The images above represent different stages in human ingenuity but share our natural wish to travel and share a detail relating to travel.
Filming equipment for a trip on the Ffestiniog Heritage Railway arrived in the UK on an ATA carnet. Scientific equipment for pre-launch testing on a trip into space recently left the UK using the same approach.
Interesting examples and this may be the picture some have of ATA carnet use, a way of managing unusual needs. The reality is quite different, with around 200,000 carnets used each year, including support for major events.
2022 Winter Olympics
International sporting events can take place on a large scale and by nature, require temporary importation. Around 120,000 pieces of equipment travelled to Beijing on ATA carnets, from 34 different countries.
China joined the ATA carnet family in 1998 and gradually expanded the categories they would accept to include most items. Sports equipment was added to the list in 2020, with the winter games in mind.
They produced a multilingual guide on carnets for Olympic competitors and their freight operators. Extra training for transport workers and customs officials helped, as did a 24 hour support service for carnet users.
the Beijing Winter Olympic Organising Committee commended the ATA Carnet system and the key role this played. Duty and tax free import was useful, along with improving the efficiency of customs clearance at a busy time.
Greater Ongoing Use
The Olympics next appear in Paris in 2024, where ATA carnets will be in use again. Following our EU departure, competitors from the UK will require them, with carnets now the recognised route for temporary export to the EU.
The games will be a high volume exercise, although carnet use to the EU has already become an established part of working with our largest trading partner. An asset in rebuilding a positive relationship.
The professional and promotional trips they allow are part of ever expanding use for carnets across the globe, which Dynamic Dox support.
A Cooperative System
From helping to fulfil mankind’s instinct to travel, to a wish to trade across the globe, our team enjoy the part they play and sharing their knowledge. Carnets are relatively easy to use but local customs procedures can be variable.
If you need an ATA carnet for an unusual need, we are here to help but also to be part of the spirit of cooperation which has built the system. If you simply want to talk through carnet use, or learn more, please get in touch.
ATA carnets for the EU have become a significant part of our work and are relatively new, so ask away, even if you are not competing in the Olympics. The same applies to anywhere on the globe, we will be happy to advise.