Reopening the Silk Road to trade by road transport Would Road transport be able to redesign distribution models between Asia and Europe? Shanghai, 11 March 2015 Marek Retelski TIR and Head Trade Facilitation

2 This is the IRU

3 Evolution of IRU Membership 1948: 8 Founding Member Countries2015: present in over 100 countries

4 This is the IRU Uphold the interests of bus, coach, taxi and truck operators to ensure economic growth and prosperity via the sustainable mobility of people and goods by road worldwide. Mission UN Mandate Managed by the IRU since 1949

5 Based on TIR Convention of 1975, signed by 68 contracting parties Access to 58 TIR operational countries Low cost, high value guarantee Intermodality Security in the supply chain Reduced delays and costs for the international transit of goods Trade facilitation: goods move across international borders with minimum interference Encouragement of international trade Economic benefits for individuals and nations What is the TIR System?

6 TIR Expansion September 2013 – Afghanistan is open for TIR January 2015 – China officially started the TIR accession process April 2014 – UAE Customs signed guarantee agreement Interest in TIR also expressed by Argentina, Brazil, Iraq, KSA and various African countries April 2014 – Pakistan officially confirmed forthcoming accession to TIR

7 China General Information 1.36 billion people 34 administrative regions 56 ethnic groups GDP $ 10 trillion Per capita $7, nd in the world ** Close to Belarus, Bulgaria, SA, Iraq Trade volume $ 4.16 trillion EU, US, HK, TW, JP, AU

8 Glance of China’s Freight Transport 2013 Freight Volume: 31 billion tons Freight Ton-Km: 5,573.8 billion

9 The new Silk Roads call for Intermodality

10  A truck is always at the beginning or at the end of each transport - whether we want it or not !  From the factory to the port …  From the airport to the distribution center …  From the rail terminal to the port … Flexibility and connectivity between modes is needed more than ever

11 The Road Transport Sector Approach  Door-to-door  Flexible  Intermodal  Streamlined procedures including green lanes at BCP  Electronic data exchange B2C, C2C and dematerialisation  Efficient transport and transit corridors

12 Electronic TIR data exchange  54 Countries:IRU connected with Customs systems who share TIR transport termination data which is available to all Customs  31 Countries:IRU connected with Customs systems to send advance cargo information according to national requirements

13 Green Lanes at Border Crossing Points

14 First pilot corridor Iran – Turkey agreed Technical amendments to IRU IT systems Based on existing message exchanges (e.g. NCTS) to minimize impact on Customs systems First pilot transport operations in 2015 Other countries also interested: IRU ready to consider additional pilot projects to show that paperless operations are already possible today Carnet Dematerialisation Underway

15 TIR as a best practice for intermodal transport facilitation in Latin American Countries Cooperation with OAS and CIP Best practices in intermodal maritime and road transport TIR as an example of best practice Case Study focused on Argentina, Brazil, Mexico

16 Findings of OE and OAS report TIR could boost exports for a total of $9 billion per annum In Argentina and Brazil most of the boost occurs through intermodal trade, while in Mexico’s case - road transportation TIR by simplifying and harmonizing formalities could cut border waiting times between LAC by 50% Port Customs clearance and technical control takes on average 2 days in Argentina, 3 days in Brazil and 2 days in Mexico compared to only 1 day in major EU countries using the TIR System

17 The NELTI initiative  Northern Route: 10 – 16 days (between 6000 km and 7700 km)  Central Route: 13 – 18 days (between 5300 km and 6000 km)  Southern Route: 8 – 17 days (between 4500 km – 6200 km)

18 The Lisbon-Vladivostok CaravanThe Beijing-Berlin-Brussels Caravan IRU-ECO Silk Road Truck Caravan Results of IRU Caravans Clearly in Favour of TIR Black Sea Highway Caravan

19 Together for better global transport Flexible approach