Introduction Books, journals, teaching software, and laboratory apparatus travel daily from British warehouses to classrooms and research centres abroad. Yet the apparent simplicity of loading cartons onto a pallet masks a dense network of customs rules that determine how quickly— and at what cost—those consignments cross the border. Since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, [...]
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Introduction – Why the CPTPP Matters to the United Kingdom The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, better known as the CPTPP, is one of the world’s most advanced free-trade arrangements. With eleven founding economies across Asia, Oceania and the Americas, it already accounts for roughly 15 per cent of global GDP and represents [...]
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Introduction: A Quiet Policy Shift With Big Consequences On 2 June 2025 the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed that the United Kingdom will postpone – in effect, scrap for now – the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) border checks and fees originally scheduled to apply to most fruit and vegetable shipments arriving [...]
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The relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union has seldom stood still since the 2016 referendum, yet few moments have been as consequential as the announcement at Lancaster House on 19 May 2025. Branded the UK–EU Partnership Deal, this accord seeks to move both sides beyond years of reactive fixes and into a [...]
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Introduction: Why This Agreement Matters When the United Kingdom and the Republic of India announced their Free Trade Agreement on 6 May 2025, the announcement was heralded in London and New Delhi alike as the most ambitious bilateral trade pact either nation has ever signed outside its traditional blocs. The accord is predicted to raise [...]
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Northern Ireland’s unique post-Brexit trading position is about to experience its most significant technical change since the introduction of the Trader Support Service. On 28 June 2025 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will switch from the long-serving Automatic Licence Verification System (ALVS) to the European Union’s Certificates Exchange System (CERTEX) for verifying import and export [...]
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The Enveloppe Logistique Obligatoire (ELO) system is the most significant change to Franco-British roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) customs processes since Brexit. Introduced by French Customs on 28 April 2025 and compulsory from 1 September 2025, ELO folds every customs, safety-and-security and sanitary document for a truck into a single digital “envelope” identified by one barcode. Drivers present [...]
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Introduction Gold bars, platinum sponge, uncut diamonds, and coloured gemstones command exceptional value and are consequently subject to heightened scrutiny at the United Kingdom border. Importers who master the rules that govern tariff classification, customs valuation, security logistics, and electronic declarations reduce both financial risk and clearance delays. The following guide consolidates current HMRC requirements [...]
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