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EU, critical raw materials and due diligence
Why you should read about critical raw materials? These substances affect many and different indutries: renewable energies, electric vehicles, smartphones, ICT, fertilizers and other ones… On 18 March 2024 European Council adopted the proposal of the European critical raw material act which covers rare earths and materials with a high risk of risk disruption. It is in line, among others, with the European Green Deal strategy, the European Climate Law, Batteries Regulation and the 2022 Versailles Declaration. Essentially, the three pillars of this act are: a) diversify the critical raw materials supply in the perspective of the Europian autonomy b) promoting the circularity; c) develop reserch and innovation. At…
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Free trade agreement New Zealand-EU approved by European Parliament
On 22 November 2023 the European Parliament approved the free trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand. Now, before entering into force, this agreement should be approved by all the Member states parliaments. As declared: “…“Today is a good day for the EU and global rule-based trade. Our vote is a very clear signal of our commitment to negotiating new EU free trade agreements, of which we have seen too few in this parliamentary term. While we live at different ends of the world, the EU and New Zealand are close, trusted, reliable and like-minded partners. Together, we are driving global rules-based trade forward against the backdrop of a…
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The customs aspects of the batteries/waste of batteries regulation
The new regulation (batteries and waste of batteries) should be a good basis for the a new approach to customs; the key stones are: circular economy, trade compliance and sustainable development against environment destruction, deforestaion, climate crisis and pollution. Indeed, from a customs/customs compliance perspective, it is interesting to take into account that the protocol of origin of the free trade agreements (FTA) inked by the European Union usually lays down rules of origin which classify the waste/scramps (generated in the EU) as “originating material” of the European Union. Futhermore, the obligation to develop a reliable system of recycling of some materials contained by the batteries (cobaltum, lithium, nickel )…
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EU regulation on batteries and waste of batteries: a new way for circular economy
On 10 July 2023 the European Council adopted a new regulation (batteries and waste of batteries) that strengthens sustainability rules: for batteries; for waste batteries; This regulation covers all categories of batteries including: all waste portable batteries; electric vehicle batteries; industrial batteries; starting, lightning and ignition (SLI) batteries (used mostly for vehicles and machinery); batteries for light means of transport (e.g. electric bikes, e-mopeds, e-scooters). The regulation aims to: promote a circular economy by regulating batteries throughout their life cycle; sets targets for producers to collect waste; mandatoryminimum levels of recycled content; recycling efficiency target; from 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving…
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EU Customs reform, AEO and trusted operators scheme
The Commission working document “ Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013…” finds out the need to implement the scheme of the AEO (trusted and checked operators) by following the following areas: ‒ AEO traders can operate under a trust and check approach if they have their electronic system interacting with the customs’ systems on a constant basis and thereby allowing customs to have access to all relevant data directly from the operators’ systems. They can self-monitor the compliance of their goods and calculate and…
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The next Union Customs code and the customs action plan
The new Union Customs Code is the answer to CAP (Customs Action Plan) by which the EU reacts to this problem: the current customs system is burdensome for legitimate trade. And customs authorities struggle in their mission to protect the EU, its financial interests, citizens, enterprises, the Single Market, and the environment. In particular, there are the points highlighted: Customs authorities struggle in their mission to protect the EU; Compliance with customs formalities is burdensome for legitimate trade; The customs model is not fit for e-commerce; Limited data quality, access, and analysis; Member States diverge significantly in the application of the customs rules. In particular, the working document reports that:…
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The context of the new Union Customs Code: the next challenges of the customs
The Commission staff working document impact assesment report “Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013” has been published on 22.05.2023 and defines the context where the new Union Customs Code will be placed. This context is the Custom Union founded in 1968 which manages the external border of the EU by enforcing the rules governing the cross-border movement of goods, including by imposing a common tariff on goods imported from third countries. Customs traditionally collect customs duties and other taxes on imports and are…