Introduction: Trade’s paper problem meets its digital moment For decades, international trade has been powered by world-class logistics—and slowed by nineteenth-century paperwork. Title documents, letters of credit, certificates and invoices shuttle between banks, carriers, forwarders and authorities, often copied, couriered and rekeyed multiple times. The result is delay, cost, fraud exposure and barriers for smaller [...]
Continue reading
Executive summary European customs administrations are under contradictory pressures: stop more fraud and unsafe goods, but release compliant consignments faster. For two decades, the Union Customs Code (UCC) and the EU Customs Risk Management Framework (CRMF) leaned heavily on rules-based targeting. That era isn’t over—but it is being augmented by machine learning (ML) and advanced [...]
Continue reading
Introduction UK Freeports are designed to catalyse trade, investment, and jobs by combining two powerful bundles of incentives within mapped areas: (1) tax reliefs inside designated Freeport special tax sites and (2) customs and excise facilitations inside designated Freeport customs sites (also called “free zones”). The two site types can be co-located, and businesses may [...]
Continue reading
Introduction — Why high-tech trade matters more than ever “High-tech” is not a monolith; it is a basket of R&D-intensive industries—electronics and telecommunications equipment, computers and office machines, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, scientific instruments, precision and medical devices, and more. These are the sectors that embed design, IP and advanced manufacturing in their cost base, and they [...]
Continue reading
Introduction Handcrafted goods—textiles, ceramics, carved wood, metalwork, baskets, jewellery, decorative glass, and artisan homeware—enjoy resilient demand in the United Kingdom. Their appeal lies in cultural provenance, design authenticity, and sustainable narratives that mass production rarely matches. Bringing handicrafts to market, however, requires diligence across three domains: accurate tariff classification and origin treatment; precise computation of [...]
Continue reading
Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a peripheral technology in international commerce; it is becoming the connective tissue that ties together supply chains, services trade, border processes, and market access. The World Trade Report 2025 positions AI as a general-purpose technology with economy-wide spillovers that can amplify trade-led growth—provided governments and firms invest in [...]
Continue reading
In the ever-evolving landscape of UK trade and customs, staying ahead of economic indicators like inflation is crucial for businesses navigating imports, exports, and compliance. The latest Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for August 2025 reveals key trends that could influence everything from import duties to supply chain [...]
Continue reading
Introduction: A bigger, broader definition of “secure and facilitated trade” The World Customs Organization’s SAFE Framework has underpinned border modernisation since 2005, guiding how customs authorities cooperate with each other and with business. The 2025 update is the most consequential refresh in years. It keeps the familiar pillars—Customs-to-Customs cooperation, Customs-to-Business partnerships, and Customs-to-Other Government Agencies [...]
Continue reading