The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in June 2023 published a global report on blockchain and its implications on trade facilitation performance.
This report aims to support policymakers, especially trade policymakers, to understand the basic features of the blockchain technology as well as the policy considerations and design options available in the blockchain industry that could be harnessed towards enhancing trade facilitation efforts and improving legacy trade systems and trade processes. The research objectives are to lay the groundwork that will enable countries to effectively adopt and implement blockchains.
The rest of this report is structured as follows. Chapter II describes blockchains and captures their major features as well as the evolution of the technology over the years. Chapter III presents potential blockchain use cases in international trade. Chapter IV discusses the technical considerations and policy questions for the design, development and deployment of blockchains for international trade. Chapter V concludes and suggests ways forward, with policy considerations. The annex offers a comprehensive review of the different types and features of blockchains.
The report can be viewed at the link.
21.07.2023