Cardboard boxes in warehouse

Why a balance between e-commerce trade and mitigating risks is required

In this episode of the NextWave Global Trade podcast series, Brenda Brockman Smith and Dan Dreyfus share their insights on e-commerce and the impact of customs control on e-commerce firms.

E-commerce growth is accelerating and every year there is tremendous development in the sector. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reports that in 2018 business-to-consumer e-commerce was valued at more than US$4t, proving that the market is extremely large and growing rapidly. But are countries prepared to facilitate this growth?

E-commerce rules and the treatment of e-commerce vary from country to country. And in some cases, this difference is considerable and wide. Even with similarities on paper, or in law, countries handle packages and e-commerce very differently. It is easy to think about e-commerce as being a globally cohesive system or ecosystem where consumers everywhere can make purchases online and receive packages overnight. But in reality, it is far from it. 

Key takeaways:

  • The growth in e-commerce presents several new opportunities for international business, but it also opens the doors to counterfeiters, criminals and other trade violators.
  • In many countries, modernized systems capable of processing the high volume of e-commerce trade with risk assessment don’t exist at the moment.
  • Customs administrations around the globe need to have much greater visibility into e-commerce supply chains.

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available.


ey brenda smith v2


Brenda Brockman Smith

Former Executive Assistant Commissioner for Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Podcast

Episode 2

Duration

0h 19m 54s