Launch of the Central American Digital Trade Platform

The project is designed to strengthen and facilitate trade transactions between countries in the region. Through this platform, companies will be able to streamline customs processes, reduce logistics costs, and access markets.

The Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and the Central American Integration System (SICA) today launched the Central American Digital Trade Platform (PDCC), a tool that will streamline trade processes within and outside the region, facilitate paperwork and promote economic growth in Central American countries.

The project, which is being launched under the pro tempore presidency of SICA led by El Salvador, is designed to strengthen and facilitate trade transactions between Central American countries.

The Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayem, who holds the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Economic Integration Subsystem and the Council of Ministers of Economic Integration (Comieco), explained that the digital platform will provide a unified space for companies in the region to explore new business opportunities, simplify their operations and promote cross-border collaboration.

She also noted that the PDCC will facilitate interoperability between the regional node that manages SIECA, the national systems of the Foreign Trade Single Windows, Customs, Migration, and the Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock.

“The implementation of the PDCC will serve as a centralized point for conducting trade transactions, eliminating bureaucratic barriers, and facilitating the exchange of goods and services among the countries of the region. Through this platform, companies will be able to streamline customs processes, reduce logistics costs, and access markets more efficiently,” she said.

“We have become the first region in the world to make available a digital platform like the one we are launching today [yesterday],” he added.

On the other hand, he detailed that the initiative is made up of 71 functionalities, which have been adopted by the countries of the region according to their needs and national reality.

The development of the platform represents an investment of 9 million Euros by the European Union (EU), funds that were administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). In addition, SIECA was in charge of the execution of the program.

In this context, the EU ambassador in El Salvador, François Roudié, and representative to SICA indicated that the CCDP will improve the efficiency of trade processes and competitiveness.

“With the trade platform, operators will find everything in the same place. It is a project with great potential to increase exports and imports,” she said.

Likewise, Francisco Mena, secretary general of SIECA, assured that the project will benefit more than 9,000 importing companies and more than 4,000 exporting companies with the reduction of time.

“This is a unique platform of its kind. It responds to the efforts of Central American countries to promote trade facilitation. It is a support mechanism for streamlining procedures through the exchange of information and mutual recognition,” she said.

Source: Diario El Salvador.