Norway in cooperation with New Zealand and Switzerland forwarded in May 2005 a proposal to the negotiating group on trade facilitation related to standardization. The document was prepared in order to respond to the need expressed among our constituence about the number of different documents required for export, transit and import of goods, and the language problems it involves. Our contribution give further details. We have also included the statement held when we introduced our paper in the negotiating group.
26/07/2005 ::
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation 2-4 May 2005
Mr Chairman,
- The topic we are suggesting to work with in some detail has been touched upon in other submissions today for example in the proposal by Bolivia, Mongolia, Paraguay and Khyrgystan, by the the EU and that of Peru. We find that stimulating and promising. In my intervention at our meeting in March I focused on the need for standardisation of documents and the information to be furnished at the customs clearance of goods. I pointed to the ”Single Administrative Document”, which is based on the UN Layout Key as an example of an efficient standardisation of customs documents. We have used this document in Europe since 1988. The Single Administrative Document (SAD) replaced approximately 70 different national documents used for imports, exports and transit purposes in 19 countries, and is now adopted by more than 30 countries.
- New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland have agreed that the idea of standardisation should be followed up, and I am pleased to present a joint proposal on ”Simplification, Reduction and Standardisation of Trade Documents.
- The problems which we focus on in our proposal are the number of documentation requirements which a trader or economic operator encounter when dealing with international trade and transport of goods. The problems are not only the documentation required but also the language barriers. In many cases translations into languages which the trader has little or no knowledge about, are required. This an obstacle for all traders, but make it particular difficult for the SMEs. We believe that standardisation of documents will give real ”trade facilitation” benefits. It would simplify customs procedures and reduce costs and the use of human resources at the customs clearance and other customs procedures related to border crossing and transit of goods.
- The proposal is self-explanatory, but I would like to mention a few elements. First I suppose the key words in our proposal are simplification, reduction and standardisation of documents. In order to achieve the results, this should probably go hand in hand with a standardisation of data-elements. It should also be mentioned as we have done in many of our interventions in this group that key word should be here, as in all other areas, transparancy. In our view this is and should be a basic element for any new measure.
- We have also introduced the possibility of establishing an international net-based ”bank of documents” where the user can choose the language for the completion or printing of the required documents. With todays technology and software solutions it should be possible to develop such a ”bank of documents”. In fact it is really not that much different from web-sites where you can choose the language you want to have displayed. The nearest example is the WTO web-site where you can choose between English, French and Spanish.
- I would also emphasize the important role of the use of the UN layout Key in the standardisation of customs documents within Europe, and the number of documents that have buildt on this instrument.
- The benefits of a simplifaction, reduction and standardisation of trade documents are several. Costs can be reduced for both traders and government agencies dealing with customs procedures and clearance of goods. Transparency and predictability will be improved.
- The proposed measures will not be without costs, but as the development of international standards in these areas will be carried out by international organisations, the national costs should be kept at a fairly low level. It should also be mentioned that some standard documents have been developed and are in use, thus we already have some experiences to build on. The training will require some costs, but technical assistance from various donors might reduce them to an acceptable level.
- Our goal is to contribute to greater efficieny in trade that will benefit traders and the government. It will redirect recources, both human and economic, to areas where these are more needed. We believe that SMEs and developing countries in particular will benefit from such an improvement, as the larger enterprises normally will have the recources available to tackle these problems.
- We would be happy to receive any questions or comments. If any of you would like to meet with us and discuss our proposal we would be very happy to do so. I will now leave the floor to the co-sponsors New Zealand and Switzerland for some further comments.
W36standardization.doc