The UN Trade Facilitator Toolkit for alignment of Trade Documents

The Role of Trade Documents in International Trade

Trade Documents play a crucial role in international trade, as any efficient supply chain operation is based on the information provided in the trade documents. Documentary errors or the non-availability of documents leads to complications or even breakdowns of the supply chain. The cost of maintaining trade documentation is a significant component of the final market price of the goods. It is estimated that direct and indirect costs of trade documentation accumulate to 5% to 10% of the value of the goods, depending on the nature of the goods and the specific supply chain scenario. In order to permit efficient and less costly international trade, the UN has developed a set of standards for trade procedures and documentation.

Importance of aligned Trade Documents

Trade documents adhering to international documentary requirements and best business practices are generally referred to as aligned documents . Important standards and best practice for aligned trade documentation have been developed in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The UN has set up a Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) within the UNECE to developing and maintaining these standards. Today most documents used by advanced trading nations and logistics operators are based on these standards, for instance, The EU Single Administrative Document (SAD), the TIR carnet, the IATA Air Waybill or the IMO Bill of Lading. While the use of aligned trade documents has become a standard in advanced trading nations, the UN recognizes that transition economies and developing countries still uses non-aligned trade document systems that complicate procedures and unnecessarily increase the costs of the goods to be exported. This is a considerable impediment for exporters to successfully compete in the international markets.

UNeDocs aligned paper Documents

UN/CEFACT has set up the United Nations electronic Trade Documents (UNeDocs) project to develop the standards for paper and electronic trade documents. UNeDocs provides a conceptional framework for developing aligned paper trade documents based on international trade standards and the subsequent development of the electronic equivalents of the paper document. UNeDocs designs documents on the basis of international trade procedures, the United Nations Layout Key (UNLK) and the the United Nations Trade Data Elements Directory (UNTDED), ISO standard 7372. These two definitions, the document layout based on the UNLK and the semantic content of the document based on the UNTDED provide the basis for a later definition of the electronic equivalent of the trade document in UN/EDIFACT or XML format. UN/EDIFACT and XML are today's most widely used electronic business protocols, and provide access and connectivity to e-business systems and electronic supply chain management. Each UNeDocs electronic trade document is developed on the basis of an aligned and simplified paper document layout. Documents developed on the basis of the UN Toolkit for the Alignment of Trade Documents are compatible with the UNeDocs concept and are prepared for paperless trade.

The UN Toolkit for the alignment of Trade Documents

To assist trade facilitators to develop aligned trade documents the UN Regional Commissions have developed a set of tools and resources. The Toolkit consists of three components:

1. Electronic Toolkit for the development of write-enabled paper documents . Toolkit to develop PDF forms for trade document, the form fields can be made write-enabled. This allows a trader to fill in the document, print it with the data or email the document.
   
   

   Toolkit for creating write-enabled paper documents with Adobe LiveCycle Designer. A brief manual for trade facilitators explaining how to create static and write-enabled trade document forms. Includes also sample documents created using this toolkit.

2. Handbook and sample document forms

   Contains guidelines for trade facilitators to develop aligned documents, a standard UNLK grid in PDF format and sample forms of important trade documents in PDF format

3. Library of Resources for the alignment of Trade Documents.

   The Library provides a collection of standards, guidelines and publications related to the alignment of trade documents

Copyright

All documents are copyright of the United Nations and subject to the standard United Nations copyright note.