Journal

News in international trade at a glance: IT platform Trade Defense of Ukraine; the possible changes in customs valuation; Ukraine is about to join Сommon Transit Convention; new safeguard investigation … on imports of rock and/ or earth drilling tools regardless of country of origin; revision of the anti-dumping measures on imports of cement originating in Moldova and rods of carbon and other alloy steels originating in Belarus.

News in week 47: CJEU ruling concerning the tariff classification of mastectomy bras; autonomous duties suspended on imports of certain industrial products into the Canary Islands; export authorisation … for the exports of covid vaccines will be not required, the goods will be subject to export surveillance; PEM transitional rules of origin applicable between the EU and the Republic of Moldova; the 2022 edition of the Harmonized System Nomenclature is available online.

This is a “coffee break” article in our new series featuring thought leaders in the field of customs. I’m delighted to speaking with Timothy Lyons, a barrister and Queen’s Counsel (England and … Wales), a barrister in the Republic of Ireland and a member of the Bar of Brussels. Those studying EU customs law as well as customs practitioners will most likely know Timothy through his book, EU Customs Law, published by the Oxford EU Law Library.

Let’s examine one specific pitfall importers/exports frequently fall victim to when trading under the auspices of a free trade agreement.

Many importers assume that once they hire a broker, they do not need to take time to understand customs and trade concepts. That can be a risky approach. In this article, we discuss how customs … brokers operate in Canada and the EU; and why importers should care to provide quality information to their brokers.

Collection of import taxes is one of the main tasks of customs. What are the import taxes in various countries? What is the basis of their calculation? In this article, we overview the taxes … in Brazil, the EU, and Ukraine. The provided examples of imported goods reveal that, in some cases, the amount of import taxes might exceed the value of the goods themselves. Therefore, the advice for importers is to check the amounts of import duties payable before purchasing goods abroad.

It has almost been a year since the end of the Brexit transition period, meaning most businesses will have started settling comfortably into their new routine. However, it is important to remember … that the new trading relationship between the UK and EU is still evolving and 2022 is the host of some big changes. For example, certain easements that were introduced to facilitate trade will expire, multiple new systems will be introduced, and sanitary and phytosanitary controls will commence for the first time. So, if you think your business has mastered trading across the new border, then think again. In this article, we outline three pitfalls that could disrupt your supply chain and what you can do to avoid them.

Brexit for EU and UK hauliers transporting goods in and out of the UK will really begin on January 1st 2022. Up until now goods imported or exported to and from the UK may have moved through … the ports in some cases without the correct customs declarations. This was due to the lack of UK preparedness around Brexit as a whole. The Goods Vehicle Movement System (GVMS) will ensure this practice stops.

Machine Learning is an exciting new field, and while it carries risks (what if the computer makes the wrong decision), it has the potential to free up a significant amount of human resources, … as we pass decisions and solutions over to computers on our behalf. Specifically, in the field of trade compliance and supply chain management, machine learning offers tremendous value in several key areas. One whose time has come, is the area of product classification.

The Court of Justice of the EU, while interpreting the provisions of the Combined Nomenclature (CN), has repeatedly emphasized that the main criteria determining the tariff classification of … goods are normally understood as the objective characteristics and properties of those goods listed in the particular CN heading and specific CN section or chapter notes. However, goods with independent characteristics and a clear purpose of use, cannot be considered as accessories of other related goods and must be classified as separate (independent) goods. For this purpose, the article discusses the recent case law of the CJEU, which allows distinguishing between separate goods or accessories of goods for the purposes of tariff classification and complements the previous clarifications on these issues.

Is it possible for the business to consider all the possible customs-related risks? The answer to the poll question was unambiguous. All participants of the 8th Authors' Meeting on 21.10.2021 … said… NO! And shared various examples of unexpected customs-related risk, talked about sources of the risk and its management.

In spite of recent challenges, the EU-US trading relationship is underpinned by deeply integrated economies. The European Commission website describes this relationship as defining world trade … and contributing as much as 40% to world GDP. Despite both the EU and the USA being modern developed economies, competition for global market share in addition societal changes brought about by an increase in globalisation has influenced trade policy. This has been particularly evident during the Trump presidency. This article tracks this difficult spell that we look to be emerging from and looks forward to what is hoped will be a détente in trade tensions between the two trading powerhouses on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sanctions are applied to restrict the movement of money, goods, and services to/from the sanctioned country; travel bans may apply to certain persons. Current developments and the new regulatory … framework are increasingly affecting businesses in the international trade and logistics sectors. Let's take a look at what is significant for businesses to pay attention to.

When buying or selling goods across a border, it is considered good business practice to understand the rules applied on the other side of the border. This is because the decisions you make when … selling the goods can have a significant influence over the decisions and responsibilities of the business buying them on the other side.

Various price discounts are often applied in trade in goods. Where the transaction is international and provisions of customs law apply, it is necessary to determine the customs value of the … goods and to assess the acceptability of the discounts.

A new edition of the European Commission's Compendium of customs valuation has been published. The main purpose of the Compendium is to provide support to the customs administrations of the Member … States to ensure the uniform and correct application of the principles and general provisions of customs valuation. On the other hand, business obligation is a correct declaration of the customs value of goods, so this document also benefits the business community. Let's take a brief look at how the need for such a document has evolved and what is presented in the new edition of it.