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The EU Customs is taking steps to improve the entry security and safety border controls. According to the European Commission, it entails an overhaul and reform from multiple perspectives, like IT, legal, customs risk management/controls and trade operational perspectives.

When goods are bought or sold “Free on Board” (FOB) it means that the seller delivers the goods to a ship at a port previously agreed to by the seller and the buyer. The seller loads the goods onto the ship. The buyer then takes care of the import formalities and transportation to the final destination. Free on Board is one of the oldest Incoterms. It dates back to when goods were carried by sailing ships and it was one of the terms when the Incoterms were first released in 1936. It is also one of the most used commercial terms.

As an increasing number of countries is getting a grip on the COVID-19 outbreak, economies around the world are starting up again. Ahead of the pack is China, which was hit hard, but was hit first. Chinese production facilities are returning to their pre-COVID capacity and the backlog of shipments waiting to leave the country is slowly declining.

Two weeks ago the Turkish government announced that import taxes were increased on products ranging from chemicals to machinery. It was a response to the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is trying to protect the country’s industrial producers.