G20 meet agrees on paperless trade

New Delhi, August 25

The G20 trade and investment ministers’ meeting which ended in Jaipur on Friday adopted “high-level principles on digitisation of trade documents” under which they enunciated 10 broad principles that cover transition to paperless trade.

These principles will provide guidance to the countries in implementing measures related to cross-border exchange of electronic trade-related data and documents. Moreover, inclusivity has been prioritised as one of the principles, ensuring that such a transition accommodates businesses of all sizes, stated an official news release.

The G20 meeting, chaired by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, also issued a Jaipur Call for Action for enhancing access to information for MSMEs and urged the Geneva-based International Trade Centre to work on a detailed implementation plan for upgrading its Global Trade Helpdesk to address the informational gaps faced by MSMEs.