In our latest quarterly issue: eB/L platform interoperability efforts ramp up, paper-based trade & trade finance document fraud comes back to the fore, the promise of digital trade policy in times of economic uncertainty + much more. + SUBSCRIBE

Industry News & Views

Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) begins final phase of eB/L platform interoperability proof of concept: Involving several ocean carriers, ExxonMobil, and eB/L solution providers such as essDOCS (source: DCSA). + READ MORE

BIMCO publishes Electronic Bill of Lading Standard for Bulk Shipping: Comprising of a structured dataset of 20 predefined data fields common to wet and dry bulk bills of lading (source: BIMCO). + READ MORE

UK has a grand plan to digitise trade. It might just work: Trade policy experts weigh in on the UK government’s digital trade plans, including the upcoming Electronic Trade Documents (ETD) Bill, and address critics who say they are too ambitious (source: Tech Monitor). + READ MORE

Digital economy agreements are a new frontier for trade – here's why: Making the case for Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs) as a tool for overcoming digital trade policy fragmentation, covering DEAs such as DEPA (Chile-NZ-Singapore) and others (source: WEF). + READ MORE

eCert with the EU – celebrating a ton of exports!: Australia celebrates 100 days of paperless export certs with the EU for meat, dairy & seafood products, via its ‘eCert’ exchange for Sanitary & Phytosanitary Certificates (source: Dept. of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry). + READ MORE

Why Metals Keep Going Missing in Commodity Trade: Fascinating overview of cases involving warehouse warrant/receipt fraud, where dependency on paper often leads to large-scale fraudulent activity such as securing financing against fake paper docs. (source: Bloomberg). + READ MORE

Trade-based money laundering (TBML) – The paper trail: Exploring how tech can mitigate TBML risks and enhance data sharing between banks, amid growing evidence that criminals are exploiting paper-based documentary trade finance to move cash (source: GTR). + READ MORE

Discharge without original B/Ls – Letters of Indemnity (LOIs) from a charterer/trader’s perspective: Exploring legal risks of discharging against LOIs instead of original B/Ls, incl. a real-world case & steps to reduce risk if LOIs are needed (source: essDOCS via HFW). + READ MORE

Indonesia approves membership of China-backed trade deaI: Formally joining the world’s largest free trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), involving 15 countries which account for ~30% of global GDP (source: Reuters). + READ MORE

Trade’s blockchain proponents face reality check as hype fades: Industry experts weigh in on the current state of blockchain technology in trade and trade finance, following the recent failure of a large bank-backed blockchain initiative (source: GTR). + READ MORE

VIDEO: E-rules for trade explained – URDTT, eURC, and eUCP: Video panel from ICC Austria’s Trade Finance Week, exploring the differences between the ICC’s core rulesets for facilitating digital trade transactions: namely the UCP, eURC, and URDTT (source: TFG). + READ MORE

Paper – ICC Uniform Rules for Digital Trade Transactions (URDTT) and UK Electronic Trade (ETD) Bill: ICC Centre for Digital Trade & Innovation (C4DTI) released a paper explaining how the ICC's URDTT are compatible with the UK Government's ETD Bill (source: ICC). + READ MORE

New UNCTAD website monitors global trade & GDP in real time: Interactive website provides real-time estimates on global trade & GDP, shedding light on the impact of global economic pressures such as the war in Ukraine and persistent inflation (source: UNCTAD). + READ MORE

2022 SME Trade Finance Research: Findings from a recent survey of SMEs in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and UK, exploring SME trade finance usage and propensity to pay for trade finance products in a challenging macroeconomic environment (source: TFG). + READ MORE

eLearning – Phytosanitary Export Certification System: UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) launches e-Learning course for stakeholders involved in the Phytosanitary Certificate process (source: FAO). + READ MORE

essDOCS News

essDOCS enables first ever electronic Bill of Lading transaction under Singapore Law: A major milestone for digital trade, as essDOCS recently enabled the first ever eB/L transaction under Singapore law, involving BHP, Jinchuan Group, NAB and Ocean Network Express. + READ MORE

CargoDocs Metals & Minerals Paperless Trade Newsletter (1H 2022): Update on the CargoDocs metals & minerals ecosystem, feat. key facts and figures on paperless trade uptake, network expansion across new commodity-types / trade lanes and more. + READ MORE

Upcoming Paperless Trade Webinars – Feedback Survey on Proposed Webinar Topics: What topics would you like us to cover in our upcoming paperless trade webinars? Take our brief 1min survey on the digital trade & trade finance areas of most interest to you. + READ MORE

essDOCS in Numbers