Panel: Blockchain at the border: Scaling up for supply chain resilience
Sep 15, 2021 | 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Sep 15, 2021 | 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated economy-wide digitalisation, including in international trade. Blockchain projects that were still at an exploratory stage a few years back are now increasingly being deployed. The potential for blockchain to facilitate trade by increasing transparency and reducing transaction costs is relevant for all stages of the supply chain, from customs procedures to trade finance and logistics, and ensuring responsible business conduct. However, legal, institutional and technical issues still hamper the scaling up of these applications.
Blockchain technology – as other digital trade facilitation tools – must harness network effects across both public and private stakeholders to drive operational efficiencies. These network effects rely on smooth interaction across institutional structures. This highlights the importance of cross-border co-operation in a complex and evolving regulatory landscape for digital trade.
This session takes stock of the challenges to the scaling up of blockchain technology for facilitating international trade and explore how policy can best support the use of blockchain for supply chain efficiency, resilience, transparency and integrity.
