[Index]
UN/CEFACT ‘Single Window’
recommendation selected as
‘Topic of the Month’
Joint press release by
the World Bank and UNECE on behalf of
the Global Facilitation Partnership for
Transportation and Trade (GFP)
Geneva, 7 July 2004
- The Global Facilitation Partnership
for Transportation and Trade (GFP) has
selected the draft Recommendation and
Guidelines on Establishing a ‘Single
Window’ as this month’s ‘Topic
of the Month’ on its joint GFP and
United Nations Trade Facilitation Network
(UNTF) web site (www.gfptt.org).
This new Recommendation
from the United Nations Centre for Trade
Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT)
responds to the need to harmonize and
simplify the exchange of information between
government and trade. It encourages Governments
and those involved in international trade
and transport to establish a ‘Single
Window’ facility for lodging standardized
information and documents to fulfil all
import, export and transit-related regulatory
requirements. Such a facility can simplify
and expedite information flows between
trade and government and can lead to better
harmonization of data across governmental
systems, bringing gains to all parties
involved in cross-border trade.
The Recommendation indicates
how authorities and agencies involved
in a ‘Single Window’ facility
can coordinate their inspections and controls
and provide facilities for payment of
relevant duties, taxes and fees, thereby
increasing efficiency and reducing the
administrative overheads associated with
international trade. The Recommendation
is based on international best practices
in developing and operating a ‘Single
Window’ and highlights the value
of using existing international standards
for documentation and electronic data
exchange developed by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
www.unece.org/trade
and other organizations.
The joint GFP/UNTF web
site was first presented to the public
in November 2003 and is being officially
launched today during the GFP meeting
in Washington. It is a collaborative tool
for practitioners and policy makers involved
in trade and transport facilitation (TTF)
and contains over 320 publications, 250
recommendations, and a wealth of structured
information.
Information on the Single
Window topic within the GFP web site (http://www.gfptt.org/topic/single-window)
is maintained by the UNECE, and includes:
- the draft UN/CEFACT Recommendation
and Guidelines on Establishing a Single
Window
references to related recommendations,
tools and standards
- information on related studies and
research papers, links to the working
group that produced and
- maintains the Recommendation, and
related upcoming events.
The web site also gives
information on the forthcoming UNECE three-day
Capacity-building Workshop on Trade Facilitation
Implementation, October 18-20, which includes
a one-day session on how to design and
implement a ‘Single Window’.
The web site was created
and is being maintained by professionals
from eight leading international organizations
that deal with trade facilitation –
the International Road Transport Union
(IRU), the International Air Cargo Association
(TIACA), the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the
UNECE, the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO), the World Bank and
the World Customs Organization (WCO).
For further information please contact:
| |
Gerald Ollivier
World Bank
Washington, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: +1 202 458 4023
Fax: +1 202 614 0900 |
Tom Butterly
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: + 41 22 917 11 78
Fax: + 41 22 917 06 29 |
*****
Endnotes
The Global Facilitation
Partnership for Transportation and Trade
(GFP) aims at pulling together
all interested parties, public and private,
national and international, who want to
help achieve significant improvements
in both transport and trade facilitation
in developing and transition economies.
The partners have together agreed to design
and undertake specific programmes towards
meeting this objective, making use of
their respective comparative advantage
in the subject matter in a coordinated
fashion.
The United Nations
Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic
Business (UN/CEFACT) mission
is to improve the ability of business,
trade and administrative organizations,
from developed, developing and transitional
economies, to exchange products and relevant
services effectively - and so contribute
to the growth of global commerce. It focuses
on the worldwide facilitation of international
transactions, through simplifying and
harmonizing procedures and information
flows. It operates under the auspices
of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE). For more information
see http://www.unece.org/cefact
The United Nations
Trade Facilitation Network has
been established as a common platform
for UN agencies involved in trade facilitation
activities. It has been launched in response
to the request from the High Level Committee
on Programs of the United Nations Chief
Executives Board to identify Trade Facilitation
issues to be addressed in a coordinated
manner within the United Nations system.
Recognizing that these agencies have different
approaches to trade facilitation, the
network concentrates information on each
agency's approach. It provides a doorway
for users to investigate further the work
carried out by one or another UN agency.
Ref: ECE/TRADE/04/P06