Excellent read on China's rare earth industry over the past few decades. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/b...

Happy New Year

And since we're on the topic of rules of origin, RoOs will be back in 2026. Big time. We have the USMCA review, where this will be one of the key issues. /1 mexicobusiness.news/trade-and-in...

On the UK joining PEM. Recorded some weeks ago, when the DBT call for evidence was still open. It was a good discussion.

De minimis to be removed in the EU "as soon as possible next year" now confirmed. Big implications for the UK as well given the budget rumours. ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Finally, an update on EUDR - going ahead but with a transitional period and simplification for SMEs. Most likely, still needs to be approved. ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

New report by the House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee published today. A lot of good feedback from stakeholders consistent with what I'm hearing from local businesses. committees.parliament.uk/committee/76...

A new round of trilogue negotiations on the EU Customs Reform is set to take place in Brussels this week. It's likely to focus on less controversial aspects of the text, pushing things like the handling fee and e-commerce ot a later date. 1/2

All other issues aside, the double standards accusation is on point.

By Ignacio García Bercero on the recent EU proposal for new steel safeguards. A particularly worrying part is the fact that it suggests that excluding imports from current FTA partners is not possible, which would mean a breach of these agreements. www.bruegel.org/first-glance...

An occasional reminder to all the companies out there thinking that just cause their goods successfully passed CBP border screening, they're off the hook. Customs compliance is monitored AFTER the border. CBP has a good few years to come knocking and ask you for evidence.

It was good to contribute to FT's story on e-commerce and the proposed national handling fees. The handling fee for all e-commerce parcels is likely to be introduced on the EU level next year. For some EU member states, it may come sooner.

Flamingos at sunset on a Saturday evening.

Politico on Deforestation. You could not make these things up. As a reminder, last year's delay of EUDR was officially finally confirmed on 18 Dec, giving businesses 13 whole days of legal certainty before the day the regulation was set to go live.

Heard it in a meeting last week and have to say had the same reaction. But then again... following the EU's contract earlier this year... makes just as much sense as any other trade deal

When we calculated the cost of implementing controls on low value shipments in the EU it was barely worth it. In the US the threshold was higher but average value still way belofw 150.

You can't tariff everything. But you sure can try. And while it's very entertaining for us trade wonks, it leads to anxiety and uncertainty for the industry. As in even more anxiety and uncertainty.

Tariffs on foreign movies are back. This first came up back in May and raised a number of questions on cut-off points, impact on costs etc. Can't wait to read the EO. edition.cnn.com/2025/09/29/e...

While deforestation is in limbo, CBAM Omnibus simplifications seem to be confirmed. www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...

Zug

And now we wait for EOs. As a lot of people pointed out, this is not going to stop and it will be interesting to see how all the deals hold up, whether or not there will be any exemptions and how these tariffs are applied. Never a dull moment.

I actually think this is doing more in terms of upholding the general terms of the multilateral trading system than any attempt to fudge and pretend that this is WTO and MFN compatible. It's basically "we did what we had to do" and that's fair enough.

It would be extremely helpful if the Commission could confirm the delay to the Deofrestation Regulation asap rather than keep companies in limbo. Talking about EU competitiveness is good. Providing a conducive business environment is better.

An unforgettable experience seeing the highly controversial Emil Buhrle collection at the Kunsthaus in Zurich today. Apart from breathtaking works of art, there was a customs accent. When you import art purchased in occupied France, you need to remember to declare it at import.

It was good to speak to @joeblynam.bsky.social this morning at 6.45 about changes to B2C small parcels moving into the EU. This topic is not going away. Particularly worrying part is the new handling fee, which will be non-refundable and due whether or not goods are subject to duties.

I'm having such a deja vu from last year. EUDR delayed. This is a good thing as no one was ready. But it's also the second time and it's not a good look.

EUDR goes live in 100 days for larger companies. Amongst many things we do not yet know is the status of NI goods. Which means that NI companies are either completely not ready or spending money on compliant goods while expecting some sort of a derogation.

Hello, it’s been a while. Wanted to do a quick update on the EU Customs Reform and particularly e-commerce, where things are not looking so good. /1

XVII World Customs Law Meeting in Porto. Look forward to speaking about AEO and Trust and Check under the EU Customs Reform tomorrow.

The thing about de minimis threshold is that it's used not only by giants like Temu and Shein and fast-fashion-loving consumers but also by SMEs on both sides of the border. Friday's US threshold removal disproportionately impacts small businesses. www.cbc.ca/news/busi...

Good point.

If you were hoping for a relatively calm final weekend of August... guess again. This is likely to continue to be a massive legal battle. This is in addition to today's removal of de minimis and resulting disruptions. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Let's see if the new wave of US non-deals with trading partners will at least have a positive knock-off effect on long-stalled trade negotiations www.politico.eu/article/eu-f...

Still no official rules or guidance on the transshipment clause and tariffs. Transshipment means shipping goods from country x when they have not been processed beyond minimal operation in that country. /1 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/b...

Submitting customs paperwork means the need for data. More data than we currently collect for parcels sent by the postal service. Plus, you need to work out who's liable for the duties and how to enforce it. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Between this and the US-EU Joint Statement this week I see we have reached the acceptance stage of grief over MFN treatment www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

When I say customs de minimis is a trade facilitation measure that's kind of what I mean - customs formalities on small parcels are expensive and cumbersome.

I've been trying to keep track of all the proclamations, executive orders, customs guidance etc related to Trump's tariffs. Definitely not a complete list, but sharing in case it's useful tradeandborders.com/trump-2-0-tr...

This is from over a week ago, but it is worth reading. A couple of really good points from a former Director General for Trade at the Commission. "Donald Trump has not treated the traditional allies of the US more favourably than China." /1 encompass-europe.com/comment/the-...

It's a bit of a mess. While there is no clarity as to how the 40% transshipment tariff is going to be used, it doesn't mean that CBP won't start applying it to some shipments to "encourage" compliance. economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/tr...

The 1 Aug deadline that was not going to be extended just got extended for Mexico. For 90 days.

Which reminds me, we're likely to see and updated version of a stacking EO at some point in August.

"Catastrophic loophole", also known as a basic trade facilitation measure and one of the commitments under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...

End of de minimis, tariff on copper and Brazil. All that just today

These are teasers. As in TV or movie ads. We got used to the reality TV-isation of trade policy in the US but it still blows my mind that we have to take this guy seriously.

How unpatriotic of these companies. Don't they want to make America great again?

At this point I don't know what I prefer: a deal that isn't there or a deal where the two parties cannot agree what they agreed on and take weeks to clarify. Cause it seems there are only these two options available.

Sigh

👇

US confirming EU carve out on pharma and chips probes under 232. So EU tariffs stay at 15% as reported