USAID invests $7.9 million to ease South Asian customs processes

USAID invests $7.9 million to ease South Asian customs processes The U.S. Agency for International Development will invest $7.9 million to develop an automated program to significantly reduce the time it takes shipping documents to process through customs administrations in Southeast Asia.
   The system, which will be developed in partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will allow shippers, freight forwarders and transport operators to “avoid the current maze of clearances by using a single-source, data-entry process,” USAID said.
   “By consolidating the information used for licensing, inspections and customs clearances, the system will speed shipments of goods to, from and within Southeast Asia,” the agency added.
   USAID noted that the $7.9 million would cover a five-year system development plan.
   “Expected to be in operation by 2012, the new system will slash the time it takes to process paperwork from sometimes five days to just a few hours,” the agency said.