Maintaining standards: the bedrock of a trusted trade future

Global trade continues to reel from Washington’s deliberate strategy to unpick the global multilateral system. With the impacts of ‘Liberation Day’ reverberating, unpredictability seeps into decision-making. Timelines of policy changes shift at a moment’s notice. The UK faces a defining moment, seeking to take advantage of a reasonably intact ‘special relationship’ with the US, whilst navigating towards a new trading relationship with the EU.

Against this backdrop, now is a critical moment for the UK to progress its efforts on trade digitalisation. Digitally-driven and interoperable trading systems, based on trusted trade principles, are something we must strive for, leveraging digital tools for supply chain visibility and building partnerships based on agreed global standards.

Conforming to standards forms the bedrock of trust in trade and digitalisation has a role to play in providing greater assurance on information throughout supply chains. Whether digitalisation of conformity information (utilising digital reporting platforms or blockchain technology, for example), or utilising digital identities for supply chain visibility, the future lies in technology.

The Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade has been at the forefront of working with industry partners and governments in trialling digital trade technology, running digital trade pilots from countries such as Kenya and Germany to the UK. The principal objective of these pilots was to provide permissioned and graduated access to advance supply chain data to facilitate cross-border movement of goods in a secure and trusted manner. The results demonstrated proven cost and time savings.

Digitalisation of conformity information is also vital to prevent false assurances in trade. We can learn a lot from the EU in this area with its development of a framework to implement Digital Product Passports (DPP). This type of passport provides a digital record about a product’s lifecycle—right from raw material extraction to end-of-life management. Transparency allows all involved in the supply chain—whether consumers, businesses or authorities—to obtain the information they need at speed and to be able to trust the quality of what they are receiving.

International standards and globally recognised ways of demonstrating that these standards have been met—such as the assurance of conformity—will only play an increasing role in world trading systems, particularly to counter the mistrust currently infiltrating relationships between key actors. The Chartered Institute is pleased to partner with UKAS, and others, to ensure that confidence in mutually agreed standards can exist in international trade. This is our chance to champion a model of trade that’s open, responsible and inclusive.

The UK, therefore, has a critical role to play in the coming years taking a lead in shaping a new digital era for global trade, based on trusted trade principles. This is not merely an outward call for the global community to ‘play nicely’ together. Supporting the rules-based trading order is an act of economic patriotism. It ensures that, through trusted flows of trade, policy consistency and an understanding of the unique ‘value-add’ which the UK has to offer, our jobs, industries and communities will thrive.