e pluribus unum….SINGLE WINDOW!?!

Introduction (1 of 4)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working hand-in-hand with dozens of other U.S. Government Departments and independent agencies to build the long-awaited national “Single Window,” called the International Trade Data System (ITDS), by December 2016. The Single Window — a modern electronic trade processing system in which a single filing can meet the requirements of all U.S. Government agencies regulating trade — has the potential to transform border management for the United States, cut processing costs and time for products that cross our borders, and increase national economic competitiveness and security. The fact that as many as 47 agencies have developed distinct (and at times overlapping) requirements for exports and imports that impact the U.S. supply chain network is a top competitiveness and supply chain issue for U.S. businesses. Industry advisory committees to U.S. Government agencies have long cautioned that significant progress in trade facilitation and enforcement may be difficult to achieve without the reform and modernization now envisioned as part of the Single Window project.

And as a quick introduction for readers who may not live and breathe this issue, the U.S. “Single Window” is an information communication technology platform that will allow businesses to provide a single, simplified set of electronic data to fulfill regulatory and administrative requirements of multiple government agencies. This will replace the current heavy reliance on paper forms and manual processes. Public and private stakeholders alike will realize reduced cost, increased efficiencies, and faster processing of imports and exports once the Single Window is up and running. The benefits will grow even more as agencies work collaboratively amongst themselves and with businesses to untangle the complex web of intersecting operational processes that today can complicate moving goods across American borders.

The new digital capabilities to be delivered through the Single Window will transform government-to-business interactions and, importantly, will not simply automate current practices. DHS and other agencies will be moving away from managing documents and toward collecting and sharing discrete pieces of data that can be tagged and presented in myriad useful ways. We are moving away from a heavy reliance on distinct systems, standards, and operational processes and toward consistency in the way in which we create, use, and deliver information. We are focused on improving the user experience and want to allow businesses to submit and receive information in ways that make sense to them. And of course DHS and other federal partners are committed to providing a safe and secure digital environment to protect privacy and keep sensitive commercial information out of the wrong hands.

But building a Single Window system and modernizing current trade-related processes for an economy the size of the United States is a big undertaking and an immensely complex challenge. The effort requires close coordination among policy, legal, fiscal, and operational offices from scores of government agencies. It depends upon active and sustained engagement from an array of private- sector players, to include importers and exporters of all sizes, brokers, freight forwarders, software developers and more. And it must be informed by global standards, best practices and of course the experiences of foreign governments who have completed or are working to develop similar systems. In short, the effort involves a lot of stakeholders and a lot of moving parts.

As part of DHS’ continued commitment to transparency and collaboration, I’ll offer a series of 4 brief updates touching on work to-date, anticipated next steps, and challenges likely to be encountered as we build the Single Window. The goal of these mini updates is to promote awareness of this effort and, more importantly, encourage a continued private-public dialogue. Readers are encouraged to respond with comments or questions, post more detailed reactions to inform the ongoing effort, or work through available public-private forums or government advisory committees. I will collect all feedback and share it with the other government stakeholders engaged in this effort. Thanks in advance for your interest!

This series will cover the following topics:

• Introduction. This is it!
• Highlights of Executive Order 13659. This Executive Order established key deadlines and governance structures for the Single Window project and, perhaps most importantly, provided a firm foundation of political will and commitment. This update will review key objectives and schedules and highlight outstanding sticking points
• Single Window Development To-Date: 2014 Implementation. February 2015 will mark the one-year anniversary of the release of Executive Order 13659. This update will detail the work accomplished during this first year of implementation, to include an overview of the new governance structures put in place, efforts to simplify and strengthen enabling legal frameworks, and discussions on priority policy issues associated with moving toward an electronic, automated trade environment.
• Looking Forward: Implementation Priorities and Challenges for 2015. Executive Order 13659 establishes a deadline of December 2016 for completion and government-wide utilization of the Single Window. This update will speak to DHS’ priority objectives for the next two years as we work hand-in-hand with other agencies to finalize goals and create concrete performance metrics, test system capabilities and stakeholder interactions in operational pilots, and re-engineer inefficient processes.