On 1 July 2026, the EU will begin levying a flat customs duty of EUR 3 on goods contained in consignments valued at EUR 150 or less entering the EU. The measures outlined in this blog are set out in Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382, as well as in the updated UCC-IA and UCC-DA. They remove the long-standing customs duty exemption for low-value imports and marks the first concrete step in the EU’s broader customs reform…
On June 16, 2026, the European Parliament (EP) approved two legislative texts implementing the EU’s tariff commitments under the EU-US trade agreement. Formal approval by the Council of the EU remains pending. The adopted measures provide for the elimination of tariffs on all US industrial goods and grant preferential market access for a wide array of US seafood and agricultural goods. The extension of tariff-free lobster imports, now including processed lobster, was also endorsed by…
On June 10, 2026, the European Union and four Eastern and Southern Africa States: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, concluded negotiations to deepen the existing EU-Eastern and Southern Africa Economic Partnership Agreement into a modern and comprehensive free trade agreement. The agreement is the first of its kind between the EU and partners in Sub-Saharan Africa. The framework remains open to accession by other Eastern and Southern Africa States, with negotiations with Zimbabwe currently ongoing.…
Austria has published a draft Delivery Tax Act introducing a new levy on e‑commerce parcel deliveries. If enacted, the rules would apply to deliveries for which the tax arises after September 30, 2026, potentially creating a new cost layer for large online retailers in the Austrian market. Key features of the proposed tax The draft law introduces a flat-rate tax of EUR 2 per package, payable by the distance seller rather than the delivery provider…
Background Tensions between the United States and the European Union have intensified after President Trump announced, in a January 17, 2026, social media post that the United States will impose tariffs of 10% from February 1 and 25% from June 1 on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, unless a deal is reached for the “complete and total purchase of Greenland.” Tariffs Threatened by the United States The threatened…
On 27 July 2025, President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new deal on tariffs and trade between the United States and the European Union. The agreement aims to stabilize EU – U.S. trade relations and prevent a broader tariff escalation. Early reporting on and statements about the new agreement indicates that a single tariff rate of 15% will apply to most imports into the United States as well as…
As mentioned in our US customs team’s blog post, on July 12, US President Trump announced 30% tariffs on the E.U. and Mexico, now due to come into effect on August 1. This post focuses on the EU’s response. On 15 April 2025, the European Commission formalized a 90-day suspension of additional tariffs on certain U.S.-originating products. These measures were part of the EU’s broader rebalancing strategy in response to the United States’ Section 232 tariffs…
For the third week, we continued our Annual Compliance Conference with key customs developments impacting on businesses today. Specifically, we discussed the reform of the Union Customs Code in the EU, key trending customs developments in EMEA, and different methods of driving significant financial savings in global supply chains. EU customs reform: biggest overhaul since 1968 Tuesday 14 May SPEAKERS: Nicole Looks (Partner, Amsterdam), Thomas Kukanza (Senior Trade Advisor, Brussels), Sylvain Guelton (Senior Associate, Brussels),…