As trade digitalisation gains ground in Asia, IRU has discussed the benefits of harmonised digital trade instruments with private and public representatives from Asia and Europe.
For goods to move smoothly, countries need to implement harmonised solutions. Dedicated green lanes, coupled with tried-and-tested digital transit instruments, can significantly improve the flow and security of goods.
Tatiana Rey-Bellet, IRU’s Director of TIR and Transit, speaking at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), stressed the importance of using harmonised approaches, “We all want to improve connectivity between countries and regions to help goods flow seamlessly and securely.
“The private and public sectors need to fully mobilise international harmonised instruments, such as eTIR and e-CMR, to ensure the security and transparency of transit movements.
“Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have been leading the way in digitalising trade and transit, showing concrete progress in making TIR digital. The benefits became quickly apparent to them: digitalisation makes transit faster, more efficient and more secure.”
“We look forward to continuing working with public authorities and the private sector to implement TIR and improve regional connectivity,” she added.
The ASEM seminar, organised by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, brought together customs authorities, international organisations and the business sector from Asia and Europe.
ASEM brings together 53 partners from across Europe and Asia, representing around 65% of global GDP, 60% of global population, 75% of global tourism and 68% of global trade.
TIR digitalisation
The adoption of Annex 11 to the TIR Convention back in 2021 opened a new era of TIR digitalisation. Originally designed as a paper-based solution, the TIR system now offers fully digital capacities, making international freight transits even faster, more efficient and more secure.
A number of TIR IT tools are available, allowing transport operators, IRU and national associations to exchange data in real-time with customs, provide cargo information in advance, and track processes related to TIR, such as the guarantee and claims procedure status.