Electronic Trade Documents Act

Promising to make trade more straightforward, efficient and sustainable, the Electronic Trade Documents Act has been adopted with its provisions set to be introduced in mid-September.

The Act, the full text of which can be found here, means that electronic trade documents will be granted the same legal status as physical trade documents.

Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, Paul Scully, said: “The global container shipping industry generates billions of paper documents a year — and in reality there’s no need for the immense costs UK businesses have to face in producing them, and the detrimental environmental impact that this has. What may look to many of us as a small change to the law is something that will have a massive impact on the way UK firms trade and, in turn, is going to boost our economy by over £1 billion over the next decade.”

Existing laws dating back to the 1800s previously meant that exporters and importers have had to use paper documents to transfer ownership of the goods they are shipping, he went on, creating a costly, inefficient and outdated way of working.

The Act also covers trade documents such as promissory notes, warehouse receipts, marine insurance policies, and cargo insurance certificates.  The Government estimates that it could generate a net benefit of £1.14 billion for the British economy over the next decade for UK businesses trading across the world.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has agreed that the Act’s introduction in September will mark a transformational change in digitalising international trade. 

Head of Trade Policy, William Bain, said that the BCC will work with colleagues in the International Chambers of Commerce, and with Chambers and businesses across the UK to ensure the full benefits of digitalisation are felt in increased global trade.