Multimodal corridors, eFBL and TIR: an opportunity for Vietnam to move faster into next-generation logistics

A corridor is no longer just a route, but an institutional ecosystem

For years, transport corridors were often understood in narrow infrastructure terms - roads, border gates, rail links or regional routes. The approach highlighted in Geneva was much broader. A competitive corridor is one where data standards are interoperable, customs procedures are simplified, documents are legally recognised across borders, and guarantee systems are trusted enough to let cargo move with minimal friction. In other words, a modern corridor is the meeting point of hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure.

The presence of bodies such as UNECE, IRU, OECD and OSJD in the corridor discussion showed that the issue is increasingly viewed through an inter-disciplinary lens. Logistics cannot be optimised if border management, documentation and transport regulation remain fragmented into policy silos. This is especially relevant for Vietnam as it seeks to deepen connections with China, ASEAN and the Greater Mekong Subregion.

TIR and eFBL - two pieces that can reshape Vietnam’s cross-border trade operations

One of the strongest ideas emerging from post-meeting professional exchanges is that TIR and eFBL should be seen as complementary rather than separate tools. According to UNECE and IRU, TIR is the only global customs transit system, allowing goods to cross multiple borders in sealed load compartments under a guarantee accepted by customs authorities along the route. IRU states that TIR currently comprises 78 Contracting Parties worldwide and, on efficiently functioning corridors, can reduce transport time by up to 92 percent and costs by up to 50 percent. FIATA, meanwhile, presents the eFBL as a foundation for trusted digital trade - an open, standards-based instrument aligned with UN/CEFACT and the WCO Data Model, and designed to support more standardised verification by customs authorities, banks and third parties.

Put together, these tools address different but connected bottlenecks. The eFBL tackles digital documentation, documentary control and interoperable data exchange. TIR tackles customs transit, tax-and-duty guarantees and the reduction of repetitive intervention at border crossings. For Vietnam - where the need to improve cross-border performance with China, Laos, Cambodia and wider Asia-Europe networks is becoming more urgent - this combination deserves serious attention. Instead of discussing route development only in physical terms, Vietnam also needs to discuss legal standards, data standards and transit procedures for each priority corridor.

The NCD Convention opens a new legal field for multimodal transport

The session on the NCD Convention matters because it goes to the legal layer of digital trade. According to UNCITRAL, the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 15 December 2025, establishes a uniform legal framework for the issuance and use of negotiable cargo documents in paper or electronic form, regardless of transport mode. Its purpose is to extend the benefits of negotiable documents beyond maritime trade and support trade finance, the sale of goods in transit, multimodal transport and the digitalisation of global commerce.

For Vietnam, the value of the Convention lies less in legal theory than in practical consequences. Once multimodal transactions can rely on a recognised set of digital documents with clearer transfer-of-control functions over goods in transit, freight forwarders, banks, shippers and customs administrations all face less transactional friction. This is one of the foundations required to move from trade by paper to trade by data. The fact that FIATA is already linking the Convention with the FBL and eFBL shows that the international forwarding community is not waiting passively for law to take effect; it is preparing the operational tools in advance.

A strategic opening for Vietnam - from the GMS agenda to an annual corridor platform

At the 8th GMS Summit in November 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for the development of “new-generation economic corridors”, stressing technology, innovation, digital platforms and easier movement of capital, goods and services within the region. When that message is placed alongside what FIATA, IRU and UNCITRAL are now advancing, Vietnam appears to be standing before a rare opportunity: linking its own regional connectivity vision with global standards and instruments that are now entering implementation.

From this perspective, several directions deserve consideration. First, VLA and relevant local associations could deepen technical dialogue with IRU, FIATA, UNESCAP, customs authorities and relevant ministries on the possibility of piloting eFBL combined with TIR on selected priority corridors. Second, Vietnam could explore creating an annual corridor forum - whether on East-West routes or on corridors connecting Vietnam with China and ASEAN - where digital documents and transit procedures become the centrepiece rather than side topics. Third, the Vietnamese logistics sector should start preparing legal and technology talent capable of understanding and applying new conventions early, rather than waiting until foreign counterparties impose requirements and force adaptation under pressure.

The 2026 FIATA HQ Meeting showed that the race in next-generation logistics will not be decided only by deeper ports or wider roads, but by the ability to connect infrastructure with law, procedure and data. TIR, eFBL and the NCD Convention are three strong signals of that shift. For Vietnam, this is the moment to move beyond a corridor-investment mindset and toward a corridor-design mindset under new standards. Those who master corridor logic will not only move cargo more efficiently; they will gain greater control over where value is created within regional trade chains.

Sources:

- FIATA, “2026 FIATA HQ Meeting”, official programme.

- FIATA, “2026 FIATA HQ Meeting: Everything you need to know!”, 4 February 2026.

- IRU, “TIR”.

- UNECE, “TIR Convention, 1975”.

- UNCITRAL, “United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents (New York, 2025)”.

- FIATA, “FIATA Launches eFBL Guide: A roadmap to Digital Freight Forwarding and Trusted Trade”, 1 April 2026.

By Van Tam