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Industry welcomes customs reforms plans but much work still to do

[ May 17, 2023   //   ]

A group of 14 business associations, including forwarders organisation Clecat, the World Shipping Council and the European Shippers Council has welcomed the European Commission’s proposal for legal reforms to pave the way for the EU Customs Union, published on 17 May.

The coalition strongly agrees with the need to revamp the EU customs system, in order to better reflect the need for balance between trade simplification and enforcement, to ensure harmonized interpretation of the rules across the EU and to better equip it in order to face current global challenges and protect the Single Market.

They add that it will be particularly important for trade representatives to work closely with the EU Institutions during the upcoming co-decision process, as the concrete proposals tabled have not benefitted from trade consultation, adding: “Considerable industry input will be vital to ensure that the proposals become better adapted to the realities of business, trade and different transport modes bringing goods to the EU, which many currently lack. We are especially keen to ensure that the results meet the expectations and needs of a modern global customs environment for trade and we believe that an open exchange between the political, administrative, and operational parties is the only approach that can result in successful reform.”

The signatories say that there has been a “persistent lack of simplification and uniformity in the application of customs rules and a fully electronic environment for the completion of customs formalities in the EU, which were original objectives of the UCC. In particular, the deployment of the electronic systems still faces major challenges and there is diversity of interpretation and implementation of EU customs rules between EU Member States.

“The current state of UCC electronic systems deployment is already negatively impacting many businesses. We urge the Commission not to wait upon the implementation of the newly reformed UCC to address this issue that requires immediate attention.”

They add that it is important to ensure that reform of the EU customs system is fully compatible with WTO rules and especially with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

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