SA 'not ready' for US facilitation system

SA is not yet on the path to take advantage of plans revealed in the US that are aimed at streamlining export and import processes for US businesses that are trading internationally. An Executive Order has just been signed by President Obama. Specifically, it is aimed at completing the International Trade Data System (ITDS) by December 2016, which is designed to reduce export and import processing and approval times from days to minutes for small businesses. Said Peter Quantrill, director-general of the British International Freight Association (Bifa): “The development of the ITDS has been under way for some time. But the recent Executive Order establishes a deadline for completion. It also requires relevant agencies to transition from paper-based to electronic data collection, and calls for enhanced transparency by requiring public posting of implementation plans and schedules.” It is understood that the ITDS is designed to allow businesses to transmit electronically (through a “single-window”) the data required by the US government to import or export cargo; speed up the shipment of American-made goods overseas; eliminate often duplicative and burdensome paperwork; and make the administration of international trade more efficient. While this would immediately be an advantage in countries where all the government departments are electronic data interchange (EDI) enhanced, this isn’t the case in SA, in the personal opinion of Dave Watts, maritime director of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff). Today, in many countries worldwide, businesses must submit information to dozens of government agencies, often on paper forms, sometimes waiting on them to be processed for days before goods can move across the border. The same applies in SA, according to Watts. “Along the supply chain a large number of SA government departments are involved,” he told FTW. “But some of these are only partly computerised, and some even have no electronic systems whatsoever.” However, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) customs section, he noted, has a very highly advanced risk system. “That’s where the single window should be,” Watts said. “Then all the other stakeholders and government departments involved in the supply chain would be able to link in to that window.” But, while he accepts that some departments will be aware of the need to comply with the EDI demands – and be able to take full advantage of a more efficient supply chain connecting SA with the US – he feels that the concept will still only be at a very fledgling stage.