On 22 May 2026, the Council of the EU has approved a one‑year suspension of 5.5–6.5% customs duties on certain nitrogen‑based fertilisers, including fertiliser inputs. The measure aims to ease cost pressures on farmers and reduce reliance on Russian and Belarusian imports. The proposal for the suspension can be found here. The measure is intended to reduce cost pressures on EU farmers and the fertiliser industry at a time when fertiliser prices have increased significantly…
On 22 May 2026, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the revised Generalised Scheme of Preferences Regulation (“revised GSP Regulation”), which provides a strengthened framework for granting unilateral preferential access to the EU market for developing countries while reinforcing the conditions attached to those benefits. The reform reflects the EU’s policy objective of using trade preferences as a partnership tool to promote sustainable development, respect for human rights and good governance. It follows…
On 20 May 2026, the Council presidency and the European Parliament reached an agreement on two regulations aimed at implementing the tariff-related aspects of the framework on a agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade between the EU and the U.S. (the “Trade Agreement Framework”), announced on 21 August 2025, following the EU–U.S. Joint Statement of 27 July 2025 in Turnberry (see our prior blog post on this topic here). In essence, the Trade Agreement…
On 29 January 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) delivered an important preliminary ruling in two joined cases, Keladis I (Case C‑72/24) and Keladis II (Case C‑73/24), in response to referrals from the Greek Administrative Court. The judgment (available here) addresses the circumstances in which national Customs authorities may rely on statistical methods to determine the customs value of imported goods, where the declared transaction value is considered unreliable. In summary: This post summarises the background to the cases…
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…
On 26 March 2026, the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the most comprehensive and ambitious reform of EU Customs Law since 1968. The agreement finalizes negotiations after three years since the European Commission published its draft proposal in 2023 (see our prior blog post here). The agreement sets the course for a fundamental transformation of the EU customs framework from a declaration-based system to a data-driven, risk-focused and highly digitized model.…
To kick off its 2026 Global Trade and Customs Webinar Series Baker McKenzie’s global customs team led a discussion on the the impact of the US Supreme Court’s recent IEEPA ruling and how the decision reshapes the global trade landscape. Below are the key takeaways from our recent discussion on the ruling. You can view the webinar recording and register for upcoming installments in the series here. 1. IEEPA-based tariffs declared illegal The US Supreme…
Baker McKenzie’s Global Trade Team is pleased to invite you to our 2026 Global Trade and Customs Webinar Series. This series includes a variety of sessions spread throughout the year, addressing the latest developments in trade and customs compliance. In these sessions, our panel of international trade and customs experts will discuss key trends and topics including customs, sanctions, export controls and trade remedies developments across regions. Click here for more information and to register.
On January 29th, a global panel of Baker McKenzie practitioners including former senior officials from the U.S. DOJ and FBI as well as our Global Head of Customs and North America Chair of Trade will present a webinar hosted by our Global Chair and Americas Chief Executive on “Navigating the New Era of National Security Geopolitics & Global Trade”.During this webinar, our panel of experts will share insider perspectives on emerging trends and enforcement priorities,…
On October 7th, a global panel of Baker McKenzie’s trade and customs practitioners host a webinar sharing their insights on the global state of India trade relations, as well as the trends we’re seeing with respect to India trade and opportunities these present. Topics to be covered include: The webinar will take place at 4:00 PM India Standard Time / 12:30 PM CET and is scheduled to run for 1 hour. For further information and to register,…