UK and Thailand Partnership Seeks to Digitise Trading Environment #

It is driven by the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) and the UK’s Center for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI). The groups' common goal is to promote business development between the UK and Thailand.

The new cooperation initiative between C4DTI and ETDA aims to develop trade between the United Kingdom and Thailand in an environmentally friendly way. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has provided funding for this initiative.

Thailand receives technical assistance from C4DTI. The UK Hub advocates for the elimination of legal barriers and the alignment of national legislation with the UN Model Law on Electronically Transmitted Records.

The goal of these changes is to eliminate paper trade documents and create a paperless trade system. If the project is successfully completed, it will allow SMEs to do business at reduced prices. Inefficient paper procedures are eliminated, and business transactions are accelerated as they become paperless.

According to a study conducted by the International Chamber of Commerce and the Commonwealth, the legal changes could increase the volume of trade among the G7 countries by $9 trillion. As a result of the reforms, transaction costs associated with international trade will be reduced by almost 80%. It has a number of benefits, such as a 50% reduction in the trade finance gap and a 75% reduction in processing time.

Overall, the current system allows for up to 27 different paper documents to be used at all stages of a transaction. The digitalization of the system will reduce the processing time for all documents from three months to a few hours.

In addition to providing legal advice, CASTL will also act as a project facilitator.