Trade information portals

Make complex trade procedures understandable
Trade procedures are displayed step-by-step from start to finish, from a trade’s point of view. Information includes forms, contacts, costs, duration and legal bases.
Any trade procedure can be included
Portals to-date show steps, for exemple, importing, exporting, rules of origin, agricultural and sanitary certificates.


The first step towards simplification
Procedures are mapped in a way that makes it easy for national trade facilitation committees to review and simplify, significantly cutting red tape and costs for users.

Why it matters
Trade Information portals respond to demands from traders for greater transparency and simplicity in importing and exporting. They also help countries meet their commitments under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
By making trade procedures transparent and clear, the cost of trading is significantly reduced especially for SMEs. By seeing procedures from the user's perspective, natioanl trade facilitation committees can better understand how they can be simplified.
Advantages
  • Traders have access to clear and accurate information on trade procedures. They are able to send complaints, report misconduct and propose simplifications online.
  • National trade facilitation committees can identify how to simplify procedures and cut the cost of operating or trading. The number of steps, the requirements and the duration can generally be decreased by more than 50%, without even changing the underlying laws. for example in Kenya the steps and time to register coffee consignments were halved and costs to traders cut by $230.
Beneficiaries

Digital information portals are available to any government and can be implemented within existing laws. We also work with partners such as the International Trade Centre and Trademark Africa. They can be installed on nationally-controlled servers with a license for use in perpetuity and a full training package.

Installation process
STEP 1
Agreement
The project team agrees on the procedure to be documented.
STEP 2
Analysis
The project team analyses with government officials every step of an administrative procedure (laws and rules, information needs, document requirements, fees, certificates, roles of different agencies and officials) (2-3 weeks).
STEP 3
Development
The project team develops the country platform (1 month concurrently).
STEP 4
Training
The project team trains government staff and national trade facilitation committees to collect the information through field visits and to operate and maintain the system (12 months). Government officers can continue using the portal to include and simplify additional procedures.
Explore our trade information portals