Thirty trade and customs officials as well as business leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently gathered in Singapore to discuss strategies for overcoming regional supply chain challenges in preparation for the ASEAN Single Window (ASW).
Participants to the workshop talked about the logistical requirements along the supply chain in cross-border trade, and the roles and responsibilities of different actors in streamlining the import and export processes. They also identified key business processes that are crucial to implementing the ASEAN Single Window environment.
ASEAN member-states have agreed to establish their national single windows (NSWs) by 2012 and connect these through the ASW, the cornerstone of the ASEAN Economic Community, by 2015.
The ASW will provide a secure architecture for NSWs to exchange cargo clearance data electronically, a pivotal first step toward paperless customs processing.
Through an NSW, traders electronically submit forms for export, import, and transit procedures only once. These forms are processed and cleared by multiple government agencies in a single integrated process.
Seven ASEAN member-states will soon pilot-test a regional data exchange platform toward the full implementation of the ASW.
