KluwerLawOnline.com - Global Trade and Customs Journal

How New Zealand’s Trade Remedies System Responded to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, it spread quickly and wreaked havoc globally. Countries were forced to develop solutions and adopt practices to deal with the fallout, in many cases where there was no existing playbook to rely on. New Zealand was not immune. As global production and trade slowed, its geographically isolation meant it became difficult to get goods to market. At the time, New Zealand was about to impose anti-dumping duties on steel imports from South Korea to address the harm to its domestic industry resulting from the dumped imports. It became obvious that the duties would be counterproductive, at least while the pandemic was prevalent, and a solution was needed to deal with the impact of the pandemic on New Zealand’s steel market. New Zealand had experienced a devastating earthquake several years prior to the pandemic and had adopted legislation to provide for the suspension of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties in the case of a natural disaster or emergency. It enacted this provision on imports of steel from South Korea. A comparison with the European Union’s suspension provisions leads to the conclusion that countries should adopt powers in their legislation to suspend, or defer for a period of time, the imposition of trade remedies under certain, defined circumstances. Those circumstances might range from an improvement in the economic conditions since the investigation was started through to the justification of the duties being materially affected by an unusual or extreme event.

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X

The Impacts of the Tariffs Imposed by the US on Brazil

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

Since April 2025, Brazilian exports have been subject to additional tariffs imposed by the United States, amounting to 50% on a substantial portion of the products exported by Brazil. To date, there has been no indication of any relaxation of these tariff measures, nor of negotiations that could lead to a reduction in the applicable rates or the exclusion of specific products. In this context, we propose a methodology to assess the impact of these tariff measures on Brazilian exports, as well as the mechanisms available to Brazil in response to this new reality

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X

Unravelling the Potential Implications of the EU CSDDD for India’s Textile and Clothing Value Chains

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

The European Union (EU) has been at the forefront of advocating global social and environmental governance through its sustainable supply chain initiatives under the ambit of the EU Green Deal. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is a unilateral policy initiative that aims to mitigate potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts of companies’ global supply chain operations. Noting that the CSDDD may be streamlined in European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen’s second term, this study examines the potential implications of CSDDD as currently framed for India’s textile and clothing (T&C) value chains and their existing governance structures. The study findings demonstrate that the directive raises serious concerns related to the privatization of regulatory and compliance costs, consolidation of suppliers, higher investment requirements for due diligence compliance, development of information and data management systems, risk of supply chain networks’ restructuring, coordination costs, and technical capacity constraints.

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X

China’s Export Control of Dual Use Items: From Multilateralism to Extraterritoriality

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

China’s 2024 regulation on export control of dual use items led to a transformation from a fragmented and sector-specific management to a centralized and systemic governance of export controls. This regulation, which is focused on national security broadly defined, established a comprehensive regulatory framework with centralized coordination and multilayered risk prevention mechanisms. Most importantly, the newly adopted rules provide for extraterritorial enforcement of export controls, which enhances China’s influence over global supply chains. In contrast to the European Union and the United States, China employs a ‘few but precise’ item selection strategy, with particular focus on advanced technologies and critical raw materials. This disparity between unilateral export control systems results in asymmetrical regulations, posing new challenges for corporate compliance and cross-border supply chain management.

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X

Anchor of Global Cooperation in Customs Matters: An Analysis of the Convention Establishing a Customs Cooperation Council

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

International trade underwent a major reorganization after the end of World War II with the signing of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947. This was followed with the conclusion of a Convention establishing a Customs Cooperation Council (CCC Convention) in 1950, demonstrating a determined effort by the respective contracting parties (CPs) to cooperate on issues regarding Customs. The CCC Convention created a Customs Cooperation Council (CCC), the present-day World Customs Organization (WCO), that has played a major role in transforming national and global Customs operations. The CCC Convention entered into force in November 1952, and it has consolidated itself as an anchor of global cooperation in Customs matters. The CCC now has 186 members, who among them, process 98% of global trade. It has eased with the seamless flow of goods in international trade. The legal texts of the CCC Convention have contributed towards effective cooperation among Customs administrations in the world. This paper is a textual analysis of the CCC Convention.

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X

De Minimis Thresholds in the Digital Age: Evolution, Challenges, and Policy Implications

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

This article examines the evolution and current challenges of de minimis thresholds worldwide, particularly in the context of rapid e-commerce growth. Originally designed as administrative tools to exempt low-value shipments from customs duties and procedures, these thresholds now face unprecedented pressure resulting from the expansion of digital commerce. The analysis traces the historical development of de minimis regimes across major jurisdictions, evaluates recent reforms driven by e-commerce disruption, and explores the integration of thresholds into non-fiscal legislation addressing environmental and social concerns. Key findings indicate a global shift from fixed monetary thresholds toward risk-based, technologyenabled systems. The article concludes with policy recommendations emphasizing international harmonization, technological innovation, and adaptive regulatory frameworks to balance trade facilitation with revenue protection, consumer safety, and fair competition in the digital economy

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X

Judicial Review of Anti-Dumping in Türkiye: Structural Bottlenecks

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

The liberalization trend that dominated global trade since the 1990s has gradually given way to a renewed wave of protectionism, with trade remedies becoming increasingly prominent instruments in international trade. Türkiye is one of the most active users of anti-dumping measures globally, however, the judicial review of such measures remains limited in both scope and depth. This article examines the current legal framework governing the judicial review of anti-dumping measures in Türkiye and addresses structural and procedural areas that could be enhanced to strengthen legal scrutiny. The article highlights several institutional and procedural factors that may constrain the effectiveness of judicial review including the absence of specialized courts, and broader systemic challenges such as heavy judicial workload and low number of legal challenges brought by affected parties. It concludes by proposing a set of institutional and procedural reforms aimed at strengthening the credibility, transparency, and legal accountability of Türkiye’s trade remedy regime.

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X

Impact of Digitalization on Trade Facilitation and Revenue: Evidence from Pakistan

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:01:06 GMT

This paper traces the trajectory of digitalization and innovation reforms undertaken by Pakistan Customs to facilitate cross-border trade, with special focus on Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA), the latest initiative of the Government of Pakistan under the Prime Minister’s Transformational Plan for FBR. Data of over 144,000 goods declarations (GDs) of red (non-facilitated) and yellow (semi-facilitated) categories filed in 180 days, pre-intervention ninety days, and ninety days post-intervention, is analysed to assess the impact of this initiative on trade facilitation and quality of assessments. Pre-post data of assessment time, documents calling, and referrals to physical examination, reviews filed, and clearance-related complaints are evaluated to assess the impact on trade facilitation. The results conclusively suggest that under the new initiative, trade facilitation has increased remarkably. For determining the impact on the quality of assessments, analysis of assessed value (AV) vis-a-vis declared value (DV) is conducted. The results suggest that revenue did not witness any dip, and the quality of assessments improved due to FCA intervention. The positive impact on revenue (collected as additional revenue), though marginal in comparison with the increase in trade facilitation, further confirms that the quality of assessments has increased in the post-intervention period. Impliedly, it also suggests that the quantum of import-stage lost revenue through undervaluation and collusion is much less than generally perceived and reported in the press. The paper argues that the abolition of interaction between the assessors and customs brokers, embedding an element of anonymity in the process of assessment of GDs, and innovation in the internal management of the organization, are the key determinants of the positive outcomes. AI-driven risk evaluations and assessments of GDs and the use of a Blockchain-based framework are suggested to further enhance trade facilitation and to improve the quality of assessments.

Volume 21 Online ISSN 1569-755X