By Leah Montebello
A new bill aimed at driving paperless trade was introduced to parliament today, cutting “red tape” for international shipping.
The Electronic Trade Documents Bill hopes to boost the UK’s international trade, and reduce the estimated 28.5 billion paper trade documents printed and flown around the world daily.
Under the new law, digital trade documents will be put on the same legal footing as their paper-based equivalents to give more choice and flexibility for trade.
Business-to-business documents such as bills of lading – a contract between parties involved in shipping goods – and bills of exchange – used to help importers and exporters complete transactions – currently have to be paper-based due to longstanding laws.
The Bill will modernise old legislation such as the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992.
Removing this admin burden is set to provide a £1.14bn boost to firms over a ten-year period.
Processing times for electronic documents cut to 20 seconds and carbon emissions reduced by at least ten per cent
“We want to support businesses by cutting red tape and allowing them to sell their goods and products globally without burdensome bureaucracy,” digital secretary Michelle Donelan said.
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