The U.S. has fully-funded a “national single window customs pilot project” aimed at streamlining cargo transfers and efficiency of trade.
The $718,600 grant was provided by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and it is hoped that it will become the platform for a region wide single window trading and customs system for all of ASEAN by 2012. According to the USTDA, the grant will, “Fund a feasibility study and pilot project that will identify the system requirements, evaluate standardized customs documents and data, recommend institutional changes and data models, and outline the implementation plan for project deployment.”
In effect, a single window customs system will speed up the time necessary to process and clear goods in customs thus expanding trade potential.
“This pilot project will help to increase revenue, enforce trade compliance regulations and reduce the cost of cargo movement into Vietnam, an increasingly important partner for the United States in Southeast Asia,” U.S. Ambassador Michael W. Michalak remarked when he signed the grant on September 15, 2010 in Hanoi. “The launching of today’s partnership demonstrates once again, the United States’ commitment to working with Vietnam to promote economic growth and more broadly, the regional integration of ASEAN.”
The continued cooperation between the two nations has developed into a close relationship highlighted by the 15 year anniversary of normalized relations.
Source: dtinews.vn