MANILA, Philippines — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has agreed to establish their National Single Windows (NSWs) by 2012 and connect them through a regional Single Window, a cornerstone of establishing the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.
Thirty Asean trade and customs officials met in Singapore recently to discuss streamlining specific import and export processes to prepare for implementation of the ASEAN Single Window (ASW).
Effective cargo clearance processes throughout the supply chain are a pivotal first step to allow efficient information flow for the paperless customs processing. The activity is part of a capacity building program sponsored by the US government in partnership with ASEAN.
Through a NSW, traders electronically submit forms for export, import, and transit procedures only once, processed and cleared by multiple government agencies in a single integrated process. The ASW will provide a secure architecture that allows NSWs to exchange cargo clearance data electronically.
The workshop helped to kick-start the analysis needed to streamline these processes at both national and regional levels.
The participants discussed logistics along the supply chain in cross-border trade, and different actors’ roles and responsibilities in each process. They also began prioritizing key business processes for further analysis and possible implementation in the ASEAN Single Window environment.
In addition, government participants engaged with a private sector panel, which provided business views of supply chain challenges.
Companies, including Nike, DHL, and Procter and Gamble, stressed that streamlining business processes through national and regional single window, would facilitate and promote trade in the region.
Marianne Wong, chair of the working group on technical matters for the ASW, highlighted the importance of consultations with the private sector. She added that “the public and private sectors have to work together on the NSWs and to ensure maximum compatibility eventually with the ASW.”
Seven ASEAN member states would soon pilot test a regional data exchange platform towards the full implementation of the ASW.
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By: Edu Lopez
Source: Manila Bulletin, Sept. 15, 2011
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