ICC DSI | View in the web browser

For business.
For you.

ICC Digital Standards Initiative

Newsletter | March 2026

Dear colleagues, members and partners,

This issue highlights outcomes of the first DSI Governance Board meeting of 2026, including the welcome of Gael Grooby, Director of Policy and Standards, as the World Customs Organization's new representative, succeeding Brendan O'Hearn. The Board advanced DSI's 2026 priorities, with a strong focus on interoperability, and the expansion of programmes to support legal reform and build capacity to operationalise digital trade.

If you received this newsletter indirectly and wish to subscribe, click here to join our mailing list.

Standards

Strengthening standards alignment and interoperability. Building on the Governance Board's direction, DSI is advancing its strategy to strengthen standards alignment and interoperability. The Board reaffirmed the importance of engaging ERP and IT infrastructure providers that generate and process trade data and documents for global commerce. This work builds on DSI's engagements with formal and informal standards bodies, the KTDDE Implementation Guides (KIG) mapping key trade document standards, and the use of practical tools to enable interoperability within and across systems.

The strategy was further reviewed at the DSI Industry Advisory Board (IAB) meeting on 3 March 2026, with additional industry input from key members of the IAB. We look forward to reporting back on this as the year progresses.

ICC Digital Trade Navigator (formally “Sandbox”). Following its introduction in January, DSI is expanding the ICC Digital Trade Navigator into a structured pathway to help companies assess readiness, understand standards, and scope practical digital trade pilots. Targeted to launch in April 2026, it will be accessible via ICC OneClick. Further details to follow.

Digital Trade Readiness Assessment - Pilot update. The pilot phase continues to gain momentum across sectors and geographies. Early insights are helping companies benchmark readiness across management systems, data governance and cybersecurity. To strengthen benchmarking robustness, the submission deadline has been extended to 10 April 2026. Participating organisations will receive a structured report with category-level insights and aggregated pilot benchmarks. Organisations are encouraged to complete or join the pilot via the assessment (link) or by contacting the DSI team for further information.

Legal

MLETR operationalisation in ASEAN. DSI, in collaboration with Cadmus under the Open Trade Programme, is advancing MLETR implementation across ASEAN. The first public-private engagement will take place in Timor-Leste on 25 March, focusing on practical steps to implement electronic transferable records. Subsequent engagements in the coming months across ASEAN, including Vietnam, Manila, Malaysia and Indonesia, will strengthen legal readiness, interoperability and regional digital trade adoption.

ICC Kenya Business Summit. DSI participated and moderated key discussions on digital transformation of trade and finance in the recent Summit held in Nairobi. The Summit reflected strong cross-sector support to fast-track the DSI agenda - advancing legal reform, capacity building, and interoperability aligned with the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol. Discussions highlighted practical implementation priorities, including border modernisation, regulatory reform and payments interoperability, with clear momentum for action.

Supporting Jamaica’s digital trade reform. DSI recently contributed to a workshop in Jamaica as part of the ITC Digital Trade Regulatory Readiness Assessment (DTTRA) report validation process. The session focused on strengthening the legal foundations for trade digitalisation, including a deep dive into the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) and the role of legal reform in enabling instruments such as electronic bills of lading. The engagement supports Jamaica’s efforts to move from assessment to implementation in advancing paperless trade.

Capacity building to operationalise digital trade. DSI is also advancing implementation-focused capacity building across these regions:

16-17 April - Digital Trade for Regional Growth Workshop, Tbilisi, Georgia. Register here
7 May - Digitalisation of Trade & Trade Finance Workshop, Tunis, Tunisia. Register here.

DSI Updates

Enabling SME access through digitalisation. In February, DSI Managing Director Pamela Mar published an article titled “What can trade digitalisation do for SMEs?” with Trade Finance Global highlighting how standardised data, trusted electronic records and streamlined rules can unlock trade finance and market access for SMEs. The piece reinforces DSI’s focus on reducing complexity and enabling practical digital trade adoption. Read full article.

At TradeTrust Appreciation Day 2026, DSI emphasised the importance of interoperability for expanding digital trade. Focusing on MLETR-aligned implementation, DSI highlighted the need to align legal reform, standards and technology to support trusted electronic Bills of Lading (eBLs). The event marked key adoption milestones and introduced the TradeTrust Readiness Programme to help businesses scale interoperable digital trade solutions.

Kind Regards,

The ICC Digital Standards Initiative Team

Contact

33-43 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris, France

www.iccwbo.org

Disclaimer

You are receiving this email in the framework of your professional collaboration with ICC.

Please use this link should you wish to update your subscription preferences or unsubscribe from ICC emails. For any question you may have regarding the processing of your personal data by ICC or its affiliates, please contact the ICC Global Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@iccwbo.org.