Articles

News in week 16: in response to renewed US tariffs, the EU is reintroducing its own countermeasures; EU's countermeasures suspended for 90 days; Access2Markets – update of the new US tariffs; … EU eases EUDR compliance; digital product passports - EU’s ecodesign roadmap announced; Council adopts ‘Stop-the-clock’ directive, a key part of the EU’s legislative simplification efforts; imports of certain rainbow trout subject to registration; Commission recommendation on coordination of national control lists; third countries align with EU sanctions on Belarus; revised EU arms export control framework; Commission Safety Gate Report 2024 - key points; and more updates.

This article looks at how your business activities, trading relationships, internal controls, and interactions with customs and other authorities can impact your risk assessment and, in turn, … the extent of customs controls. It also offers practical insights into how companies can lower their customs risk profile and reduce the level of scrutiny customs authorities apply to their operations.

In this continuation of the export control series, we place ourselves in the position of a company expanding internationally and taking initial steps towards implementing export control procedures. … In such instances, where no export control department or organisational structure yet exists, the question arises: who should assume responsibility for this crucial function?

Editor's note: Continuing the theme of the previous article (see 'Discussion of the most important AI risks'), the author looks at how the EU is trying to reconcile worker protection, innovation … and global AI competitiveness while taking full account of citizens' concerns. The author discusses a recent opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and shares his findings.

The recent decision by the United States to reintroduce tariffs on steel and aluminium imports has prompted significant concern among European industries. Announced in February 2025, the US government … has reinstated a 25% tariff on steel and increased the tariff on aluminium from 10% to 25%. This adds to the challenges already faced by companies in regulated sectors, with regulations such as international sanctions, export controls and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. We provide an overview of the current regulatory landscape and offer practical recommendations to help businesses deal with these developments.

News in brief: summary (harmonised tariff threat schedule) of recent tariff-related developments in the US; tariffs on steel and aluminium have come into force; new tariffs on imports of automobiles … and certain automotive parts; amendment to tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods; tariffs on countries importing Venezuelan oil; amendment to tariffs addressing the synthetic opioid supply chain in China; investigation into imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products; 2025 Trade Policy Agenda introduced.

With AI advancing rapidly, concerns about its impact on jobs and decision-making are growing. In this engaging interview, Enrika Naujoke and Frank Heijmann explore how AI is transforming customs, … the balance between human judgment and machine efficiency, and why a strong foundation in education might be essential for navigating the AI era.

All products originating in the UK are now subject to a baseline US tariff of 10%. Compare this with the tariffs levied against the EU (20%) and China (54%) and it can be seen that the origin … of products exported to the US is crucial. The condition is that UK exporters must ensure that the products they export to the US originate in the UK (if they originate in the EU, even though they are exported from the UK, they will be subject to a 20% import duty in the US). We provide a brief overview of the new US tariffs and what ‘origin’ means in this context.

Rules on customs representation, as part of customs law, are an exceptional competence of the EU. However, the EU lays down general provisions and leaves considerable discretion to the Member … States in this area. This article examines a recent case in which the EU Court of Justice assessed whether Italian legislation governing the activities of customs agents was compatible with EU law.

News in brief: UK TRA readies itself for more new remedies; anti-dumping measure on chamois leather to be repealed; registration of imports of tin mill products; assimilated general export authorisations; … notices to exporters on export controls; documents on additional duties for Russia and Belarus updated; review of duty suspensions and autonomous tariff quotas; and others.

News in brief: changes to customs clearance of humanitarian aid; outward processing updates on precious metals and precious metal waste; new AI developments for risk management and customs clearance; … increased excise duties on tobacco products; AEO updates.

At the 26th Authors’ Meeting, experts from different countries discussed key challenges in customs declaration processes. They explored issues with digital systems, regulations, emphasising the … fragmented customs landscape in the EU. Some national customs practices were highlighted for creating inconsistencies in trade and customs throughout the EU. Speakers also addressed the growing conflict between making trade easier and meeting stricter EU compliance rules that require more detailed data. See the article below for a summary of the discussion.

News in week 13: ICS2 go-live date for rail and road carriers - 1 April 2025; USA is imposing 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks; provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of glyoxylic … acid of up to 280.3 %; imports of high-pressure seamless steel cylinders subject to registration; Commission launches helpdesk to support EU SMEs to comply with sanctions; consolidated FAQs on the implementation of Council Regulations No 833/2014 and 268/2014; FAQs on LNG transshipments - Article 3r of Council Regulation 833/2014; Belarus - EU restrictive measures on 25 individuals and 7 entities; amendments to the Explanatory Notes to the EU Combined Nomenclature; Commission strengthens protection for EU steel industry; guidance on the revised PEM rules of origin; CJEU on error made by competent authorities issuing movement certificate EUR.1; conditions and procedures related to the status of authorised CBAM declarant; and more updates.

Editor's note. The European Commission has recognised the problem of unnecessary red tape and has announced a far-reaching simplification of certain regulations. The CBAM Regulation is one of … them. Which CBAM simplifications are planned and which still need to be considered? CLECAT, the European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Customs Services, has expressed its views on this subject in a document sent to the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety and to the Members of the Council, which we invite you to read.

Due to the many crises in the world and the associated need for security, the demand for export control is increasing once again. Furthermore, we see the states’ efforts in the EU increasingly … investing in their defence. As a result, more and more companies are becoming suppliers to the defence industry. Therefore, we are starting our series on export control today, as already announced in our article “Don't let this happen to you! US export control law and re-export from the EU” from 14 January, 2025. In our first article, we address the basic questions: What does export control mean? Why is export control important for countries? What is controlled and according to which criteria?

The recent cover of the weekly The Economist issue had a picture of red tape and the title “The revolt against regulation”. Some statistics from the articles on the topic: in the US, federal … regulations now exceed 180,000 pages, up from 20,000 in the early 1960s; in the past five years the European Parliament has enacted more than twice as many laws as America; red tape costs the French economy close to 4% of GDP every year. In this interview with Vincent van Dijk, Senior Advisor on Norm engineering and rule-based solutions, we invite consideration of ‘norm engineering’ as one of potential solutions of the growing problem, which we, customs practitioners, are also witnessing in our specific field.