CSCB TradeGate Service Now Available

April 2, 2003

2 April 2003

CSCB TradeGate Service Now Available

An electronic business service that meets United States and Canadian demands for increased border security, yet improves the flow of trade across the border, was announced today by the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB) and ViaSafe Inc. of Ottawa.

The service, named TradeGate, was developed by the CSCB and ViaSafe along with initial carrier and customs broker partners in a pilot project. Now it is available to the general trade/transportation community. TradeGate forwards carrier and customer data and documents, electronically, between carriers and customs brokers and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. It enables carriers and brokers to more cost-efficiently meet the demand for more comprehensive data, electronically provided, before shipments arrive at the Canada-United States border.

“TradeGate provides brokers with the required data and documents from carriers in electronic format, and enables them then to complete and submit their Customs declarations in advance, again electronically,” said Carol West, President of the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers, “This ensures that there are no costly delays in Customs’ clearance of goods and vehicles through border crossings.”

“Carriers and brokers win, the Customs service improves border security and its own efficiency, importers and exporters win with congestion reduced at our border crossings,” Ms. West said. “With the implementation of advance manifest requirements in the United States, and ACI (advance commercial information) here in Canada, I encourage all carriers to join this cross-industry initiative.”

"TradeGate is an unique combination of two key elements — a secure and accurate electronic transmission system connecting carriers, brokers and government agencies; and a continuously updated directory of those partners that automatically sends the right documents to the right participants in timely fashion,” said Oryst Dydynsky, President of ViaSafe’s International Trade Division.

“We have been working with the CSCB and its members for four years to provide secure and reliable connectivity for them with Canada Customs, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Statistics Canada,” Dydynsky said. “We have the relationships, the technology and the expertise to bring together a cooperative effort that supports border security and enhances trade flow.”

TradeGate takes vital trade documents of lading and commercial invoices received from carriers, often by fax, and routes them electronically from carrier to the proper broker for each shipment. Most carriers need to keep extensive and up-to-date files of broker and importer relationships, a system that can be very costly to maintain. From a carrier manifest today, it can sometimes be hard to tell who is the authorized broker. Lists soon become out of date. Carriers about 40% of the time fail to find the correct broker for a shipment on the first try. TradeGate takes away that time-wasting effort and the labor and time costs in converting paper to electronic copy, and the TradeGate Directory maintains and continuously updates the relationships between individual brokers/importers and carriers.

About the CSCB

The Canadian Society of Customs Brokers is one of the most authoritative, respected organizations in the Canadian trade and transportation industry. Members include the majority of customs brokers in Canada, and it has many associate members involved in trade, transportation and logistics. A key priority for the CSCB is to work with government and the private sector to develop innovative solutions to emerging challenges for the international trade community.

About ViaSafe

ViaSafe is a leading provider of secure electronic logistics services for global trade. The myViaSafetm services enable rapid, secure, accurate transactions by connecting importers, exporters, carriers, brokers, freight forwarders and government agencies or departments. ViaSafe, endorsed by the Canadian Communications Security Establ


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