e-비즈니스의 활성화를 위한 무역원활화추진

Trade Facilitation for Promotion of e-Business

The purpose of this paper is to review the major issues of trade facilitation that have been discussing in relevant international organization such as WTO, WCO, UN/ECE, and UNCTAD. In recent years the term, trade facilitation, has become extremely popular and, therefore, applied to an ever-growing number of activities. Trade Facilitation encompasses the simplification, standardization, harmonization and elimination of the procedures, data requirements and administration involved in an international trade transaction. The facilitation of trade procedures is seen by all major international business as vital for economic development. Several factors are fuelling the need for trade facilitation of which two are the globalization of international trade and the rapid IT-development. Another important factor includes increased economic integration by an explosion of regional and bilateral free-trade agreement that often feature complex customs requirements. Technological progress has also introduced faster and cheaper forms of transportation and transportation management techniques, such as the increased use of e-business and JIT. The Internet is also fragmenting containers of goods that could have been custom cleared on a single entry into dozens of individual shipments that each require separate customs documents and clearance procedures. This creates a challenge for express couriers who anticipate exponential growth in small shipments by individual consumers, as compared to shipment by wholesalers or retailers. These consumers expect goods to be cleared immediately. It is no wonder that express couriers are actively promoting, and participating in the trade facilitation agenda.