Your trade and customs knowledge
go-to-place

In June 2024, the EU took another step towards building a climate-neutral and circular economy and a greener environment. This is the adoption of the new Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European … Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 - Ecodesign for Product Sustainability Regulation. The purpose of these innovations is declared to be quite noble - to increase product durability, reliability, maintainability, modernisation, reusability and recyclability, as well as to reduce waste generation and generally negative environmental impacts. Time will tell whether these goals will be achieved, as the first phase of implementation of these innovations is scheduled for July 2026. This article will help you understand what manufacturers, importers and other stakeholders can expect in the near future and the role customs will play in monitoring compliance with the new requirements.

The import of furs of wildlife into the State of Israel is under a strict supervision of the Nature and Parks Authority, which is department of the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection. … This is part of a larger issue of importing animals or parts of them, but in this article we will focus on the import of furs into Israel. It’s an interesting example, which we believe is not common elsewhere, due to a very specific piece of Israeli law. This law forbids importing wildlife fur, unless they meet the conditions of one of a very few exceptions. One of the key exceptions is fur for religious purposes. The Israeli Customs Authority, which is authorized to supervise imports, serves as the Nature Authority long arm to check the compliance of imports when a shipment containing animal fur arrives in Israel.

The customs industry, together with all the stakeholders such as policymakers, customs authorities, customs brokers, logistics, and trading companies, is becoming increasingly intertwined with … sustainability policies aiming to mitigate the impact of climate change. These policies include the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), deforestation, new corporate sustainability regulations, etc., but also e-customs and aspects of the proposed EU customs reform.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation is the EU’s main instrument to protect human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed … by chemicals. The legislation places a registration obligation on the importer. However, the definitions of the importer and import under the REACH legislation do not align with the customs terminology. The article demonstrates what happens when discrepancies arise.

Non-tariff measures are policy measures other than ordinary customs tariffs that can potentially have an economic impact on international trade in goods by changing the quantities traded, prices … or both.

REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It is the main EU legislation for the regulation of chemicals in the EU. It is a single economic market … measure applying in the European Economic Area (EEA). EU REACH ceased to have effect in Great Britain from 1 January 2021. The Government has put in place a separate UK REACH regime that applies to businesses that import, make, sell or distribute chemicals in Great Britain, whether as raw materials or in their finished state. Northern Ireland stays within the jurisdiction of EU REACH.

Sustainability-related legislation for material goods falls within the scope of customs control when goods cross international borders. But what exactly does 'sustainability' mean?

EU Regulation provides a new legal framework to improve information sharing and digital cooperation between customs administrations and other government authorities in charge of enforcing non-customs … formalities at the EU border. What are these non-customs formalities?