With queues reaching 70km, a solution to the Brenner pass bottleneck continues to escape EU governments and authorities. Discussions may no longer be enough; the EU Commission should open its legal toolbox.

TIR was officially launched in China in May 2018, strengthening the country's trade links with Central Asia and Europe. Five years later, TIR now connects China with over 30 countries across Eurasia.

Hundreds of delegates from over 40 countries gathered in Turkmenistan recently to discuss challenges and opportunities in cross-border transport and logistics.

IRU member CEVA Logistics has activated a new TIR route along the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan corridor.

IRU's Liaison Committee to Eurasia (CLEA) brought together members from across the region to discuss the latest trends, challenges and opportunities facing transport and logistics.

Free zones offer a unique opportunity to strengthen government-business collaboration and help mitigate trade security and road safety risks.

Government and business in Central Asia can work together to streamline border crossings and better manage growing trade flows with tried-and-tested UN instruments and digitalisation.

The Republic of Iraq, at the crossroads of several trade routes in the Middle East, has become the 78th country to accede to the United Nations TIR Convention. Iraq’s accession to the TIR Convention anchors its strategic role as a transit hub and further supports the country’s economic vision in expanding its non-oil sectors.

Huawei Group is now benefiting from faster, safer and more efficient road transport connectivity in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) with the TIR system. To effectively meet growing customer demand, notably for e-commerce, Huawei has turned to TIR to better serve its consumers in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC region.

IRU’s Secretary General has outlined solutions to key challenges facing the road transport sector at the global road transport trade union conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Starting with the Covid-19 pandemic, several crises have struck the road transport industry in recent years, leading to supply chain instabilities and exacerbating other long-standing challenges, such as excessive border queues.

The resumption of TIR in China gains pace, with Erenhot, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border, having seen its first TIR truck in the post-pandemic era. For the first time since the reopening of China’s borders, TIR trucks have transited through the Zamyn-Uud-Erenhot border crossing, entering China from Mongolia.

Following the reopening of China’s borders, the first ever complete TIR movement by a Chinese company was conducted successfully. A Chinese TIR truck departed from Zhengzhou, the logistics and manufacturing hub in Central China's Henan province, and successfully arrived at its destination, marking the first door-to-door TIR operation by a Chinese operator.

Pakistani operator National Logistics Cell (NLC) has delivered essential relief items to people impacted by the devastating earthquake in Türkiye. A caravan of 21 trucks operated by NLC, a TIR carrier in Pakistan, transported humanitarian aid – including tents, blankets and other basic aid supplies – to Türkiye.

On the sidelines of the UN’s 85th Inland Transport Committee (ITC) session last week, IRU’s Secretary General and Iraq’s Minister of Transport discussed the country’s highly anticipated accession to the TIR system. The Republic of Iraq, with the support of its Ministry of Transport, has completed all national requirements to join TIR, laying the ground for the final official accession step with the UN.

The first TIR movements have taken place as China has lifted its Covid-19 measures and gradually resumed normal operations for international goods movements. Five Kyrgyz TIR trucks carrying e-commerce goods departed from China’s inland city of Kashgar, marking the first TIR movement since the country lifted its Covid-19 restrictions.

IRU recently met with Turkmen officials to discuss new measures that would further strengthen the security of goods transport. The road transport industry has warmly welcomed the reopening of Turkmenistan’s borders to international transport and transit. Turkmenistan, which sits in the middle of north-south and east-west connectivity, is looking to introduce additional measures to bolster the security and transparency of transit operations.

IRU members in Türkiye are spearheading the road transport sector’s response to support emergency rescue efforts in areas devastated by Monday’s tragic earthquake. The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and the Turkish International Transporters’ Association (UND) are working night and day to coordinate road transport support to emergency rescue efforts in devastated regions in the east of the country.

The Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), together with the UN and IRU, has led a workshop on e-CMR, as more countries from the region join the protocol. A recent workshop organised by OTS, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and IRU sought to raise awareness on e-CMR among public and private actors. The participants were also informed of the ongoing discussions at the UNECE’s GE.22, the Group of Experts on the Operationalisation of e-CMR.

In a keynote speech in Riyadh, IRU’s Secretary General has highlighted the importance of transit and trade facilitation in driving Saudi Arabia’s economic development.

IRU is concerned about the announced changes to the UK government’s Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme for road hauliers, which will enter into force on 13 February 2023, and the potential impact it could have on UK-Europe supply chains.

The war in Ukraine has shifted surrounding transport routes. Member states of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) are now playing an even bigger role in the region. Investment in both hard and soft solutions are needed to keep up with increasing traffic at already congested border crossings.

During a visit to CFL multimodal in Luxembourg, road and rail representatives focused on Europe’s need for more multimodal freight terminals and how to better foster cooperation between the two modes of transport.

IRU and its member associations from Ukraine and seven neighbouring countries have called on the European Commission to prioritise TIR trucks to ease lengthy border queues and boost goods transport flows between Ukraine and the EU.

IRU has urged Asian transport ministers at UN Committee on Transport meeting in Bangkok to implement global UN trade facilitation and security tools.

Decarbonisation and digitalisation were on the agenda as the heads of IRU and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) met this week in Bangkok, Thailand.

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.

EU road social partners IRU and ETF consider the ongoing revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation to be vital for the EU’s transport system, particularly for the road sector. Member states agreeing to pragmatic and timely solutions will be key. 

IRU and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) have held high-level talks to deepen cooperation and promote trade facilitation in China and beyond.

IRU’s 2022 North American Transportation Forum (NATF) Leadership Dialogue has brought together senior executives from road transportation companies from Canada, Mexico and the US.

IRU has brought together regulators and industry leaders to exchange ideas, challenges and examples of implementing and advancing e-CMR solutions.

IRU has highlighted the important role that investing in human capital and professionalisation plays in improving transport at Saudi conference on supply chains.

In light of Iran’s growing role in regional trade, IRU and Iran’s private and public sectors held high-level talks this week on avenues for further expansion.

FedEx Express has successfully concluded its first TIR operation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

African states are taking the necessary steps needed to improve regional trade, but more obstacles remain ahead. IRU and regional actors discussed proven UN solutions to transport and trade challenges facing the continent.