ICC-UNCTAD partnership sparks trade initiative in Brazil

The Brazilian arm of the (ICC) and (UNCTAD) have joined forces towards leveraging the use of blockwire to enhance trade. The two organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding through which they will work together on a trade initiative that will leverage decentralized ledger technology.

UNCTAD and the ICC have agreed to work together in deferent projects involving training, research, capacity -building, and analysis activities. The Intelligent Tech and Trade Initiative (ITTI) is currently approaching its second stage after a study evaluating the applicability of technology in different settings.

The partnership between the two organizations is also expected to help spur the adoption of blockchain and AI technologies in multilateral negotiations. According to Shamika Sirimanne, the director of Technology and Logistics at UNCTAD, some of the specific applications that they will deal with include transactions, trade logistics, and international trade operations.

The chairman of ICC Brazil ‘Daniel Feffer’ pointed out in one of his statements that he was confident that creating the initiative was a vital move especially towards pushing trade over the current hurdles that exist in the market today. He also added that he was certain that technologies such as AI and blockchain will encourage trade growth.

Feffer also believes that such upcoming technologies can be used to support small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in the emerging market. The technologies can help such firms to play a significant part in the trade world. Ultimately, technologies such as blockchain and AI provide more possibilities to agile markets. Fetter hopes to use vital tools such as introducing the letter of credit into the blockchain-intensive world or using AI to create negotiation scenarios.

The ICC chairman was also keen to note that the technology implementation should consider both small businesses and big companies in both emerging and developed countries. This way, the implementation will factor in inclusion, thus creating opportunities across the board.

ITTI is also working on a partnership with technology giant IBM through which they will create a prototype that will focus on bilateral negotiations. The prototype will leverage the negotiations between Canada and the Mercosul trade bloc. The partnerships are expected to yield great results that will help advance the trade industry.