In the UN¡¯s recent ¡°Shared responsibility, global solidarity: responding to socio-economic effect of COVID-19¡±, Secretary General Ant¨®nio Guterres stressed the vital contribution of TIR and digital solutions to global trade particularly in the time of COVID-19.
A key trade facilitation tool during COVID-19
Managed by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½under UN mandate, TIR is the only global transit solution. With 76 Contracting Parties around the world, TIR enables goods to be shipped from a country of origin, through transit countries, to a country of destination via a multilateral, mutually recognised system.
As a response to the present COVID-19 crisis, the UN Secretary General stated that: ¡°Innovative tools such as UN eTIR/eCMR systems and other tools that allow to exchange electronic information without physical contact and facilitate the flow of goods across borders should be used¡±.
This is a direct response to IRU¡¯s letter to Mr Guterres, in which Secretary General Umberto de Pretto asked the UN Secretary General to encourage Member States ¡°to use the UN TIR Convention and related IT tools, which allows for transport in a secure load compartment carried out under customs control, and, therefore, does not required physical checks and therefore reduces contact between people at the border¡±.
TIR¡¯s benefits
By using the TIR system during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities and companies are able to:
- Protect drivers and customs officers as there are no physical checks or unloading/loading of cargo at borders
- Accelerate the border crossing process via dedicated green lanes to allow the fast transport of essential goods and everyday supplies
- Have access to paperless solutions through eTIR that offers tracking of shipments at all times, thus reducing the risk of fraud
- Benefit from IRU¡¯s global reach via its unique network of members to promptly address any TIR issues
- Enjoy financial guarantees thanks to the international global TIR guarantee chain that provides up to EUR 100,000 per operation to customs authorities