IRU General Assembly adopts Resolution on Multilateralism in Trade, Tourism and International Road Transport Facilitation, calling upon governments to drop protectionist measures and acknowledge that promoting and further facilitating trade and road transport effectively expedites economic recovery.

Buenos Aires – The IRU General Assembly today adopted a Resolution on Multilateral Trade, Tourism and International Road Transport Facilitation, calling upon governments worldwide to acknowledge that actively promoting and facilitating international trade, travel and road transport is the most efficient way to expedite economic recovery.

IRU President, Janusz Lacny, stressed, “G20 Leaders’ call to put an end to protectionism and to facilitate trade, tourism and road transport at the London Summit in 2009 has fallen on deaf ears. Yet, the professional road transport industry, 95% of which are small and medium enterprises, considerably contributes to social and economic prosperity in all regions, including Latin America, thus ensuring the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals. It is therefore high time that governments promote and further facilitate this mode of transport crucial to us all!”

Indeed, the recent economic crisis has pushed many governments down the road of protectionist policies favouring unilateral or bilateral approaches when dealing with trade and transport issues. As a result, in developing countries, over 40% of transport time is lost at borders, which severely impedes international trade and tourism by road transport, obstructing to economic growth and recovery.

This IRU resolution therefore specifically calls on governments to:

·         end protectionist measures impeding international trade, travel and road transport, hence economic development;

·         implement a multilateral approach to facilitate the legitimate movement of people and goods across borders, and notably the key UN facilitation instruments;

·         promote and support multilateral agreements such as the international agreement on regular bus and coach lines; and

·         apply, step by step, multila

ress contact: Juliette Ebélé, +41 22 918 27 07, press@iru.org