The United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents creates, for the first time, a single document that can be used for trains, trucks and planes, allowing logistical changes to be made to goods already in motion.
This means that valuable goods can be sold, re-routed or used to obtain financing during what could be a long journey, not just before being loaded on board.
“This is a real game changer for international trade“, said Anna Joubin-Bret, secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), who led the negotiations for three years. “A single multimodal transport document, fully electronic and negotiable. »
From Brazil to Paraguay, via Azerbaijan
Today, negotiable transport documents exist primarily for goods traveling by sea, where journeys can take weeks. Goods such as oil or cocoa are often sold multiple times by sea depending on price fluctuations.
In contrast, goods transported by road, rail or air are generally intended for a single buyer and a single destination, limiting flexibility and access to financial instruments.
James Hookham, director of the Global Shippers Forum, described a hypothetical shipment of goods traveling from a supplier in Brazil to a subsidiary in Paraguay.
A container ship docks in Vietnam.
“Market conditions are changing,” Mr Hookham said. “While the goods are on their way, which may take several days, you may find a buyer willing to pay a better price elsewhere.”
Under the new system, he explained, these goods could be sold halfway to a buyer, for example in Azerbaijan, changing destinations along the way.
“It’s almost like crossing out the address on an envelope after it has already been mailed.”
Goods destined for Paraguay by boat could be flown to Istanbul, Turkey, then put on a train to Azerbaijan – something not possible under current restrictions.
Extensive benefits
This type of flexibility is becoming essential as new trade corridors open across Central Asia, between China and Europe and throughout Africa – often including routes serving landlocked countries.
The new convention »allows you not to just abandon the goods because they are sold before the expiration date“, he said, adding that the sources of disruption to international trade continue to multiply.
Mr Hookham highlighted the negative impact of recent tariff disruptions and unexpected extreme weather events – such as the recent disruption of trade routes in the Caribbean caused by Hurricane Melissa – and seizures of goods in the Red Sea.
If plan A doesn’t work for you or if it costs you a lot of money, here is the alternative.
The convention aims to reduce risks for banks and carriers by providing clear legal rules indicating at all times who owns the goods.
This legal certainty, Mr. Hookham said, makes banks more likely to finance transactions and helps carriers avoid disputes over delivering goods to the wrong party.
“If plan A doesn’t work for you, or if it costs you a lot of money, here’s the alternative,” Mr. Hookham said.
A locomotive freight train crosses the Absirom Bridge on the Trans-Iranian Railway in Iran.
First to register?
The convention will be particularly important for developing and landlocked countries, helping them to further integrate into the global trading system and reduce their costs.
Interest has already been expressed by countries in Africa and Central Asia, as well as major trading nations, including China, which started the process that led to this week’s breakthrough, at the UN in 2019.
The negotiation process, which included broad consultations, is an example of “effective multilateralism,” stressed Ms. Joubin-Bret.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution supporting the convention on December 15. A signing ceremony is planned for the second half of 2026 in Accra, Ghana.
The treaty will enter into force once ten countries have ratified it.
———-
First published in this link of The European Times.
