wto-區(qū)塊鏈能否改變國際貿(mào)易（英文版）

1、Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade?,By Emmanuelle Ganne,,,,,,,,© World Trade Organization 2018Reproduction of the material contained in this publication may be made only with the written permissio

2、n of the WTO Publications Manager.Print ISBN 978-92-870-4760-1Web ISBN 978-92-870-4761-8WTO Publications World Trade Organization 154, rue de Lausanne CH-1211 Geneva 2 SwitzerlandTel: +41 (0)22 739 51 11www.w

3、to.orgEmail: publications@wto.orgWTO Online Bookshop http://onlinebookshop.wto.orgReport designed by Services Concept. Printed by the World Trade Organization.Photo credits:Cover image: © Getty/Photographer

4、is my life. Images page 79: © Provenance.Published by the World Trade Organization.,DisclaimerThe opinions expressed in this study are those of the author. They are not intended to represent the positions or o

5、pinions of the WTO or its members and are without prejudice to members’ rights and obligations under the WTO. Any errors are attributable to the author.,Table of contents,,iii,Acknowledgements,My sincere thanks go to m

6、y colleague Ms Kenza Le Mentec for her precious guidance. Kenza introduced me to the subject and provided invaluable inputs, in particular for the technical sections describing the technology and the section on trade

7、facilitation. This publication would not have been possible without her support.I am also most grateful to Mr Shashank Rai, Senior Strategic Technology Specialist at UNICC, for his technical insights, advice and guida

8、nce, and for having taken the time to exchange views and review the report. His technical inputs were extremely valuable.My thanks also go to the various experts from Accenture, the Danish Customs, Deloitte, the Dut

9、ch Customs, Everledger, IBM, Maersk, VCargoCloud and We.trade, who took the time to talk to me and share their insights on Blockchain and the various projects on which they have been working.In addition, I wish to th

10、ank Enrico Camerinelli, Senior Analyst at Aite Group, Shantanu Godbole of IBM Research, Philippe Heeren, Lawyer at Deloitte Legal, Jonathan Koh, Managing Director at Trade Facilitation Pte Ltd, Lance Thompson, Secretar

11、y, UN/CEFACT – UNECE, as well as the Hyperledger team, in particular Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director of the Hyperledger project, Ry Jones, Community Architect, and Marta Piekarska, Director of Ecosystem, for thei

12、r technical comments.My thanks also to WTO colleagues who provided comments: Rob Anderson, Marc Auboin, Robert Koopman, Juan Marchetti, Nora Neufeld, Simon Padilla, Roberta Piermartini, Melvin Spreij, Jayashree Watal

13、 and Christiane Wolff.,,v,Executive summary,,Blockchain is much more than Bitcoin.Blockchain’s first implementation as the technology underpinning Bitcoin has led many to associate Blockchain with Bitcoin. However, th

14、e potential use of Blockchain goes well beyond the world of cryptocurrencies. For some, it is a technology that will change our lives, while for others it is a pipe dream; no technology has stirred up so much debate s

15、ince the advent of the internet. However, despite the numerous headlines on Blockchain, the technology remains difficult to apprehend for many.Blockchain: a tamper-proof, decentralized and distributed digital record

16、 of transactions that creates trust and is said to be highly resilient.A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed record or “l(fā)edger” of transactions in which the transactions are stored in a permanent and near inalt

17、erable way using cryptographic*1 techniques. Unlike traditional databases, which are administered by a central entity, blockchains rely on a peer-to-peer network that no single party can control. Authentication of tra

18、nsactions is achieved through cryptographic means and a mathematical “consensus protocol”* that determines the rules by which the ledger is updated, which allows participants with no particular trust in each other to

19、collaborate without having to rely on a single trusted third party. Thus, Blockchain is, as The Economist calls it, a “trust machine”. Participants in a blockchain can access and check the ledger at any time.Blockcha

20、in therefore ensures immediate, across-the-board transparency, and as transactions added to the blockchain are time-stamped* and cannot easily be tampered with, blockchain technology allows products and transactions to

21、 be traced easily. Smart contracts* – i.e. computer programmes that self-execute when certain conditions are met – can be used to automate processes, further reducing costs. Because of their decentralized and distribu

22、ted nature and the use of cryptographic techniques, blockchains are said to be highly resilient to cyber-attacks compared to traditional databases – although there is no such thing as perfect resilience.vii,viii,CAN

23、 BLOCKCHAIN REVOLUTIONIZE INTERNATIONAL TRADE?,,Blockchains can be public, private or managed by a consortium of companies, and they can be accessible by everyone (permissionless) or restricted (permissioned).There a

24、re various ways to categorize blockchains. Blockchains are often classified as public (no specific entity manages the platform), private (the platform is controlled by a single entity), or managed by a consortium of co

25、mpanies. Another commonly used classification is permissionless (the blockchain is open to everyone – the most well-known example being the Bitcoin platform) or permissioned (restrictions can be imposed on who can rea

26、d and/or write on the blockchain). There are, in practice, many variants of blockchains depending on the objectives being sought. Many applications in the field of international trade fall into the category of permissi

27、oned/ consortium blockchains. While, strictly speaking, Blockchain is only one type of distributed ledger technology (DLT), the term is now commonly used to refer to distributed ledger technologies in general.Block

28、chain’s potential trade-related applications are numerous and could significantly transform international trade… but the technology is not a solution to everything.From finance, including trade finance, to customs an

29、d certification processes, transportation and logistics, insurance, distribution, intellectual property (IP) and government procurement, possible applications of Blockchain encompass a diverse set of areas related to

30、WTO work. While the technology opens interesting opportunities to enhance the efficiency of a number of processes and cut costs in these areas, it is not a panacea. Carefully weighing the costs and benefits is essenti

31、al.Blockchain could open new opportunities to enhance the efficiency of processes in a number of areas related to WTO work.Blockchain could help trade move closer to becoming paperless.From trade finance to custo

32、ms clearance, transportation and logistics, trade in goods involves multiple actors and remains paper-intensive. Blockchain is seen by many as an interesting tool to improve the efficiency of trade processes and help

33、move towards paperless trade. However, the challenges to overcome are equivalent to the opportunities offered by the technology.,,EXECUTIVE SUMMARY,ix,Blockchain is seen as a possible game-changer to digitalize and auto

34、mate trade finance processes, in particular letters of credit, and to ease supply chain finance. An array of banks working with financial technology (fintech) startups and information technology (IT) companies are inv

35、estigating the potential of the technology. Pilot projects are encouraging, but a number of technical and regulatory issues need to be addressed before the technology can be used on a wide scale.The intrinsic charact

36、eristics of the technology also make it a potentially interesting tool to help implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and to facilitate business-to-government (B2G) and government-to-government (G2G) proc

37、esses at the national level. Blockchain and smart contracts could help administer border procedures and national single windows (a single point of entry through which trade stakeholders can submit documentation and ot

38、her information to complete customs procedures) in a more efficient, transparent and secure manner, and improve the accuracy of trade data. The real challenge will be to make cross-border G2G processes more efficient.

39、 This will not only require settling interoperability issues at a technical level – an issue on which the Blockchain community is working actively– it will also require standardization and political will to create a re

40、gulatory framework that is conducive to paperless trade.Finally, the technology will only be able to work to its full potential if all aspects of cross-border trade transactions are digitalized, from trade finance to

41、 customs, transportation and logistics, and if the semantics are aligned (i.e. what specific information is communicated by the data elements). The transportation and logistics sector, which constitutes a fertile grou

42、nd for blockchain implementation due to the large number of actors involved, is actively looking into ways to leverage the technology in order to develop trade platforms that could connect all actors along the supply

43、chain, including banks and customs authorities.If the projects that are under development succeed, Blockchain could well become the future of trade infrastructure and the biggest disruptor to the shipping industry an

44、d to international trade since the invention of the container. However, much remains to be done. Such projects require complex integration work and a conducive regulatory environment. They also raise issues of interope

45、rability and standardization. A dialogue between all stakeholders, including regulators, is essential.Blockchain could give rise to a new generation of services.Beyond Blockchain’s pilot projects related to trade f

46、inance, an increasing number of startups are developing products and blockchain applications to provide for quicker,,x,CAN BLOCKCHAIN REVOLUTIONIZE INTERNATIONAL TRADE?,,easier and cheaper cross-border payments, putting

47、 pressure on well-established financial institutions to rethink the way they have been doing business.However, a complete overhaul of the financial landscape is unlikely. Ironically, the technology could serve to str

48、engthen those financial institutions that “Satoshi Nakamoto”, the pseudonymous founder or founders of Blockchain, wanted to make superfluous.Another area that could be significantly impacted by the use of blockchain

49、 technology is insurance. The automation of processes through the use of smart contracts could help reduce administrative procedures and costs, handle claims, and administer multinational insurance contracts. Of partic

50、ular interest for international trade are pilot projects being tested in the maritime insurance sector.Blockchain is also just starting to enter the e-commerce world. While the technology may not revolutionize e-comm

51、erce per se, it could give it a further boost and impact existing business models.If the initiatives underway prove conclusive, and technical and legal issues are solved, Blockchain could become the future “infrastru

52、cture” of the services industry. Because of its automation capabilities, thanks to the use of smart contracts, Blockchain could be to the services sector what robots have been to manufacturing. A significant shake-up

53、of relationships within a sector is, however, unlikely. Blockchain’s main impact will most likely be felt in terms of cost reductions.Blockchain could help administer intellectual property (IP) rights in a more effi

54、cient and transparent way, and help fight counterfeits.A rapidly growing ecosystem of companies is looking at how blockchain technology can be used to improve the administration and enforcement of IP rights across mu

55、ltiple jurisdictions. Blockchain applications in the IP field are numerous and could impact both the governance of IP rights and the IP industry itself. Blockchain for registered and unregistered rights could arguably

56、be used to provide proof of creation, existence, ownership and/or first use, to register IP rights, to facilitate the administration and management of IP rights on a global scale, thereby potentially contributing to t

57、he emergence of “global IP chains”, and to enforce IP rights and fight counterfeits in a more efficient way.While applications of blockchain technology could help to alleviate some of the challenges that rights-holde

58、rs face, the technology will not solve all issues. But one thing is certain: the disruptive nature of the technology, the multiplicity of potential,,EXECUTIVE SUMMARY,xi,applications emerging, and their practical and le

59、gal implications deserve the attention of regulators and legislators.Blockchain could enhance government procurement processes, but it is essential to weigh the costs and benefits carefully.Blockchain holds intere

60、sting promises to enhance government procurement processes, manage public contracts more efficiently, and fight fraud, but it remains to be seen whether current proofs of concept are conclusive and whether the use of

61、Blockchain can bring e-government procurement systems to a more secure and automated level at a cost that justifies the transition to a blockchain-based scheme.Beyond sectoral specific applications, Blockchain opens

62、multifaceted cross-cutting opportunities. Blockchain could help build trust and enhance the transparency of supply chains.Because it provides new ways to track the journey of products, Blockchain can be a powerful t

63、ool to promote transparency and traceability of supply chains, help fight counterfeits and build consumers’ trust. Numerous startups and well-established companies are developing blockchain applications to track the or

64、igin of products, prove their authenticity and quality, and assert ethical claims and fair trade practices. Following the various scandals that have shaken the food industry in recent years, major food and retail comp

65、anies are turning to Blockchain, not only to enhance transparency of the food supply chain, but also to enable them to track tainted products quickly and help restore trust in food quality. However, establishing a cre

66、dible link between offline and online events is essential – and can be costly. Indeed, information added to the blockchain is only as good as the offline verification process that guarantees that the relevant requireme

67、nts have been met offline.Blockchain has the potential to reduce a variety of trade costs substantially.By increasing transparency and making it possible to automate processes and payments, Blockchain has the pote

68、ntial to reduce trade costs significantly, including verification, networking, processing, coordination, transportation and logistics, as well as financial intermediation and exchange rate costs. Although it is difficu

69、lt to assess the extent to which the deployment of blockchain technology will affect trade costs, preliminary indications at hand tend to point to a notable impact. Cost reduction estimates in the financial sector and