With the adoption of a new modernised global goods transport document agreement supported by the United Nations, global goods transport is set to become cheaper, faster and more flexible. The United Nations Convention on the Transferable Documents of Goods has, for the first time, established a single transport document applicable to rail, road, sea and air transport, allowing for logistical changes to goods already en route. This means that high-value goods can be resold, rerouted or used as collateral for finance during their long journey, no longer limited to operations before shipping.

    Anna Joubin-Brett, Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, who led three years of negotiations, stated: "This is disruptive for international trade. This single transport document has three main features: multimodal transport, full electronic format, and transferability."

From Brazil to Paraguay, via Azerbaijan

    Currently transferable transport documents are mainly applicable to maritime cargo, which often covers voyages lasting several weeks. Commodities such as oil and cocoa frequently change hands multiple times during the voyage due to price fluctuations. In contrast, cargo transported by road, rail, or air is usually designated for a single consignee and destination, resulting in limited flexibility and difficulty in obtaining financial instruments.

    James Hookham, Director of the Global Shipowners Forum, illustrated with an example: Suppose a supplier in Brazil ships a batch of goods to its subsidiary in Paraguay. Market conditions can change rapidly, and during several days of transportation, buyers in other regions may be willing to pay a higher price. Under the new system, these goods could be resold en route to buyers in places like Azerbaijan, allowing the shipping destination to be dynamically changed. It is like crossing out the address on a mailed letter. Goods originally destined for Paraguay could now be flown to Istanbul, Turkey, and then transferred by train to Azerbaijan — operations that are not feasible under the current restrictions.

Broad benefits

    With the opening of new trade corridors in Central Asia, Central Europe, and Africa (often including inland countries), such flexibility is becoming crucial. Hookham added that the new convention "prevents perishable goods from being discarded". He noted that sources of disruption in international trade continue to increase. Recent tariff turbulence, sudden extreme weather events (such as Hurricane Melissa recently disrupting Caribbean trade routes), and hijacking incidents in the Red Sea have all had negative impacts. The convention aims to reduce risks for banks and carriers by clarifying the ownership of goods at any given time. Hookham said that this legal certainty will encourage banks to be more willing to finance transactions and help carriers avoid disputes arising from delivering goods to the wrong party. Hookham stated: "If option A does not work or is too costly, this is the alternative choice."

The first signatory?

    This convention is particularly important for landlocked and developing countries, and will help them further integrate into the global trading system and reduce costs.African and Central Asian countries have shown strong interest in this, and major trading countries, including China, are actively participating—the process that China initiated at the United Nations in 2019 ultimately led to this week's breakthrough. Zhu Bin-Brett emphasised that this negotiation process, which involved extensive consultations, is a model of "effective multilateralism".The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution supporting the convention on 15 December. The signing ceremony is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2026 in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The convention will enter into force officially after ratification procedures are completed by ten countries.

This article is reprinted from the United Nations News, original link: 联合国货物运输协议加速全球贸易进程 | | 1联合国新闻 (un.org)