Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA) is a type of legislation that is enacted in the UK jurisdictions, giving electronic trade documents the same legal standing as their paper counterparts. It facilitates paperless trade.
Enforced in September 2023, the ETDA is based largely on a draft bill published by the UK Law Commission in March 2022 and is intended to address shortcomings in how electronic trade documents are treated under English law.
The purpose of the ETDA is to enable businesses to lower expenses and accelerate transaction times, which is expected to boost trade and give easier access to trade finance.
The ETDA covers trade documents where possession is required for a person to claim performance of an obligation.
Examples of electronic trade documents include bills of lading, promissory notes, bills of exchange, marine insurance policies, warehouse receipts, mates’ receipts, cargo insurance certificates, and ship’s delivery orders.
For an electronic document to be considered an electronic trade document under the ETDA, the system on which it operates must be sufficiently reliable.
The reliable system must ensure that the electronic trade document contains:
- the same information as its paper equivalent,
- is distinguishable from any copies,
- is protected against unauthorised alteration,
- is access-restricted to ensure that only one person can exercise control over it at any one time,
- is sufficiently accessible,
- is fully divested on transfer.
In 2024, the ICC DSI created a framework that assess the reliability of digital services or networks and allows businesses to use electronic trade records (ETRs) instead of paper documents. It helps check whether a platform can transfer these records in a way that meets the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) standards for reliability.
And the same year, trace:original became the first digital trade solution to successfully complete the ICC DSI Digital Trade Reliability Assessment. Read more about it here.