A digital divide threatens the global trade regime. And it is not narrowing - it is rapidly becoming an unbridgeable chasm. Nor is this a problem merely for developing countries: the headlong trend toward dematerialisation of trade documents in the developed world will grind to a halt unless all trading countries without exception possess the legal and operational ability to participate in paperless trade. This work not only describes the obstacles to universal support for paperless trade, but also provides solutions that can be implemented if stakeholders make the collective effort to achieve this goal.