Spain is paving the way for blockchain technology in the foreign trade sector with Latin America, through a digitalization and modernization plan with which it seeks to adapt to the new challenges and opportunities of the global economy.
This week, the association of professionals of the Air Cargo Community of Madrid MADCargo Forum, the Federation of National Associations of Freight Agents and International Logistics Operators in Latin America and the Caribbean (ALACAT) and the logistics company usyncro They presented an initiative based on blockchain technology to facilitate and expedite exports to Latin America.
This involves the creation of digital air corridors that will allow the optimization of the international commercialization process, reducing bureaucracy and saving a large part of the costs involved in foreign trade, thanks to the efficiency offered by blockchain technology.
Moisés Solís Flores, president of ALACAT, told The Economist that the creation of digital corridors based on blockchain boosts the competitiveness of Spanish airports in trade exchanges with Latin America.
This initiative marks a historic moment for Spain's foreign trade.
In general, Solís indicated that, thanks to the blockchain, it will be possible save 80% on paper and 60% on business transaction times, as well as improving the traceability and safety of these operations.
Blockchain improves competitiveness and transparency
Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger that allows information to be recorded in a decentralized, transparent and immutable way. This eliminates the need for intermediaries and simplifies the process of verifying and validating documents.
These characteristics and qualities of the blockchain are what organizations are taking advantage of to boost the competitiveness and innovation of Spanish companies in the Latin American market, one of the strategic destinations for exports from the European country.
Uruguay, Mexico, Peru and more
A pilot program to test blockchain-based digital corridors was implemented last year, involving the city of Madrid, the capital of Spain, and Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Later, other Latin American nations, such as Mexico and Peru, joined this pilot program and it is expected that other countries, such as Panama, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica, will also join, said Solís.
The objective of Foro MADCargo, ALACAT and Usyncro through this pilot plan is to promote international trade between Spain and Latin American countries through blockchain, while also showing part of the great potential that this technology has to transform various sectors and areas of society.
According to IDC Research Spain's forecasts, blockchain technology will generate an economic impact of more than 20.000 billion euros in Spain by 2030. Furthermore, its use is expected to expand significantly in the next two years, opening up new business, employment and social development opportunities.
The potential of blockchain in foreign trade
Blockchain technology has multiple applications in various sectors, including international trade. In this area, blockchain can facilitate and streamline logistics processes, reduce costs and risk, improve traceability and transparency, and increase trust between the parties involved.
Examples of projects that are using blockchain to improve logistics in international trade include TradeLens, a platform developed by IBM and Maersk that connects supply chain players globally; Voltron, an initiative led by HSBC and other banks seeking to digitize letters of credit; and Marco Polo, a blockchain-based trade finance network from R3, an enterprise-grade blockchain software company.
These projects are demonstrating that the implementation of blockchain technology in streamlining logistics in international trade is generating promising results.
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