On 1 September, ICC Netherlands, together with a broad coalition of companies, banks and business associations, presented a whitepaper to the Dutch Parliament urging swift adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR).

What may appear to be a technical legal change has enormous practical impact. Adoption of MLETR could:

• Save Dutch businesses hundreds of millions of euros in unnecessary costs

• Shorten trade document processing from 6–10 days to less than 24 hours

• Reduce bureaucracy and cut administrative burdens for SMEs by up to 35%

• Strengthen the Netherlands’ competitiveness as a global trading nation

Why it matters

International trade is the lifeblood of the Dutch economy: imports and exports together represent more than €1.6 trillion annually – nearly four times GDP. Yet many critical trade documents are still only legally valid on paper. This causes delays, higher costs, and a loss of efficiency.

Other countries are moving faster. The UK, France, Germany and Singapore have already updated their legislation. The UK is even ready to advance digital cooperation with the Netherlands, but progress is stalled because eight key documents cannot yet be issued electronically under Dutch law.

Clear call to action

ICC Netherlands and its partners urge Parliament to:

• Quickly approve legislation for the electronic bill of lading

• Launch the legislative process for the remaining seven MLETR documents

The digital future of trade starts now. With one simple legislative step, the Netherlands can unlock major efficiency gains and safeguard its position as Europe’s digital gateway and trade hub. The business community is ready to help make this a reality.

👉 Read the executive summary here:

👉 The whitepaper is available in Dutch, here

About this initiative

The whitepaper was prepared by representatives of ICC Netherlands, ICISA, ING Bank, Port of Rotterdam and other experts, supported by a broad coalition of companies, banks and business associations.