The end-user appeal of the Single Trade Window (STW) model is enticing: moving from the complex array of disparate mechanisms and agencies currently involved in the exchange of goods across borders, to a streamlined system that enables trade to flourish and flow. Instead of a myriad of paper and electronic forms that are often duplicated, a single portal minimises effort for traders and maximises information-sharing between industry and government agencies. But this conceptually simple shift understates the profundity of the constructive change needed to enable an STW to function, and the close cooperation between government, private sector and industry that this change requires.
As of the time of writing, more than 70 STWs operate globally on a multiplicity of levels – country to country and region to region. This number is set to grow as the pandemic accelerates the demand for digitisation, and as recent disruptions to trade – from Covid-19 to the Suez Canal problem scenario – bring home the need to reduce all predictable friction in global trade, so that unpredictable disruptions can be dealt with speedily and constructively.
