IATA's main objectives are
to unite the freight forwarding industry worldwide
to represent, promote and protect the interests of the industry by participating as advisors or experts in meetings of international bodies dealing with transportation
to familiarise trade and industry and the public at large with the services rendered by freight forwarders through the dissemination of information, distribution of publications, etc.
to improve the quality of services rendered by freight forwarders by developing and promoting uniform forwarding documents, standard trading conditions, etc.
to assist with vocational training for freight forwarders, liability insurance problems, tools for electronic commerce including electronic data interchange (EDI) and barcode.