TIR in Trade Facilitation for the Region Max EE (BBA Hons, GDipSA, MSc Logistics) Senior Transport Specialist USAID trade project August,

Personal Profile Max Ee Singapore Senior Transport Specialist, USAID trade project Ten years of working and operational experience in the private sector, working in third-party logistics (3PL) Ten years of consulting experience for public and private sectors. Started work for Asian Development Bank since Worked in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, PRC (Xinjiang), Uzbekistan. Focused on transport and trade facilitation project Course Convener in Singapore Logistics Association, Director for ASEAN-China Chamber of Commerce 2

Agenda 1Regional Transit Corridors 2Regional Trade Flows 3TIR in Connecting Central and South Asia 4Road-Map for Implementation 3

Regional Transit Corridors 4

Transit Routes in Afghanistan 5 Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (845 km) Ayratan-Hairatan-Mazari Sharif- Pol e homri-Kabul-Jalalabad- Torkham-Peshawar Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (740 km) Nizhni Panj-Shirkhan Bandar-Kundoz- Pol e homri-Kabul-Jalalabad- Torkham-Peshawar

Transit Routes in Pakistan 6 India-Pakistan-Afghanistan (AH-1, 520 km) Wagah-Lahore-Peshawar- Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan-Central Asia (AH-2 and AH-14 1,431 km) Karachi-Sukkur-DI Khan- Peshawar-Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan (AH km) Karachi-Khuzdar-Quetta- Chaman-Spin Buldak

Trade Flows 7 MachineriesIndustrial Materials Fruits Cement Cotton Scrap Iron CAREC Corridor 5 Transit Corridors with Heavy Traffic Urumqi – Dushanbe Shirkhan Bandar – Torkham Hairatan – Torkham

Pakistan’s Potential in the Region 8 Central Asia Land-locked region Energy-Rich Complicated Border Crossing Middle East Energy-Surplus Region Capital Surplus U.A.E. just acceded to TIR East Asia Economically Vibrant Huge Demand for Energy and Resources Large Demographics South Asia Favourable Demogrpahics Access to seaports

Connecting Central and South Asia : Global View 9

Connecting Central and South Asia : Key Questions 10 1.Central Asian Countries are land-locked and do not access to seaports. 2.Why is Central Asia not using South Asia to access seaports? 3.What Pakistan need to provide, invest and improve to attract more transit trade?

Connecting Central and South Asia : TIR’s Role This transit corridor is the shortest path for Central Asia to access seaports. 2. Only land transport is feasible for this route. 3. Rail transport in Pakistan serves mainly passengers. Commercial and non- commercial cargoes move by roads. 4. Using trucks, TIR can facilitate a more efficient and faster way of moving goods in either direction.

Annual TIR Carnets in Use (Central Asia) 12 Countries Iran48,00058,00054,00078,00085,000105,000 Kazakhstan32,15031,00030,05024,50019,00025,000 Kyrgyz Republic17,06015,05014,05020,70017,10022,200 Tajikistan ,5002,9503,500 Turkmenistan1,0002,0003,2004,7006,0007,500 Uzbekistan5,0006,5009,00014,10017,5007,500 Source : IRU Observations In most countries, the use of TIR is increasing rapidly, shown by the increased number of TIR Carnets in use. This is especially so for Afghanistan’s neighbours such as Iran, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The successful re-activation of TIR in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a Contracting Party will create a new TIR Corridor linking Central and South Asia.

Challenges of TIR Re-Activation in Afghansitan 13 Implementation Challenges AssociationCompanies CustomsDrivers Very limited number of TIR Carnet Holder(s) Not ATI Officers at border unsure about the documentation Risk of abandoning cargoes in foreign countries Banks Only three banks offer cargo insurance Not conversant with English, French, Russian Visa Restrictions Need financing to invest in new secure trucks Unfamiliar with costing for international shipments Poor knowledge of geography, border crossing and routes Weak route planning for international shipments Rudimentary understanding of TIR Factors highlight in blue and italic can be partially or fully addressed through capacity building

Implementation Action 1 : International Agreements 14 CountriesCMRTIR Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic1998 Tajikistan2002 Turkmenistan1996 Uzbekistan1995 Year of Accession to CMR and TIR Source : United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) ( CMR is the Convention for the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Road. It deals with the various legal issues in road transport. What is especially lacking in Afghanistan is the absence on the carrier liability issues. If goods are lost or damaged in transit, the carrier has no insurance coverage and the consignee or consignor have little recourse. Accession to the CMR Convention is useful for Afghan transport operators in international transit. Note that many Central Asian countries acceded to both CMR and TIR in the same year. There is a good reason for this. Both Conventions are complementary.

Implementation Action 2 : National Legislation 15 Revision to the Transport Laws Mandatory for international transport operators to have TIR Compliant trucks Revision to the Customs Code Recognize mutual customs control Third-Party Carrier Liability Develop and incentivise the underwriting of carrier liability insurance Green Lanes for TIR Permit faster movement of trucks

Implementation Action 3 : Trucks Specifications 16

Implementation Action 4 : Capacity Building 17 TIR User Guide Secure Vehicle and Container Sheeted Vehicles and Trailers Siders Containers, Tankers and Small Vehicles Approval Certificate and TIR Plate International Guarantee Chain Contractual Mechanisms in TIR System Dealing with Claims Mutual Acceptance of Customs Controls TIR Transport Customs Procedures Termination and Discharge of TIR Operation TIR Carnet The TIR Carnet Using the TIR Carnet (Association) Using the TIR Carnet (Holder) Using the TIR Carnet (Customs) Using the Certified Report Form Opening a TIR Carnet Dealing with Problems En- Route Returning a TIR Carnet Controlled Access Admission to the TIR System General Admin Procedures for Holders Suspension and Exclusion SafeTIR SafeTIR and CUTE-WISE Anti-Fraud Actions (Association) Anti-Fraud Measures (Holder) Anti-Fraud Measures (Customs) Overview Administrative Structure Train the Trainers Framework

Implementation Action 5 : Optimize the Admission Process 18

Contacts 19 Max Ee Thank You! Contact : (Afghanistan) Skype : maxkkee