
Today (5th November) James Murray, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, released a statement announcing the decision to temporarily halt the creation of the Single Trade Window, a centralised digital platform intended to streamline data submission for cross-border trade.
The short statement read:
“The government is considering its future plans for the border and how best to meet the needs of its users. In the context of financial challenges, the government is pausing delivery of the UK Single Trade Window in 2025/26.
As part of its efforts to support businesses trading across the UK border, the government will consider the role of the Single Trade Window and will provide an update as part of the next phase of the Spending Review, reporting in late Spring 2025.”
What is the Single Trade Window?
A Single Trade Window simplifies trade by allowing businesses to submit standardised information for imports, exports, and transit in one place. This information could then be accessed by various bodies (such as the Border Force and HMRC) which would subsequently reduce the need for information to be duplicated, and provided on more than one occasion, to satisfy various bodies and organisations.
Originally part of the 2025 Border Strategy, the UK’s STW was designed to make trade processes more efficient, especially after Brexit. The first phase, which included a system for EU import safety declarations, was initially set for 2024 but has been postponed.
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