Australia & Singapore Commence International Trade Blockchain Trial
(25 November 2020 – Australia) Australia and Singapore have started trialing distributed ledger technology (DLT) to streamline and digitise traditionally cumbersome trade documentation.
The trial between the Australian Border Force (ABF), Singapore Customs and the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) commenced this week with two digital verification systems deployed in the trial including:
- ABF’s Intergovernmental Ledger (IGL) and,
- IMDA’s TradeTrust
The IGL was set-up to resolve situations where an importing regulator does not possess a relationship with an exporter in addition to digitising the validation process as part of Australia’s national blockchain roadmap. Exporters and regulators have committed to giving feedback on their experience verifying certificates of origin with the two systems.
ANZ, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australian Industry Group and other Singaporean financial institutions will join the trial. The ABF asserts blockchain technology will reduce administration costs and increase efficiency. The single trade window, which the ABF and the Department of Home Affairs have been developing since 2018, is expected to provide a central location for traders to submit all regulatory documents.
Trial results will contribute to the supply chain working group’s discovery report under the national blockchain roadmap. The roadmap was released by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources in Q1 2020 seeking to capitalise on the quickly expanding DLT technology and innovation.
“We welcome the opportunity to collaborate further with Singapore to improve cross border trade. This initiative will incorporate paperless trading and secure, digital exchange of trade information as part of the future architecture and design of an Australian trade single window” stated ABF Commissioner Michael Outram.
Subscribe