Guatemala prepares one-stop source for foreign trade

By MAYORA IP

The Ministry of Economy of Guatemala is preparing to launch a single window for foreign trade (VUCE, for its Spanish acronym), an electronic platform that will speed up access to information and the management of the export and import processes of companies operating in Guatemala.

The purpose of a single window is to provide a platform and processes for a paperless electronic exchange of trade information between participants in the trade process, largely accomplished through a single electronic lodgement. Pressure to implement single windows is building from several sources such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), countries themselves who see trade expansion, efficiencies and increased revenue collection as benefits of a successful single window, and the global supply chains who are demanding more efficient government licensing and customs processes.

“In the new platform, users will have a one-stop source for information on the formal requirements and processes to complete a foreign trade operation, since currently the information related to such activity is dispersed and in many cases incomplete or difficult to locate,” the Ministry of Economy stated in a press release.

The single window uses the latest ICT techniques; international data and messaging standards together with simplified, harmonized and remodeled information systems for data exchange, in order to replace traditional paper-based information. It also deploys sophisticated rules and procedures for funding, governance, business and marketing models, planning and project management, and for effective collaboration between all of the parties involved in the single window.