The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) is a major public-private partnership led by the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom to support implementation of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement. GATF selected Vietnam for its first pilot program in Asia in order to address operational and legal issues and then scale up a program of trade facilitation initiatives. On August 16, Vietnam’s Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Finance to begin work on developing a customs bond system under this pilot program. So What? Implementing a customs bond system has the potential to dramatically reduce wait times for cargo clearances, thereby increasing trade volumes, government revenues, and economic growth.