Customs and Trade News
Claudia Stroe
Certified Customs Practitioner | Export and Import Customs Procedures | Customs Compliance | Open to Exciting Opportunities to enhance my skills and stay updated on industry trends.
Welcome to the latest edition of my newsletter - your weekly digest for everything related to customs and trade!
The deal is expected to cut €140 million a year in duties for EU companies.
Thanks to this deal, EU-New Zealand trade is expected to grow by up to 30% within a decade, with EU exports potentially growing by up to €4.5 billion annually. EU investment into New Zealand has the potential to grow by up to 80%.
EU businesses, producers and farmers are now able to take advantage of new export opportunities with the entry into force of the EU-New Zealand trade agreement on 1st May:
Source: EU Commission
The Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and UNICEF are expanding their collaboration following the success of a pilot project in Mozambique. The pilot reduced the border processing times of life-saving vaccines and medical supplies by 10 days, ensuring timely access for children and communities. The expanded agreement underscores both organisations’ commitment to enhancing the flow of essential supplies.
Prior to the pilot, the process to obtain an import permit in Mozambique for medical supplies was entirely manual and paper-based. The Alliance combined its experience in streamlining trade processes with UNICEF’s expertise in supply chain management and today, 100% of the country’s medical supply import permits are processed electronically. The processing times are now 29 days, instead of 39.
The EFTA–Vietnam negotiation process began in 2012. Since then, 16 rounds of negotiations have taken place. Although progress has slowed in recent years, both delegations reaffirmed their commitment to a broad-based free trade agreement.
In 2023, fish and crustaceans, pharmaceutical products and electrical machinery and were the main exports from EFTA to Vietnam, while electrical machinery, footwear and woven apparel or clothing accessories were the primary imports from Vietnam.
The delegations had productive discussions on open issues in the negotiation process, including Trade in Goods, Intellectual Property Rights, and Trade and Sustainable Development.
Both sides agreed to continue their work to find mutually beneficial solutions.
In 2023, EU exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products to countries outside the EU went down by -3.5% when compared with 2022. On the other hand, EU imports increased by 6.1% in 2023.
In 2023, exports reached €277 billion, while imports stood at €119 billion. Consequently, the EU's trade surplus in medicinal and pharmaceutical products amounted to €158 billion, marking the second-highest figure ever recorded, following the peak in 2022 at €174 billion.
The main destination of extra-EU exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products in 2023 was the United States, accounting for a third (33.2%; €92 billion) of these exports, followed by Switzerland (15.5%; €43 billion) and China (7.7%; €21 billion).
Imports of these products to the EU came mainly from the United States, accounting for 39.5% of all EU imports of these products, then Switzerland (32.3%) and the United Kingdom (6.9%).
The second phase of the Border Target Operating Model entered into force Tuesday, 30 April, implementing checks to ensure the products we import are as safe as possible.
Products which present a ‘medium’ risk to our biosecurity will now undergo identity and physical checks. The checks involve visual inspections and temperature readings of goods.
Additionally, ‘high risk’ goods are now checked at the border, where before they were checked at destination.
These checks will help identify public health issues such as salmonella, and build on existing safeguarding measures which identify diseases like African Swine Fever, which is widespread in certain countries across Europe.
The Government announced the launch of the UK Carrier Scheme (UKC) and published guidance on eligibility criteria for applicants.
The UK Carrier (UKC) Scheme is an authorisation that enables businesses to move eligible consumer parcels, from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, in line with Windsor Framework arrangements. This will allow businesses to send these parcels without completing any customs, or safety and security declarations.
To apply for authorisation you’ll need an EORI number starting GB or XI.
For more details on how to check if you can use UKC and how to apply for the authorisation please see below links:
HMRC recently made changes that will affect how you make declarations into Northern Ireland through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).
To continue to move steel without being subjected to safeguard charges where relevant quotas are open, you should no longer use the code ‘NIREM’. Instead, you must select ‘None of the above goods are at risk and attract duty’ and add ‘NIQUO’ in the Additional Information tab along with the quota number in the Additional Information Description.
If you use the code ‘NIQUO’ to move steel subject to safeguard charges from any country outside the UK or the EU to Northern Ireland (ROW-NI), you must still provide the UK Quota order number in Quota Order Number field.
Guidance for moving steel into Northern Ireland is set out in The Steel Notice on GOV.UK.
From 2 May 2024, the following changes came into force:
Source: Fresh Produce
When making an IPAFFS notification notifiers should declare trailer unit number and where applicable/possible the Vehicle Registration Number (VRN).
This can be declared on the ‘Transport to the Border Control Post (BCP)’ tab in IPAFFS and should be provided in the ‘Transport identification’ field.
This information will help APHA and SASA to identify consignments through port operator’s systems. If you are unable to provide this information at the point the notification is submitted, you will need to amend the notification when this information becomes available. Failure to provide this information may lead to delays of your consignment, while APHA or SASA work with the notifier to identify the consignment.
HMRC has issued a reminder to exporters on what they need to do if they export goods from Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) ports.
Exporters using the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) need a departure message to confirm the movement of goods. But some exporters aren’t getting one, so their goods aren’t receiving departure status.
CDS doesn’t have an ‘assumed departure’ status
The Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system included an
‘assumed departure’ status. Because the UK has left the EU, there’s no assumed departure status on the CDS.
What you need to do
You will need to make sure that you, and everyone in your supply chain, correctly follow GVMS processes on creating a Goods Movement Reference (GMR).
If you don’t follow the correct processes for goods leaving from a GVMS port, you won’t get a departure notification, be able to ask for a departure status (unless the export contained excise duty suspended goods) and won't be able to see the declarations in your CDS trader reports.
CDS will issue a notification (DMSGER) after 45 days saying you haven’t departed your goods and a notification (DMSINV) after 150 days saying your declaration has been invalidated.
When you can ask for a departure status
If your goods leave from a GVMS port, you can only ask us for a departure status if the export included goods where the excise duty has been suspended. Otherwise, your request will be rejected.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) launched an updated version of its Risk Management Compendium as a dynamic web application, accessible from both desktop and mobile devices, featuring a streamlined interface with intuitive search functionalities that enhance user engagement and ease of access of information.
This essential tool integrates over a decade of insights, risk indicators across various transportation modes, and modern data analysis techniques, including the use of artificial intelligence in Customs risk management. It also addresses emerging challenges, such as the covert threats from insiders in supply chain.
From 22 to 24 April 2024, global law enforcement agencies across customs, police, prosecution from more than 20 countries from South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia Pacific, met as part of the first ICCWC Global Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade. The conference was organized by the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) and hosted by one of the five ICCWC partners, the World Customs Organization (WCO), in Brussels. The theme was “Building Strong Cases through Operation Thunder: From Seizure to Prosecution” and sessions covered the various aspects related to the fight against illegal wildlife trade across the entire criminal justice system.
Discussions were organized into several thematic sessions: Customs, Investigations, Prosecution and Civil Society Organizations Dialogue, and the importance of collaboration to strengthen efforts to dismantle criminal networks involved in wildlife crime.
The 243rd/244th sessions of the Permanent Technical Committee (PTC) brought together more than three hundred delegates from WCO Members, international organizations, the private sector and academia to discuss, provide guidance and endorse issues on a wide range of topics.
WCO Secretary General, Ian Saunders, urged delegates to reflect on their contributions and adapt to challenges like disruptive technologies and big data. He outlined key themes: cooperation, technology utilization, and adaptability. Examples included the WTO TFA implementation and discussions on blockchain and the Smart Customs Project. He stressed the need for continual evolution, citing ongoing reviews of initiatives like the E-Commerce package. Finally, the Secretary General encouraged active engagement from delegates in shaping the future of Customs.
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