In our latest quarterly issue: digitization as a key enabler of 'frictionless borders' in times of trade tariff uncertainty and Brexit, country-led paperless trade initiatives, blockchain trade/finance consortia news plus much more! + SUBSCRIBE

Industry News & Views

Chevron, Total and Reliance join oil blockchain consortium/platform VAKT: Joining the ranks of VAKT members BP,  Royal Dutch Shell, Norway's Equinor, plus energy traders Mercuria, Koch and Gunvor (source: Reuters). + READ MORE

Bahrain becomes first nation to enact UNCITRAL model: Bahrain becomes the first nation to enact the UN's Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), part of a series of reforms to bolster digital readiness for the GCC's $1.5tn economy (source: BNA). + READ MORE

Singapore to launch pilot for digitizing shipping documents: Coverage on Singapore’s slated TradeTrust pilot project for digitized Bills of Lading, which will require legislative changes to the country’s Electronic Transactions Act (source: Straits Times). + READ MORE

Softening Hard Borders through Tech - Brexit & the Irish Border: Leading Customs & Trade expert, Gareth Lewis, weighs in on the critical role of tech in potentially resolving the current Brexit/Irish border deadlock (source: essDOCS). + READ MORE

WTO predicts “revolutionary” impact of blockchain on trade: Highlights from a recent WTO report on the potential of blockchain tech to revolutionize trade processes, also outlining regulatory challenges presented by the new tech (source: JD Supra via WTO). + READ MORE

Globalization in transition - The future of trade and value chains: Insights on the key forces reshaping global value chains, incl. trade digitization, which will continue to play a key role in enabling speedier, frictionless trade (source: McKinsey & Co). + READ MORE

CBIC moves to paperless transactions: India’s Indirect Tax & Customs Authority (CBIC) recently announced its ‘iCODE’ & ‘ICEDASH’ initiatives, to partially digitize customs clearance processes for relevant supply chain stakeholders (source: Hindu BusinessLine). + READ MORE

U.S. blockchain consortium launches to lead adoption in oil & gas : Majors including ExxonMobil, Chevron & others partner to establish the OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium, the first US-based industry consortium of its kind (source: BusinessWire). + READ MORE

Customs issues rules for electronic Certificates of Origin: The Philippines' Customs Bureau issues rules & guidelines for the application, submission & processing of all electronic Certificates of Origin (eCOs) through its TradeNet portal (source: BusinessMirror). + READ MORE

Denmark backs innovative trade facilitation initiative: Denmark becomes latest donor government of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, a public-private initiative aimed at making cross-border trade simpler, faster & more cost-effective (source: GATF). + READ MORE

Microsoft CEO interviews Maersk CEO: Brief, insightful video feat. Satya Nidella talking with Maersk CEO, Søren Skou, on how tech is transforming the container transport industry and his predictions for the future of digitized shipping (source: Yeforum via YouTube). + READ MORE

Keeping up with digital trade finance: An Australian perspective on digitizing trade finance, feat. key data & overviews on recent global/local trade & tech trends to make the case for paperless trade (source: ANZ Bluenotes). + READ MORE

Paperless port system prompts import revenue growth in Ghana: The country's Revenue Authority (GRA) reports annual import revenue growth of approx. 4% as a result of its new paperless port clearing system (source: GTR). + READ MORE

Supply chains must go digital or suffer: Trade Advisory Network co-Founder, John Bugeja, on the importance of digitized trade, incl. blockchain’s potential to enhance trade visibility & certainty, potentially opening up financing for SMEs within a chain (source: IBS Intelligence). + READ MORE

Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation Annual Report 2018: A snapshot of the Alliance's achievements in steering governments and stakeholders to adopt systems/processes that enhance frictionless trade & borders (source: GATF). + READ MORE

essDOCS News

essDOCS partners with Voltron: Integrating our CargoDocs DocEx solution into the blockchain trade finance application, covering 8 current Voltron consortium member banks. + READ MORE
 

Olam International goes live with CargoDocs: Recently completing its first ever live transaction using CargoDocs electronic Bills of Lading (eB/Ls) combined with ePresentation. + READ MORE
 

essDOCS is hiring: Seeking an enthusiastic DevOps Engineer to join our London office. + READ MORE

essDOCS in Numbers