Digitalise or fall behind: ICC Netherlands presents MLETR implementation plan to Parliament - Trade Treasury Payments

The Netherlands stands at a critical crossroads in international trade. Despite being one of Europe’s leading trading nations, the country risks losing its competitive edge due to outdated legislation that fails to recognise electronic trade documents. 

The whitepaper Electronic Transferable Records: The Adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), presented by ICC Netherlands together with a broad coalition of companies, banks and business associations to the Dutch Parliament on September 1, 2025, highlights the urgent need for legislative reform. This whitepaper, prepared by representatives of ICC Netherlands, ICISA, ING Bank, Port of Rotterdam and other experts, provides an assessment of the country’s digital trade readiness compared to its global competitors.

It is to be noted that international trade makes a substantial contribution to the Dutch Gross National Product and employment. According to the ICC whitepaper, recent statistics from CBS (Statistics Netherlands) show that Dutch imports and exports combined reached €1.6 trillion in 2024, nearly four times the value of the country’s Gross National Product. 

The digital transformation challenge

For many years, financial and physical trade processes have been undergoing digital transformation to increase cost efficiency and improve time-sensitive services relied upon by exporters and importers. This digital evolution extends to service providers, such as financial institutions and logistics companies, and is essential for the effective functioning of government agencies, including Customs Authorities.

However, the Netherlands has fallen behind in this transformation due to legislative barriers. While the technology exists and international standards have been established, Dutch law still requires paper documentation for critical trade documents.

The consequences of this gap are quantifiable. Evidence cited in the ICC paper shows that in the United Kingdom, small and medium-sized enterprises have achieved a 35% reduction in administrative costs and a 13% increase in international trade when using digitised trade documents. 

Digitalisation has also been proven to significantly accelerate associated financing processes. For instance, the time required for trade documentation can be reduced from the current six to ten days to 24 hours.

International adoption leaves Netherlands behind

The whitepaper documents how Dutch legislation concerning ‘documents of title’ now lags behind competing countries. In 2021, the G7 countries approved a “Roadmap to Reform for Electronic Transferable Records” to adopt the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) recommendations in their national legislation. The MLETR was developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) to facilitate the legal use of electronic transferable documents, both internationally and domestically.

It applies specifically to electronic documents that are functionally equivalent to regular transferable documents or instruments, including eight critical ‘documents of title’, which are bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes, consignment notes, bills of lading, warehouse receipts, insurance certificates, and airway bills.

The MLETR is based on three core principles of i) technological neutrality, no distinction between different types of technologies ii) functional equivalence, electronic documents fulfil the same legal function as paper, and iii) equal treatment, countries retain the option to allow the use of paper documents.

This balanced approach allows countries to transition toward digital trade documentation at their own pace while maintaining compatibility with global standards.

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have already fully incorporated MLETR into their legal frameworks. Singapore implemented MLETR-compliant legislation in 2021. This international movement creates a clear competitive disadvantage for Dutch businesses still bound by paper-based requirements.

The Netherlands has made limited progress, with a draft law to recognise electronic bills of lading submitted to Parliament in May 2025. This proposal received a positive advisory opinion from the Council of State and was deemed non-controversial, allowing its continued processing despite the fall of the cabinet.

However, the ICC paper points out that this addresses only one of the eight critical documents covered by MLETR. Due to the structure of Dutch legislation, which embeds various transferable ‘documents of title’ in different laws, the approach has been to focus first on the bill of lading, with the remaining documents to be addressed later.

The path forward 

Based on its analysis, the whitepaper provides three recommendations for action:

Expedite the current electronic bill of lading legislation. The Dutch Parliament should rapidly process and approve the electronic bill that is already before it. This will provide businesses with clarity on using electronic bills of lading under Dutch private law.

Develop legislation for the remaining MLETR documents. The government should quickly formulate a legislative proposal for the remaining seven trade documents covered by MLETR. This will enable further digitalisation of international trade processes for Dutch businesses.

Develop a Digital Standards Initiative Roadmap. ICC Netherlands, along with its members and partners, will develop a Digital Standards Initiative (DSI) Roadmap for the Netherlands to further digitalise international trade processes, for which these eight MLETR documents are crucial.

As competing nations move forward with digital trade documentation, the Netherlands faces a clear choice of whether to adapt quickly or watch its position as a global trading hub continue to erode. 

Access the whitepaper here.