51吃瓜

The lack of territorial access to the sea and the dependency on transit countries for trade routes pose significant challenges to the sustainable development of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). The freedom of transit, enshrined in multiple international conventions and agreements—including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, and the Convention on Transit Trade of Landlocked States —is a fundamental right of LLDCs to facilitate cross-border movement of goods.

While freedom of transit is recognized in international conventions and agreements, its effective implementation can remain unfulfilled. This in turn hinders the effectiveness of trade facilitation efforts and worsens trade costs for LLDCs. Collaboration between LLDCs and transit countries, including through regional and global frameworks, is key to the effective achievement of freedom of transit.

On 24 December 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus the new Programme of Action for LLDCs for the Decade 2024 – 2034 (PoA). The PoA, which charters the course of sustainable development of 32 LLDCs in line with the 2030 Agenda, emphasizes the specific importance of the freedom of transit for LLDCs, in accordance with applicable rules of international law, as an essential condition for their connection to global and regional supply chains. The PoA requests the UN Secretary-General to establish a high-level panel of experts comprising Member States, relevant international organizations, the private sector, academia and independent experts, to examine the application of the existing international laws and agreements, identify constraints, and make recommendations on the freedom of transit for landlocked developing countries in accordance with applicable rules of international law.

From a practical point of view, existing transport documentation systems often impede LLDCs' transit trade efficiency. While maritime bills of lading serve as negotiable documents of title, facilitating trade finance and goods transfer, rail, road, and air consignment notes are typically non-negotiable. This limits the ability of LLDC traders to leverage goods in transit as collateral for financing, thereby increasing trade costs and risks.

The introduction of negotiable cargo documents (NCDs) under the new convention being developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) has the potential to address these challenges. By extending the concept of negotiable documents of title across all modes of transport—including multimodal and unimodal contexts—NCDs can provide LLDCs with a powerful tool to facilitate cross-border trade. NCDs could be accepted by banks and other financial institutions as a credit enhancement tool, thereby increasing liquidity for businesses – especially MSMEs – and accelerating trade flows. NCDs could also facilitate the sale of goods in transit, particularly relevant for commodity trade. Importantly, the new convention will promote the development of door-to-door transportation by enabling the use of a single NCD. While both paper and electronic NCD would simplify the documentation process and enhance operational efficiency, the electronic NCD would also support digital transformation of global trade. These innovations will allow LLDC traders to leverage goods in transit as collateral for trade finance while reducing transaction costs and enhancing the flexibility of cross-border trade. It is expected that the new convention will be finalized by UNCITRAL in July 2025 and adopted by the UN General Assembly in late 2025.

Documents

• Concept Note