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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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The United Kingdom’s market for wines and specialty beverages—ranging from estate-bottled Bordeaux and premium sparkling wines to craft beers, ciders, meads, sakes, and small-batch spirits—remains resilient and discerning. Turning that demand into sustainable margin requires clear mastery of three pillars: accurate commodity classification and origin treatment; precise computation of customs duty, alcohol duty, and import [...]
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Introduction: Why this agreement could be the most consequential UK trade pact since Brexit The United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—are close to concluding a far-reaching free trade agreement (FTA). The corridor already moves tens of billions of pounds in goods and services [...]
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