The forecast for the development of a UK international trade Single Window became a little brighter recently after some very encouraging responses were received following an exchange of Ministerial correspondence. As a result of the successful Ministerial replies, a more detailed cost-benefit study is about to be undertaken across both government departments and business, to provide the data necessary for a detailed business case to be prepared. SITPRO is working closely with Business.gov and other government departments to re-energise the UK Single Window project.
A Single Window can offer huge savings in the cost of complying with regulations and perhaps not surprisingly, similar systems are being introduced in a number of other countries. In March, SITPRO invited senior officials to meet with Mr Mathivanan, CEO of Crimson Logic Pte - the company that was responsible for the successful implementation of a Single Window in Singapore. The Single Window has enabled Singapore to remain a competitive regional hub in the global marketplace and the UK has the opportunity to become a similar hub for Europe.
The reaction from delegates at the seminar was very encouraging and created considerable cross-departmental interest for the project. SITPRO will be dealing with the trade detail needed for a UK Single Window and will soon be approaching businesses - if you can spare us a few minutes we would be very grateful!
The news is also promising on the international front. The International Trade Procedures Working Group, part of UN/CEFACT, has recently completed a Recommendation and Guidelines for establishing a Single Window to facilitate the effective and efficient exchange of information between trade and government. The Recommendation and Guidelines are based on the concept that business should be able to submit a simple, single set of trade related data only once to fulfil all government formalities. In order to cover the many and varying stages of economic and trade development throughout the world, the Recommendation and Guidelines promote the Single Window for both the paper based and electronic trading environments.
In a departure from UN tradition, the Recommendation is very brief, just two pages explaining the scope of a Single Window environment and identifying the benefits. The detail of establishing a Single Window is contained in the Guidelines that accompany the Recommendation. The Guidelines aim to give government and business practical advice on designing, delivering and operating a Single Window. Sections in the Guidelines cover the most common models and the services provided; the steps in planning and implementing using readily available international standards and tools; and the key factors that guarantee the success of a Single Window. Annexes to the Guidelines give examples of existing Single Windows; provide greater detail about the practical steps for planning and implementing a Single Window; identify the key components of a Single Window feasibility study, and offer some examples of the standards and tools available to help establish a Single Window.
Return to SITPRO News: Issue 50, April/May 2004
