UK economy to receive £1 billion boost through “innovative” trade digitalisation act

A new law allowing shipping containers to be traded using digital documents, not paper ones, has been created after the Electronic Trade Documents Act received Royal Assent on Thursday September 20.

The “simple yet impactful” change is estimated to add over £1bn to the British economy over the next decade by making trade more straightforward, efficient and sustainable.

Paul Scully, Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, commented: “The global container shipping industry generates billions of paper documents a year, and in reality there’s no need for the immense costs UK businesses have to face in producing them, and the detrimental environmental impact that this has.

“What may look to many of us as a small change to the law is something that will have a massive impact on the way UK firms trade, and in turn, is going to boost our economy by over £1bn over the next decade.”

Existing laws dating back to the 1800s previously meant that exporters and importers have to use paper documents to transfer ownership of the goods they are shipping, creating a “costly, inefficient and outdated” way of working.

The Government estimates that the new law could generate a net benefit of £1.14bn for the British economy over the next decade for UK businesses trading across the world, supporting the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the economy.

UK Minister for International Trade, Nigel Huddleston, added: “This new act will make it easier for businesses to trade efficiently with each other, cutting costs and growing the UK economy by billions over time. It’s exciting to see the power of technology being harnessed to benefit all industries, reduce paper waste and modernise our trading laws.”

UK businesses, both big and small, have been calling for paperless trades for decades, especially as the development of electronic document technologies has become increasingly feasible for the industry.

With less chance of sensitive paper documents being lost, and stronger safeguards through the use of technology, digitalising trade documents is also set to give businesses that trade internationally greater security and peace of mind.

Secretary General ICC, UK Chris Southworth concluded: “The Electronic Trade Documents Act is a game changing piece of law not just for the UK but also for world trade. The Act will enable companies to finally remove all the paper and inefficiency that exists in trade today and ensure that future trade is far cheaper, faster, simpler and more sustainable.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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