of the world promoting regional and inter-regional Single Windows in Africa be a focal point for development partners and international institutions interested in promoting Single Windows in Africa

Key Challenges of Regional Single Window The business community is still very much paper-based. It takes a few years to materialize the full operation of paperless environment RSW Inadequate legal environment for paperless international trade: the legislation applicable to electronic transactions with governmental entities is often specific to individual sectors and individual technologies Many aspects of Regional Single Window integration still have to be defined with regard to, among other things, – harmonization of data, – an effective legal framework for data exchange, & – a sustainable model for the service providers

What needs to be done to address the Challenges of RSW?

The Role of AAEC in CFTA As Africa is aiming at CFTA by 2017, the AAEC –is expected to play key role in boosting intra-Africa trade by promoting the development of Single Window at national and regional levels across Africa by sharing information on best practices on trade facilitation Among other things, AAEC needs to fast-track in –developing guidelines on the implementation of SW (national as well as regional), specifically with regard to international standards to ensure interoperability in paperless trade –providing technical capacity building on the implementation of international standards and information exchange for (N+R) Single Window

What needs to be done at country level? For effective implementation of Regional SW, Governments –must first simplify and enhance the flow of information related to trade rationalize and coordinate legal requirements related to electronic trade data standardization and harmonization to the benefit of the trading community – can further enhance information flows by identifying & adopting suitable information and communication technologies besides the standardization & harmonization of data, effective application of ICT can help maximize information flow as a result of faster, easier and lower cost of international trading

Efforts of the WCO, the UN and other IOs The WCO has developed a framework for improving the information flow through the WCO Customs Data Model –The WCO Customs Data Model is a result of collaborative effort between government and the trading community to provide an effective framework that facilitates international trade through data simplification and harmonization In the framework of the WCO, the UN & other IOs have done a lot on simplification and harmonization of data requirements

To address the Legal challenge, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, on 23 November 2005 – This convention was proposed as one element in the regulatory framework for national, regional and international Single Window facilities Efforts of the … Cont’d

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