As the world’s Transport Ministers gathered in Leipzig for the 2025 International Transport Forum (ITF) Summit, the International Federation of Pedestrians (IFP) joined a coalition of leading global organisations to raise urgent concerns: international vehicle safety standards that protect pedestrians must not become collateral damage in current trade disputes.
Together with 32 other road safety, consumer, and mobility organisations from every continent, IFP has co-signed a letter to Dr Juan Carlos Muñoz, Chile’s Minister of Transport and this year’s ITF Summit Chair, urging governments to reaffirm their commitment to life-saving safety regulations that are under threat.
Global safety standards under pressure
The immediate concern arises from recent political statements, particularly from the United States, where former President Donald Trump publicly criticised the United Nations regulation for pedestrian protection. He falsely framed it as a “non-monetary tariff” blocking U.S. exports. In reality, UN Regulation No. 127, adopted in 2008, is a scientifically supported measure designed to reduce injuries to pedestrians during crashes. It is already applied in China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
The United States is currently the only major car-producing country that has not adopted this pedestrian protection regulation. However, its national safety agency (NHTSA) has proposed introducing it by 2026, a move broadly welcomed by safety advocates. At stake is not only the coherence of global trade, but also the lives of millions of people—especially vulnerable road users like pedestrians, children, older adults, and people with disabilities.
A call to protect the progress we have made
Over the last two decades, coordinated vehicle safety standards—developed under the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)—have significantly improved outcomes for pedestrians. These regulations have enabled safer car design, driven innovation, and facilitated fairer cross-border trade. They have also contributed to halting the rise of global road deaths, as highlighted in the WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023.
Rolling back these hard-won standards in the name of trade protectionism would not only be short-sighted—it would be deadly.
IFP’s position: people before politics
IFP strongly supports the recommendations included in the joint letter, which calls on ITF Transport Ministers to:
- Protect life-saving safety standards from being used as bargaining chips in international trade negotiations
- Reaffirm global cooperation through the UN regulatory frameworks that underpin safe vehicle design
- Ensure that vulnerable road users, especially pedestrians, are not forgotten in economic decision-making
As an international NGO defending the rights of pedestrians in over 40 countries, IFP insists that safety, inclusivity, and mobility justice must be non-negotiable. Harmonised safety standards are not obstacles to trade, they are tools of solidarity, science, and fairness.
Read the full letter here.
