In our latest quarterly issue: Key themes and challenges that shaped trade & trade finance in 2022, digital trade policy reforms promise to spur huge economic growth, industry calls to accelerate eBL usage amid perceived adoption barriers + much more. + SUBSCRIBE

Industry News & Views

Paperless trade for UK businesses to boost growth: The Electronic Trade Documents (ETD) Bill is introduced in UK Parliament, granting eBLs the same legal status as their paper equivalents and setting a key precedent for global digital trade policy reform (source: Gov.uk). + READ MORE

France sets sights on electronic trade document reforms: France is set to become one of the first major economies to legally recognize digital trade docs such as eBLs, recently commissioning a wide-ranging review of the required regulatory changes (source: GTR). + READ MORE

More countries join UN treaty to advance cross-border paperless trade: S. Korea, Tajikistan & Tuvalu accede to the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia & the Pacific (CPTA), which now counts 11 member countries. (source: UNESCAP). + READ MORE

UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2022: Highlights from UNCTAD’s 2022 Review of Maritime Transport, outlining key topics shaping maritime trade such as the rise and fall of shipping costs, how trade’s post-Covid recovery is losing steam and more (source: UNCTAD). + READ MORE

Five topics that shaped trade finance in 2022: Five key themes and challenges shaping trade & trade finance in 2022, amid a weakening economic outlook and geopolitical instability rattling the world’s supply chains and trading relationships (source: GTR). + READ MORE

NGFDS Reports US Agri Barge Southbound Mississippi Trade Flows at 90% Paperless with BDT Solution: US Agri trade community reaches 90% paperless on southbound Mississippi flows, enabled by the CargoDocs-powered BDT solution (source: NGFDS via essDOCS). + READ MORE

Video: Bridging digital platforms – Is interoperability a pipedream or possibility?: ING’s Global Head of Commodities discusses how interoperability can accelerate the journey to a fully digital global trade ecosystem (source: Finextra). + READ MORE

Video: How Can Digitization Help in Closing SME Trade Finance Gaps?: An expert panel in India discusses the role of digitization in recalibrating trade, helping SMEs build robust financing strategies that will close trade finance gaps (source: CNBC-TV18 via Youtube). + READ MORE

TradeLens to be shutdown due to lack of commercial viability: Maersk and IBM announce plans to discontinue TradeLens, citing that the platform failed to reach a level of commercial viability necessary to continue operating (source: Shipping and Freight Resource). + READ MORE

Electronic Trade Documents Bill – Impact Assessment: The ETD Bill is estimated to create £1.14 billion in net benefits to the UK economy over 10 years, reducing admin costs and making it easier for UK businesses to buy & sell internationally (source: Gov.uk). + READ MORE

Shutting Fraudsters out of Trade – ICC C4DTI Whitepaper: ICC Centre for Digital Trade Innovation (C4DTI) whitepaper calls for the adoption of technologies such as Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs), digital ledgers and APIs to help shut fraudsters out of trade (source: ICC). + READ MORE

Digitalisation in chartering – special reference to the role of eBLs in bulk & liner markets: An analysis of digitalisation’s role in the chartering business, focusing on real-world benefits of eBLs in the bulk & liner markets (source: Journal of Shipping & Trade via SpringerOpen). + READ MORE

Why the industry must act to accelerate eBL adoption: Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) Program Director shares views on why fully shifting to eBLs must happen now, outlining perceived adoption barriers which should not act as blockers (source: TFG). + READ MORE

Trade finance gets new rules for electronic payment obligations: ITFA unveils a new set of industry rules, the Uniform Rules for Transferable Electronic Payment Obligations (URTEPO), covering the transfer of electronic payment obligations (source: TXF). + READ MORE

Digitising trade – fraud, fintechs and the future: Key takeaways from a recent Sibos talk, featuring insights from trade finance experts on the role of technology in combatting fraudulent attacks in the trade space (source: TFG). + READ MORE

Video: CNBC Supply Chain Survey – 61% percent say supply chain still not ‘normal’: According the majority of supply chain executives surveyed, the US supply chain is still a long way away from normalizing (source: CNBC). + READ MORE

essDOCS News

essDOCS announces launch of ICE Digital Trade Documents (DTD) for Energy Terminal & Refinery Operations: A first-of-it-kind, highly configurable solution digitizing post trade and shipping processes for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries. + READ MORE

Ion Carbon & Minerals and Tata Steel execute the first ever eBL transaction for coal export out of Canada: Ion Carbon & Minerals and Tata Steel Europe execute a milestone eDocs transaction in the first ever use of eBLs for coal export out of Canada. + READ MORE

KEC International & Pacific International Lines (PIL) go live with CargoDocs eBLs: KEC International and Pacific International Lines (PIL) go live with CargoDocs eBLs, marking the first use of CargoDocs in the Engineering Procurement & Construction (EPC) sector. + READ MORE

Mercuria goes live with CargoDocs electronic eBLs: Integrated energy & commodity trading company, Mercuria, recently participated in its first paperless trade transaction, acting as a buyer of iron ore in a trade involving Roy Hill as seller, supported by NAB. + READ MORE

First EFFITRADE-CargoDocs integrated LC & eDocs transaction: Involving Rio Tinto and China Baowu Steel, supported by DBS Bank, combining EFFITRADE’s digital LC capabilities with CargoDocs’ digital drafting, title transfer and presentation functionalities. + READ MORE

essDOCS in Numbers