A. General Information
1. Title
Ephyto exchange between Morocco and the USA
3. Implementation period of the project/service:
5. Geographical coverage
Bilateral: Morocco and the USA
6. Participating agencies/entities of the project/service:
a. Development stage
Lead agencies/entities
Morocco’s Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des produitsAlimentaires (ONSSA) , the United States’ Department of Agriculture (USDA) , IPPC
Other participating agencies/entities
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b. Operational stage
Lead agencies/entities (op)
Morocco’s Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des produitsAlimentaires (ONSSA) , the United States’ Department of Agriculture (USDA) , IPPC
Other participating agencies/entities (op)
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7. Main stakeholders/beneficiaries of the project
Traders (big enterprises)
Traders (SMEs)
Customs brokers
Customs
8. Business process category of the project
Regulatory/official control
B. Lessons Learned
9. Summary description of the project/service
a. Objective(s)
Morocco became the first African country introducing electronic phytosanitary certificates and integrating ePhyto within their national trade system. The international electronic exchange of e-phytos was launched on 26 March,2020. Under the new electronic system, certificates ca be transferred via the e-phyto hub under the initiative led by the Commission of Phytosanitary Measures (CPM).The HUB is a centralized system to facilitate exchange of ePhytos between NPPOs with a set of prescribed rules of connection and defined structure/codes/terms for the XML message. For a country to participate in the Hub it is mandatory to have the capacity to produce electronic phytosanitary certificates.
b. Business need for the project (background)
To become faster and more cost effective for importers and exporters considering also the fact that digitization operations are becoming more and more important.
c. Business process covered*
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d. Overall architecture and functionalities*
Use of the Hub is voluntary
The Hub is a single, multilateral system
The Hub will be available 24/7 (secure and monitored)
No information (messages, transactions) should be lost
There is a single exchange protocol
The IPPC determines the version of UN/CEFACT schema
Participating countries will require a National System to exchange ePhyto through the Hub
e. Relevant document/figure
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10. Documents and data exchanged via the project
Electronic phytosanitary certificates
11. Data models/databases, proprietary solutions, hybrid approaches
Please follow the link: https://www.ephytoexchange.org/landing/hub/index.html
12. Main challenges faced during the project
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13. Lessons learned from the project
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14. Main benefit(s) of the project
Enhanced regulatory compliance*
Transaction Cost savings*
Transaction Time savings
Simplified process
14A. Elaborations/detailed description on benefits gained
Reduction of the risks to loss or damage, fraud
Facilitation to cut delays for traders
Cutting costs for traders
Reduction of administrative burden on border agencies
15. Technical/financial/capacity building/other assistance
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16. Future plan for expansion of the project
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17. Other information or relevant references on the project
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18. Relevant document regarding the project
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C. Relevant Standards
19. Name(s) of any international, national legal instrument underpinning the project
International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures
20. Electronic message standard
20A. Electronic message standard supporting the project
20B. Type of standard for electronic message applied for the project
21. Technical communication standard
21A. Technical communication standard supporting the project
Exchange protocol is Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) over HTTPS
21B. Type of technical communication standard applied for the project
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22. Security-related standards*
22A. Security-related standard supporting the project
Digital signatures
https://www.ephytoexchange.org/landing/assets/docs/IPPC%20ePhyto%20Digital%20Signature%20-%20WP.pdf
22B. Type of security-related standard applied for the project
23. Other Technical Information
23A. Interface developed for data exchange with an internal system
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23B. Other technical implementation information
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