Signing Ceremony of the Negotiable Cargo Document (NCD)

The UN Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents (NCD) adopted by theUN General Assembly on 15 December 2025 is a new international legalframework developed by the United Nations Commission on InternationalTrade Law (UNCITRAL) to support the use of bills of lading and otherconsignment notes in negotiable form. The Convention provides for paper and electronic documents and applies for the carriage of goods by anymode of transport, whether unimodal or multimodal shipments.

Talk to your banks/non-bank financial providers and logistics partners about NCDs. Evaluate your transport modes : could negotiability improve your cash flow,resilience or risk management? Explore digital trade tools aligned with MLETR that support NCDs. Engage with trade associations and governments to advocate for ratification of the Convention.

Promote Awareness : of how NCDs can be used in supply chains,especially where multimodal transportis involved transport. Highlight Benefits : such as improved access to trade finance,reduced fraud,and greater legalcertainty. Work with Industry : to support the use of both paper and electronic NCDs,and to reinforce understanding on what it means to issue an NCD.

Legal harmonisation : Countries may need to align or adjust existing national laws with the Convention. Digital readiness : Businesses which are already using digital documents of title such as an electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) will probably find the electronic NCD easy to use.However, businesses which do not yet use electronic trade documentation will need to train staff and adapt and streamline shipment processes to handle electronic NCDs. The NCD convention does not mandate using specific centralized platforms or services; businesses may use any platform that suits their needs.