I’m old enough to remember Lech Walesa - an electrician/mechanic that galvanized the Polish people against Communism. Somewhere & somehow we must identify an individual that is unstained by money or interest… a person who will unite us against the ultra rich ruling class 👊🏽 #Solidarnośċ

Celebrating the champions of European strength and unity 🇪🇺🏅 Join us as Parliament confers the first-ever European Order of Merit distinctions on Angela Merkel, Lech Wałęsa, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and 17 other laureates. Tune in tomorrow at 11:30 to follow the ceremony: link.europa.eu/PnCky8

Lech Wałęsa has been recognized in Strasbourg as one of the inaugural recipients of a newly established European Union distinction.

And no lessons were learned

Update on this: this may yet be done CBAM 15 Dec style. Legislation provided last minute and the industry and MS left to deal with it. Brace for impact.

I sincerely doubt the EU removal of de minimis (e-commerce reform) will go ahead on 1 July. At least not in full. Or not in a harmonised way. There simply isn't enough time.

Long-awaited report on EUDR (Deforestation). Fulfilling a mandate under Article 34(1a) of the Regulation. It assesses simplifications to date and introduces new ones. /1 environment.ec.europa.eu/publications...

That was close

Feeling like a had a very productive day - finally took my Christmas tree down!

As the EU- Mercosur provisionally enters into force tomorrow, I'm about to draft a short summary of origin provisions for EU teaders. Stay tuned.

As the EU- Mercosur provisionally enters into force tomorrow, I'm about to draft a short summary of origin provisions for EU teaders. Stay tuned.

On 28th April, the European Parliament voted in favour of the new Generalised Scheme of Preference (GSP). This will enter into application on 1 January 2027. GSP is the EU’s unilateral set of preferences for developing and least developed countries. /1 policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/news/new-gen...

That's a shame www.euractiv.com/news/weyand-...

Let's hope not.

Let me try that again: tariffs are a border tax paid by the importer. The importer may then decide to increase their prices to the final consumer to cover their increasing costs. These two things are not in any way legally tied. 1/2

Well, of course! How else would that work? This is exactly what tariffs and passing costs onto consumers mean. Perhaps now the consumers will understand that tariffs are not all they were cracked up to be.

The new EU and UK steel measures bring up a lot of important questions around country-specific allocations, melt and pour origin requirements and NI. It was good to chair a meeting with MEP @karinkarlsbro.bsky.social in the Brussels Chamber of Commerce this week.

Today marks the beginning of the IEEPA refunds. CBP will provide the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) platform. Customs refunds are a standard process but rarely on this scale. Expect delays.

"After imposing the tariffs, the United States negotiated several bilateral trade deals with other countries. However, ... it is unclear whether these deals with actually improve agricultural market access for US exporters."

"Lasting and strategic partnerships that delivers real results". This can't come soon enough.

Talk is... Non binding

I seriously doubt consumers have the slightest idea how much e-commerce is going go change in July. And how many small traders will go out of business.

How does the EU customs reform support traders? First panel of the day.

Tomorrow ICC Belgium is hosting "The Future of EU Customs" event in Brussels. Very timely discussion as we now have the first draft of the final text of the new Customs Code and the first changes will be introduced in less than 3 months. /1 iccwbo.be/event/the-fu...

A couple of points on the recently published outcome of the call for evidence on UK rejoining PEM rules of origin agreement. (This time not on origin). /1 www.gov.uk/government/c...

👇

The fact that he approaches conducting war crimes with the same tactic as applying tariffs is further indication that this person is not mentally stable enough to have access to or control over any weapons.

No but seriously, imagine someone at work using that kind of language (e.g. one of his last Truth social posts demanding the opening) and actions and everyone else just going with it without thinking that the person might be mentally unfit to work.

So many thoughts, so many words and comparisons I cannot make on social media...

It's also pleasant to travel by train in Europe, though some countries are better than others. Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and many others have fantastic trains and connections. Germany, on the other hand...

Unsurprising, yet still disappointing outcome of MC14. It's not that the WTO is irrelevant, as some commentators like to say, it's more that it needs to get out of its own way. The problems are internal, not resulting from external geopolitical shifts. www.ft.com/content/ac71...

Confused about all the e-commerce news? There might be a good reason for it. There are two co-existing definitions of “e-commerce” in trade policy. They refer to fundamentally different things. Both are very hot topics at the moment. /1

Confused about all the e-commerce news? There might be a good reason for it. There are two co-existing definitions of “e-commerce” in trade policy. They refer to fundamentally different things. Both are very hot topics at the moment. /1

Back in Brussels for the EU Tax Symposium. Customs Reform is part of a much wider tax restructuring and of a response to new challenges. Simplification and harmonisation are the two key words.

Scott Bessent says 15% global tariff ‘likely’ to be imposed this week ft.trib.al/GxdCjnz

News feed cleanse and the nerdiest post you'll see all weekend. The EU's new Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) rules will also apply to goods manufactured in special economic zones and export processing zones. Which is pretty cool.

Say it isn't so...

I wrote a short blog on the future of the UK’s Single Trade Window on the back of last week’s FT article, co-authored by @pmdfoster.bsky.social /1 tradeandborders.com/is-the-uk-si...

On the IEEPA ruling and refunds. As we see many posts saying that it will be the importer who gets the money back, it’s good to remember that this will not be an easy process. Just like in the UK, when an importer claims a refund, there is paperwork involved. 1/2

Well, there goes 2026...

The IEEPA decision is bound to create a whole new set of questions and challenges. In terms of duty refunds, the sheer capacity required to request them and get them processed... Looks like another busy weekend ahead

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.