The national single window for trade as a trade facilitation tool

Abstract

Trade facilitation is promoting international trade by facilitating the flow of goods and services by reducing the cost and time of cross-border trade transactions and thus eliminating procedural barriers to trade. To achieve this objective, trade facilitation as a diversified concept includes several instruments. One of the main measures that seeks to promote trade facilitation is a single window for trade. The notion and main model of the national single window bases on the Recommendation No. 33 and Guidelines on Establishing a Single Window and the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement. Studies show that the countries realize the application of the single window of different forms and there is no only model of the national single window. In a few countries they created several systems like Port Community System, the customs single window, the maritime single window instead of creating the one national single window. To understand the nature of the national single window it is important to analyze the perspectives and the features of the national single window that distinguishes the single window to other systems in international trade.