世界经济机遇之窗利用区块链技术促进贸易英文2019

Contents

TOC\o"1-2"\h\z\u

Preface 3

Introduction 4

Stateofsinglewindows 5

Benefits 5

Painpoints 7

Potentialuse-caseswithblockchain 10

Challenges 11

Use-cases 11

Guidelinesforoperationalizinguse-cases 15

Nextsteps 19

Appendix 20

Acknowledgements 21

Endnotes 22

©WorldEconomicForum2019–Allrightsreserved

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REF180118-case00040020

Preface

ZiyangFan,HeadofDigitalTrade,WorldEconomicForum

PabloM.Garcia,DirectoroftheInstitutefortheIntegrationofLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean,Inter-AmericanDevelopmentBank

TheFourthIndustrialRevolution,drivenbyrapidtechnologicalchangeanddigitization,ishavingaprofoundimpactonglobaltrade.Byapplyinginnovativenewtechnologiestotrade,“TradeTech”promisestoincreaseefficiency,

driveeconomicdevelopmentandgrowinclusivity.However,challengesanduncertaintiesremainonthepolicygovernanceofTradeTech.Public-privatepartnershipsareneededtomaximizethebenefitsandmitigatethepotentialdownsidesofapplyingnewtechnologiestoglobaltrade.

BuildingonglobaldevelopmentsandaspirationsforTradeTech,theWorldEconomicForum’sCentrefortheFourthIndustrialRevolution,throughitsDigitalTradeteam,collaboratedwiththeInter-AmericanDevelopmentBank(IDB)tolaunchanewproject.Thisprojectaimstoguidepublic-sectorstakeholderstomakeinformeddecisionsaboutusingemergingtechnologiestofacilitatetrade,driveeconomicdevelopmentandimprovecompetitiveness–particularlyinthecaseofblockchaindeploymentintradesinglewindows.GivenitsprioritizationofemergingtechnologiesandhavingworkedcloselywithLatinAmericanandCaribbean(LAC)governments,theIDBhasvaluableexperienceandknowledgetohelpco-designandshapethetradeagenda.

Withintradefacilitation,tradesinglewindowsserveasthesingleelectronicpointforexportersandimporterstosubmitregulatoryandcommercialdocumentstorespectivegovernmentministriesandagencies.However,promisesofincreasedefficiencyarehinderedbypainpointsandchallenges,suchasthelackofinteroperabilityamongagencies,persistenceofoutdatedprocessesandlimitedvisibilityandtraceabilityofshippedgoods.

Byexploringtheapplicationofnewtechnology–blockchain–inthetradesinglewindowsnetwork,thisWhitePaperoutlinesthecurrentobstaclesgovernmentsfaceinimplementingandmaintainingsinglewindows,andthepotentialforblockchaintoaddressthoseissues–whileunderstandingtheexperimentalnatureofthetechnology.TheWhitePaperdrawsontheexpertiseofmorethan80projectcommunitymembersgloballyacrossvariousindustrysectors,governmentagencies,intergovernmentalorganizationsandacademicinstitutionsaswellasincivilsociety.ThepolicyframeworklaidoutinthisWhitePaperisalsointendedtobeappliedinaproofofconceptwiththesupportoftheIDB.

ThisprojectreflectsthemissionoftheWorldEconomicForum’sCentrefortheFourthIndustrialRevolution:toprovideaninternationalplatformofexpertise,knowledge-sharingandpublic-privatecollaborationandtoco-designandpilotinnovativenewapproachestopolicyandgovernanceintheFourthIndustrialRevolution.Thisprojectwillencourageproofsofconceptwithinandoutsideoftheprojectcommunity,shareandscalelessonslearnedusingtheWorldEconomicForum’splatformoninternationaltradeandinvestment.

Introduction

Tradecosts–thecostsofmovingcargofromonecountrytoanother–arealeadingconstraintforcompanieswantingtoengageintrade.Asignificantshareofthesecostsstemsfromthetimeandmoneythatcompaniesspend

onpaperworkandinmultiplesubmissionsofthesameinformation,asrequiredbyvariousgovernmentborderagenciestoreleasegoodsforexportandallowthemtoentertheimportingcountry.Tradesinglewindowshaveconsiderablyimprovedthisprocess,actingasone-stopelectronicplatformsforregistereduserstolodgetherequiredimportandexporttradedocuments.Studiessuggestthatelectronicsinglewindowshavehelpedhalvedocumentprocessingtimesinborderagencies,cuttradecompliancetimestoone-third,increasedadoptingcountries’exportsandgrossdomesticproducts(GDPs)andencouragedanoverallimprovementintransparencyanduserexperienceforborderclearance.

Singlewindowshaveproliferatedinrecentyears;asof2017,27countrieshadafullelectronicsinglewindowand36hadapartialsinglewindow.All164signatoriestotheTradeFacilitationAgreement(TFA),whichenteredintoforcein2017,areencouragedtoadoptanelectronicsinglewindow.Theirbenefitsnotwithstanding,singlewindowsleaveagooddealofroomforimprovement.

Implementationhasbeenchallenging,especiallyformanydevelopingcountries;surveyshaverevealedsuchproblemsasagencies’longresponsetimes,arelianceonpaper-baseddocumentsandarequirementtosubmitthesamedatamultipletimestodifferentauthorities.

Suchchallengesunderminegovernmentprogressinfacilitatingtradeandenablingsmall-andmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)toengageintrade.Itisalsoagoodtimetoaddresssuchissues:Companiesaredigitizingtheirtradeoperationsandthusdemandautomatedprocesses,includingthoseprovidedbygovernments.Thereisalso

acompellingcaseforimprovingsinglewindowsduetothegrowthofe-commerce:whereaspreviouslyborderagenciesmostlydealtwithalimitednumberoflargecompaniesdoingregular,container-basedtransactions,nowtheyhavetocontendwithanavalancheofparcel-basedshipmentsandnewtraderswithwhomtheyarelessfamiliar.Inresponse,governmentsaroundtheworldareconsideringusingnewmethodsandthetechnologiesoftheFourthIndustrialRevolutiontoimprovetheoperation,dataquality,riskmanagementanduserexperienceinsinglewindows.

Thepurposeofthispolicyframeworkistohelpgovernmentsintheseexplorationsbyfocusingonthepotentialforblockchaininsinglewindows.Blockchain,adatabasethatretainsinformationonalltransactionsonaledgervisibletoallstakeholders,isalreadybeingconsideredandpilotedinvariousareasofworldtrade–suchastradelogistics,supply-chainmanagement,

customsandborderregulatoryprocesses,cross-borderpaymentsandtradefinance.Thispolicyframework(1)analysesthemainpainpointsinsinglewindowsaroundtheworld;(2)assessesspecificuse-caseswhereblockchainmightalleviatesomeofthesepainpoints;and(3)developsguidelinesforgovernmentstoconsiderandapplyblockchainintradesinglewindows.Thepolicyframeworkisaimedatgovernmentagenciesinvolvedinborderclearance;however,private-sectororganizationsengagedintradecanalsousethisreporttoconsiderhowbesttoencouragegovernmentstousethistechnology.

Thefollowingsectiondiscussestheimportanceoftradesinglewindowsintradefacilitationandreviewsthemainpainpointsexperiencedbysinglewindowoperatorsandusers.Thenextsectionassessesthevaluepropositionsofblockchainandanalyseshowthesearebestappliedtoremovethemainpainpointsexperiencedbysinglewindowoperatorsandusers,whilealsodevelopingaseriesofuse-casesforblockchaininsinglewindows.

Thesectionthereafterfocusesontheconsiderationsforoperationalizingblockchainuse-casesinsinglewindows.Thefinalsectiondiscusseswhatstepscanbetakennext.

Stateofsinglewindows

Exploringblockchain’susefulnessinsinglewindowsrequiresanunderstandingoftheessentialchallengesfacingsinglewindowsandtheirusers.Thissectiondiscussesthegainsandpainpointssinglewindowshavecreated,basedonacademicliteratureandstructuredinterviewswithsinglewindowoperatorsinvariousgeographicregions.

Benefits

Introducedinthelate1980sinSwedenandSingapore,wheretheyreducedborderclearancetimesfromfourdaysto15minutes,tradesinglewindowshavebecomeacentrepieceoftradefacilitationeffortsaroundtheworld.TheTFAencouragessignatoriestoadoptelectronicsinglewindows–singlewindowspoweredbyinformationtechnology.TheUnitedNationsEconomicCommission

forEuropehasbeeninstrumentalindevelopingdefinitions,guidelinesandstandardsforsinglewindows,andseveralentitiesincludingdevelopmentbanksandtheWorldCustomsOrganizationhavehelpedcountriesbuildandfinancethem.

By2017,tradesinglewindowshadbeenadoptedinfullorinpartin63countries(Figure1).Theytypicallybringtogetherdozensofgovernmentagenciesinchargeofsuchareasashealth,agriculture,quarantine,immigrationandtechnicalstandards.Forexample,inUruguay,thesinglewindowbringstogether27agenciessuchastaxandcustomsauthoritiesandministriesofagricultureand

fisheries,environment,energyandmining,andenablestraderstosubmit127differenttypesofdocumentsrequiredbythevariousborderagencies.

Singlewindowshavedeliveredanotablereturnoninvestmentinawiderangeofcountries,facilitatingtradeconsiderablyandloweringcompanies’internationaltradecosts(Table1).Theirbenefitshavebeencompoundedbythedigitizationoftradedocuments:such“paperlesstrade”obviatestheneedforexportersandimporterstospendtimefillingoutpaperdocuments,re-enteringthesamedatamultipletimesandvisitinggovernmentagenciesinpersontosecuresignaturesandstamps.3Manygovernmentshavedigitizedcustomsclearanceanddutypayments;researchsuggeststhishascutbordercompliancetimeforimportsbyone-third,andsignificantlyreducedcorruptioninthecustomsprocess.4

Suchefficiencygainscanbeevengreaterwhentradesinglewindowsarecombinedwithportcommunitysystems(PCS)thatenabletheexchangeofinformationamongplayersinportenvironments.Forexample,inBenin,TogoandDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo,tradersreceivea“singleinvoice”,whereallcostsattheport(suchasterminalhandlingcharges)andregulatorycosts(forinstance,dutiesandtaxes)arecombinedintoasingleinvoicethatisautomaticallysenttotheimporterorrelevantparty.Oncethefullinvoiceispaid,thebankpaysalloftheindividualstakeholdersandgoodsarereleased.

Figure1:Tradesinglewindowadoptionamong120analysedcountries,2017

Source:AuthorprocessingfromtheUNPaperlessTradeDatabase,2017

Table1:Selectedimpactsofdigitaltechnologiesinborderprocesses

Digitalapproaches

Generalobjectives

Selectedimpacts

Countriesthathaveadoptedby20175

Improveandacceleratetradecomplianceby

InKenya,theaveragetimespentonprocessingapplicationsdroppedby50%,thenumberofdocumentsrequiredforprocessinghalvedandtraderssavedtimepreviouslyspentonvisitingvariousagencies.6

InCameroon,thetimetoimportusedcarsfellfromseventotwodays,thetimetolodgeshippingmanifestsfromsevendaystooneminuteandthetimetoobtainimportlicencesfromeighthoursto15minutes.7

InColombia,thetimetoimportacontainerfellfrom48to13daysandthetimetoexportacontainerfrom34to14daysin2006–2011.8

CostaRicareaped$16ineconomicgainsfromevery$1investedinthesinglewindow.Withoutthesystem,exportswouldhavebeenonaverage2%lowerthantheywerebetween2008and2013,or0.5%ofGDP.9

enablingtraderstosubmit

Digitalsinglewindows

alldocumentsrequiredforborderclearanceinone“window”,typicallyelectronically

27

Enableagenciestoprocess

tradedocumentsfaster,

therebyacceleratingthe

clearanceofcargoatborders

Reducere-entryofsame

Exportersandimportersincountrieswithpaperlesstradespendfarlesstimeonpaperworkforborderclearance:Sub-SaharanAfricanimportersspendonaverage98hoursonpaperworkforaconsignment,asopposedtoonlyfourhoursinThailandandonehourinCanadaandSwedenwheretradersusedigitaldocuments.10

InCostaRica,exportersbecameabletofilloutasingleformonline,whichthesinglewindowdistributedautomaticallyacrosstradeagenciestoissuepermits;tradeinthischannelgrew1.4%fasterthanexportsprocessedviatraditionalmethods.

informationonmultiple

paper-baseddocuments

Digitaltradedocuments,“paperlesstrade”

Lowerprocessingtimesfortradersandstaffattradeagenciesthatprocessdocuments

Improvelegibilityoftrade

6712

documentstraditionallyfilled

outbyhand

Reduceprobabilityoferror

Paperlesstradehasfacilitatedglobalsupplychains,suchasbyenablingjust-in-timedelivery.11

Digitalpaymentsofcustomsdutiesandfees

Reduceinvoicingtimesbyautomatingcomputationofdutiesandfees

Reducecorruptionincustoms

Reducetimeforimporterstomakepaymentsonline

InTanzania,digitizationofcustomsclearanceanddutiescutimportclearancetimesfromninedaystolessthanoneday.13

53

Acceleratereconciliationandthuscustomsclearance

Information

Maketraderequirementseasilyaccessible,includingfornewexportersandimporters,andpromotetransparencyoftradeoperations

Smallandremotefirmsacceleratingtheiraccesstotraderequirements,informationanddocumentsinasingleplacereducesprocessingtimeandenablesthemtoworkwithoutintermediaries.

onexportand

importprocesses

64

availableonline

Painpoints

Whiletheyhavedeliveredsignificantgains,singlewindowsinmanycountrieshaveyettobeimplementedinfullandthusworkasseamlessone-stopshopsfortraderstosubmittradedocumentsandaccelerateborderclearance.Researchandinterviewsrevealseveralpainpointsinsinglewindowsystemsrelatedtointeroperabilityamongthestakeholders,paperlesstrade,traceabilityofgoods,documentandpaymentprocessingandtrustworthinessofdata(Table2).Thefollowingsectiondetailssomeofthemainchallenges.

Limitedinteroperability

Nationalsinglewindowsaredisconnectedfromoneanother.TheTFAcallsforcountriestocoordinatetheirborderprocedurestofacilitatetrade.Suchcoordinationis,however,stillverylimited–intheUNsurvey,onlysevenEuropeancountriesandCanadareportedfullengagementin“trade-relatedcross-borderelectronicdataexchange”while48hadsomepartialexchanges.14Forexample,thetenmembersintheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations’(ASEAN)singlewindowenableelectronicexchangeofpreferentialcertificatesoforigin,whilethefourmembersofthePacificAlliancesharephytosanitaryandorigincertificates.15Thereasonsforthefragmentationofnationalsinglewindowsincludedisparatenationaldatabases,lackofplatformsforefficientexchangeofdataanddifferingregulations,suchastaxsecrecy,dataprivacy,transferlawsanddifferentdocumentformats.Asaresult,everycountryisworseoff:Tradershavetoenterthesamedataonexportandimportdeclarations,riskingmismatchesandlongerprocessingtimes;governments“flysolo”ininterpretingdata,managingrisksanddetectinganomalies;andeachimportingcountryhasamorelimitedwindowtoconductpre-arrivalprocessingthatwouldotherwiseacceleratethereleaseofgoods.16

Borderagenciesoperatewithisolateddata.Themainvaluepropositionofsinglewindowstotheirusersisthattheyaggregatetradeprocessesinonewindow.17However,singlewindowsarenotthatsingle:Borderagenciesthatformpartofasinglewindowstilloftenoperateinisolationwithregardtotheirrespectivedata,strugglingtosharedataandcoordinateactionssuchasriskmanagementandinspectionswitheachother.18SinglewindowsinsomeLatinAmericanandCaribbeancountriesarealsodisconnectedfromcustoms,sothattradersinherentlyneedtodealwitha“doublewindow”.Partoftheproblemistechnical,withlegacydatabasesimpedingthesharingofdata,whilepartispolitical,with

agencieskeentoprotecttheirturfandmodusoperandi.19Insomecountries,corruptionremainsaproblem:Playerswhomonetizedelaysattheborderhavelittleinterestinfacilitatingtrade.

Persistenceofpaper

Borderagenciesstilldemandthattradersfilepaper-baseddocumentsandvisitagenciesinperson.Despitepledgestointroducepaperlesstrade,electronicsinglewindowsarenotalwaysthatelectronic:Many

developingcountryborderagenciesandcustomsdemandtraderssubmitpaperdocuments–by2017,only28countrieshadadoptedelectronicapplicationprotocolsforexportpermits,25hadadoptedelectronicissuanceofpreferentialcertificatesoforiginand45hadadoptedelectronicsubmissionofbothseaandaircargomanifests.20Thepersistenceofpaperiscausedbysheerinertia,limitedbudgetsandstaffconcernsabouttheimpactofdigitizationandautomationonjobs.

Businessesareunfamiliarwithdigitalprocessesandlackinformationandcommunicationstechnology(ICT)skillstoperformdigitalfilings.Companies

canalsoimpedepaperlesstrade.Eveninadvancedcountries,somecompaniesaresetintheirwaysandcontinuetousepaper-baseddocuments;indevelopingcountries,companiescanlackconfidenceinthesecurityofdatasubmittedonlineandICTskillsorITinfrastructurestousedigitalinterfaces–eventhoughdigitizationoftradeprocessesinprincipleshouldhelpespeciallysmallfirmsthathavelimitedstaffcapabilitiesfortradecompliance.21

Unstructureddataembeddedintradedocumentsarenotconvertedintomoreeasilyanalysablestructureddata,anddataformatsarenotharmonized.Governmentshaveenormousamountsofusefuldataontradersandshipmentsthatcanbeusedforsophisticatedpredictiveanalytics,suchasriskmanagement.Yetthisdatacannotbeefficientlyanalysedbecauseitremainsinunstructuredformats,embeddedinpaperdocumentsthathaveyetto

beconvertedintodigitized,structureddatabases.Moreover,dataformatsarenotharmonized,limitingthescalabilityofdataanalytics.

Inefficientmanualprocessesandlackofautomation

Manualdocumentprocessingandreconciliationofdatabases.Errorsarelegionintradedocuments,becausemanyarestilloftenhandwrittenandsimplyillegible,andbecausethesamedataisbeingre-enteredmanuallymultipletimesintonewdocumentsanddatabases,aprocesspronetoerror.Eveninmore

digitizedsettings,updatestoagencies’databasescanrequiremanualinterventions,whichwastesstafftime,increasestheoddsoferrorandstopsagenciesfromallocatingresourcestomorevalue-addingworksuchassophisticatedriskmanagement.Evenincountrieswithlowlabourcosts,theinefficienciesofmanualprocessescanraisepersonnelcostsfarabovethosewithdigitizeddocumentsandshareddatabases.

Inefficienciesinmakingandreconcilingcustomsdutyandfeepayments.While53countrieshaveenabledelectronicpaymentsforcustomsdutiesandfees,thecostsofmakingandreconcilingthesepaymentscanbesurprisinglyhigh.22Onereasonisthat,whileinvoicingbasedonacustomsdeclarationistypicallyautomated,customspaymentsinmanycountriesrequireimporterstofirstpaythesumintheinvoice,andevenphysicallypresentadocumenttocustomstoprovethedutywaspaid.InSriLanka,thecustomsplatformcomputesthefees,taxesandduties

automatically,buttradersstillneedtovisitcustomstosubmitpaperdocumentsthatagentsthenprocess.23Furthermore,directdepositsandwirepaymentscontainlimiteddata,andcustomsthenhastomanuallymatchanelectronicpaymenttoagivenshipment,whichdeceleratescustomsclearancerates.

Limitedtraceabilityofgoodsinsupplychains

Limitedsharingofdataacrosstradenetworksamongborderagenciesandtheprivatesector.Digitizationandsharingofdataamongborderagenciesthemselvesandwiththeprivatesectorhasincreasedvisibilityandadvanceknowledgeaboutincomingshipments.Forexample,intheUnitedStates,theAirCargoAdvanceScreening(ACAS)enablescustomsaccessfromairlines’advancedaircargoinformationregardingshipmentsarrivingintheUnitedStates.However,sharingofdataamonggovernmentsandtheprivatesectorisstilllimited,impedingagencies’abilitytotracegoodstotheirorigin,verifycertificatesoforiginandrecognizeanomalouspatternsandmanagerisks,ultimatelyresultinginpotentialriskstoendusersofshippedproducts.

Concernsaboutdatatrustworthinessandsecurityofdata

Limitedtrustworthinessofdataenteredonsinglewindows.Borderagenciesandtraders’processesinvolvingthere-entryofthesamedatamultipletimeswhilereconcilingdifferentagencies’databases

underminethetrustworthinessofdatainsinglewindows.Datatrustworthinessdiminishesifdataprovidedbytheagenciesandtraderdiffer.

Companiesareconcernedaboutthesecurityoftheirsensitivecommercialandfinancialdatasubmittedonline.Thisproblemisexacerbatedincountrieswherethegovernmenthasmisusedcorporateinformation,and/orhaslimitedcybersecurityprotections,electronicsignaturelawsandcentralizedmanagementofdata.24Therearenocontractsbetweenfirmsthatusesinglewindowsandborderauthorities.Thus,theformerhaslittlecontroloverhowtheirdatamaybeusedorsharedandbywhom.Thiscontrastswithportcommunitysystemswherepartiesenterintoacontractandhaverecourseiftheirdataismisused.

Companiesareunabletoaccessandreusetheiridentitiesanddatainsinglewindows.Companiesthatusesinglewindowsoftenneedtoentertheiridentityandotherdatasetsmultipletimestoaccessgovernmentandcommercialservices,aswellasbeingforcedtouseavarietyofidentifierswhendealingwithdifferent

stratasofgovernment.Theyareunabletousedata,suchastheirrecordsofcompliance,authorizedeconomicoperator(AEO)certificationsandtradetransactions,insinglewindows.Thislevelofdatacouldbeveryusefulforcommercialpurposes,suchasenablingbanks

thatprovidetradefinancetocarryoutduediligenceorinsurancecompaniestoofferbetterratestocompanieswithastrongrecordoftradecompliance.

Solvingthesepainpointscanhavesignificantpayoffs;forexample,thedramaticdifferenceinthenumberofhoursspentonregulatorypaperworkbetweencountriesthathaveimplementedpaperlesstradeandcountriesthatarestillusingpaper-baseddocuments.Butevencountriesthathavetheworld’smostdigitizedsinglewindowsandarethetopperformersintradefacilitationstrugglewithlackofinteroperabilityandinefficientprocesses;theyarestillseekingtofurtherreduceborderclearancetimesandgainnewcapabilities.

Table2:Selectedpainpointsinelectronictradesinglewindows

Mainpainpoints Selectedreasons Mainimpacts

Limitedinteroperability

Nationalsinglewindowsdisconnectedfromeachother

Duplicationofefforts,delaysandlackofend-to-endvisibilityofshipments:tradershavetoenterthesamedataonexportandimportdeclarations,riskingmismatchesandlongerprocessingtimes;eachgovernment“flies

solo”ininterpretingdata,managingrisksanddetectinganomalies;eachimportingcountryhasmorelimitedopportunitiestoconductpre-arrivalprocessing.

Persistenceofpaper

Borderagenciesstilldemandtradersfilepaper-baseddocumentsandvisitagenciesinperson

Increasesdatare-entry,probabilityoferrorsandmundane,repetitiveprocessesthatconsumetraders’andagenciesstaffresources.

BusinessesareunfamiliarwithdigitalprocessesandlackICTskillstoperformdigitalfilings

Perpetuatesuseofpaperinregulatoryfilings,wastesfirms’timeinmundaneprocesses.

Unstructureddataembeddedintradedocumentsarenotconvertedintomoreeasilyanalysablestructureddata;anddataformatsarenotharmonized

Limitsopportunitiesforsophisticateddataanalyticstodetectanomaliesandfraudinshipments,andscalabilityofdataanalytics.

Inefficientmanualprocesses

Manualdocumentprocessingandreconciliationofdatabases

Increasesoverheadsasstaffineachagencyneedtoreconcilerespectivedatabaseswiththoseofothers.

Inefficienciesinmakingandreconcilingcustomsdutyandfeepayments

Wastescustomsstaff’stimeinmundanereconciliationprocesses;deceleratesthereleaseofgoodsfromcustoms,costingtraderstimeandmoney.

Limitedtraceabilityofshipments

Limitedsharingofdataacrossthetradenetworkamongborderagenciesandtheprivatesector

Limitsagencies’abilitytoverifyoriginofgoods,tracegoodsinsupplychainsanddetectanomaliesandfraudulentpatternsinmulti-countrysupplychains,resultinginpossibleriskstoendconsumersofshippedproducts.

Limitedtrustworthinessandportabilityofidentitiesanddata

Limitedtrustworthinessofdataenteredonsinglewindows

Underminesthecredibilityandusefulnessofdataheldbyanyoneborderagency.

Companiesareconcernedaboutthesecurityoftheirsensitivecommercialandfinancialdatasubmittedonline

Makescompaniesreluctanttousesinglewindowsandelectronicdocumentsandfilings,wheretheseareoptional;processdevolvesbacktopaper.

Companiesareunabletoaccessandreusetheiridentitiesanddatainsinglewindows

Forcescompaniestore-enterdataacrossgovernmentservicesandforegoopportunitiestousevaluabletransactionaldataforothercommercialpurposes.

Potentialuse-caseswithblockchain

“blocks”ofdatathatarevisibletoallstakeholders–andthusenablesdisparatepartiesinanetworktoaccessthesamedatainrealtime,reducingallparties’transactioncostsandenablingstakeholderstosharedataandinteractmorefluidly.

Whyisblockchainuseful?

Blockchainalsoholdspromiseforauthenticatingdataandimprovingthetrustworthinessofdata.Shortlyaftereachtransactionoccurs,itisputintoablockontheblockchain.Theseblocks