With the aim to support trade and transit flows during the pandemic, UNECE and IRU issued a series of recommendations for border crossing operations, drawing on the benefits offered by tried and tested UN Conventions.
Now more than ever, the global economy relies on safe, secure and efficient border crossing, therefore UNECE and IRU recommend to:
- Use TIR, particularly eTIR, to ensure seamless and paperless border crossing
- Implement measures in a coordinated and harmonised way by:
- cross border customs cooperation as well as cooperation with other national border agencies
- collectively preventing discriminatory measures
- Establish green lanes for goods transport to minimise waiting times at the border
TIR - a vital instrument for relaunching trade
Managed by IRU, TIR is the only global transit solution, with 76 Contracting Parties around the world. With several countries now having passed the peak of their coronavirus outbreaks and seeking to resume certain sectors of the economy, TIR presents the best means of supporting the post COVID-19 recovery phase. It enables continuous cargo flows from a country of origin, through transit countries, to a country of destination with no cargo handling en route.
TIR cuts transport times by nearly 60% and costs by up to 40%. These advantages can be put to good use to resume trade flows safely and securely, and support global, regional and national efforts to restart the economy as quickly as possible.
“A global crisis such as COVID-19 requires global action. TIR offers just that kind of global response,” commented IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto. “The TIR system provides the best solution to ensuring safe and secure trade flows during and post COVID-19.”