Articles

As of September 1st, 2021, there are new rules of origin in the European structure of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention that apply in parallel to the previous rules of origin as part … of a transitional phase. They are called 'transitional rules'. The new rules of origin provide breathing space in the machinery sector (HS chapters 84, 85 and 90) for those companies that have to work with small margins.

The article analyses EU policies on the extension of Common Transit and the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS) to associated countries given the case of Ukraine. The decision on accepting … Ukraine to join the Convention on Common Transit may be expected in 2022. Otherwise, considering the EU plans to complete the transition to the NCTS Phase 6 in the second quarter of 2025, the accession may be delayed until the end of 2025.

The Court of Justice of the EU has interpreted for the first time the Blocking Regulation. The ruling confirms that it is possible to terminate contracts with a US designated person without providing … reasons. However, in civil proceedings it is for the EU party to prove that, when it sought to terminate a contract, it did not seek to comply with US sanctions in the absence of an authorisation by the European Commission.

Point of view on these aspects of trade, customs and career: Don’t just trade, provide global service. As a trader, respond positively to the role Customs plays within global trade. Six points … to consider when planning your career as a customs advisor.

India has more than 20 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in place and is negotiating FTAs with many new trade partners. One of the important ongoing negotiations is the India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership … (ETP). What opportunities do FTAs open for businesses and what could be expected from the India-UK ETP?

Importers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are often unaware of trade defence instruments (TDIs) and face the consequences of newly introduced measures unprepared, thus incurring … unforeseen costs. Is it possible to prepare for this and thus, albeit partially, manage the risks associated with the introduction of TDIs? One mean to manage such risks would be regular monitoring of the regulatory environment. Of course, this requires resources, but it is equally important to know the process and deadlines for setting the TDI, as well as why different sizes of measures apply to the same product imported from the same non-EU country and where to find the necessary information. Thus, this is to be discussed in the article.

In recent case law, the Court of Justice of the European Union clarified what determines the application of anti-dumping duties on specific goods, such as tariff classification of goods or other … criteria. Although different criteria are preferred in practice, for the first time, a step has been taken to separate the tariff classification from the characteristics of the product subject to trade regulation measures.

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.

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.

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.

Editorial word. Customs legislation applies in a customs territory, so knowledge and understanding of territories are significant. They are of various types, such as the customs territory of … the Union, special fiscal territories, third countries, as well as overseas countries and territories (OCTs). The territories change and the most recent example is Brexit: when the UK's customs territory was established, for example, Northern Ireland became part of two customs territories. The OCTs were impacted by Brexit as well. The EU used the opportunity to review relations with OCTs and adopted new legislation. Mrs. Zofija Pečiukonienė kindly agreed to overview the developments.

Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 was published in the OJEU L 206 of 11 June 2021. This regulation recasts and repeals regulation 428/2009 … on dual-use items (items designed for civilian purposes but which may have both civilian and military use). It will be applicable as of September 9, 2021. While the amendments do not change the fundamental principles of the control of trade or the general scheme of the Regulation, they will nevertheless result in some changes to the current "rules of the game". The changes are briefly outlined here and concern primarily new or revised definitions.

Continuing on the topic started by Samuel Draginich in the article "EVFTA: proof of origin when consignments are split in a country of transit", let us take a closer look at the statement on … origin - the only proof of EU preferential origin that might be issued under the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) - and the commercial document on which it may be made out; also in the case of splitting of consignment in a country of transit.

Editorial word. This month, the European Commission published a regulation that prolonged the application of safeguard measures against imports of certain steel products. Ingrida Beliokienė, … the chief specialist of the Tariffs Division of the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance (Lithuania), kindly agreed to share information about the peculiarities of the use of these measures.

The use of tariff quotas is an important topic for many EU importers, and its relevance is not diminishing. Let’s take a look at the questions that businesses raise about tariff quotas and what … is important to pay attention to.