Watr, a Web3 startup led by former executives from Shell and J.P. Morgan, has developed a blockchain platform that aspires to automate tariff tracking for goods. The platform already supports major corporations like JP Morgan and Citibank. By leveraging data from satellite imagery and other sources, CEO Maryam Ayati points out that commodities can be verified for tariff obligations before the transaction occurs, addressing issues of misreported shipment destinations that some traders exploit to bypass tariffs. Watr reportedly has substantial financial backing from prominent investors.
"Some non-western governments we've spoken to say that Western-country commodities traders sometimes claim that a commodity they've bought will be going to, for example, Europe, but then it's sent to, for example, an Asian market... With our system, the minute tariffs are due, even before money changes hands, the commodity can be checked for whether a tariff is due or not."
"We will also soon be able to augment reported data with machine-sourced data from the myriad of satellites, sensors and open source repositories out there watching to see where commodities have come from..."
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