On February 21, 2021, the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific took effect on the 21st. This is the first multilateral agreement in the field of cross-border paperless trade under the framework of the United Nations, and it will facilitate easier access to each other’s markets for products from Asia-Pacific members.

The agreement was initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The negotiations started in April 2015 and were completed in May 2016. Nearly 30 ESCAP members including China, Russia, South Korea, India and Indonesia joined the negotiations. At present, the agreement has entered into force for five domestically approved founding parties including China, the Philippines and Bangladesh.

The agreement requires all parties to work hard to establish a national policy framework for cross-border paperless trade, use existing or new cross-border paperless trade systems, and realize the exchange of trade data and documents in electronic form, especially encouraging all parties The party accelerates the promotion of the "single window" system and uses it for cross-border paperless trade.

The head of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce stated that the agreement will further leverage China's super-large-scale market advantages and provide Asia-Pacific members with broader and more convenient market opportunities. At the same time, it will also help Chinese products to enter other member markets of the Asia-Pacific more conveniently and further enhance the level of trade facilitation in China.

The person in charge said that since the members are all countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, the realization of cross-border paperless trade will greatly promote the interconnection of Asia-Pacific trade. In the critical period of the global fight against epidemics, it also sent a signal to the international community that all members will cooperate to meet the challenges of the epidemic and support the multilateral trading system.

At present, China has realized that through the nationwide paperless reform of customs clearance, electronic data and paper documents have the same legal effect. In the next step, all parties will further develop a comprehensive action plan to promote the implementation of the agreement, including specific measures and timetables. Editor/Sang Xiaomei