From 17 to 19 February, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), attended the 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC). This prominent global forum, founded back in 1963, gathered over 850 delegates, including more than 40 Heads of State and Government, over 60 ministers, as well as representatives from academia, think tanks,

The Upply x Ti x IRU European road freight rates index for Europe shows that spot rates fell by 2.4 index points in Q4 2022 vs Q3. This represents the first fall in the spot index since Q1 2020, but spot rates still remain up 18.1 points on Q4 2021. Meanwhile, the contract rates index

On 7 and 8 February 2023, the WCO conducted its sixth and final regional consultation on WCO modernization with the Asia/Pacific (A/P) region. In his opening remarks, the regional Vice-Chair referred to many changes in the international operating environment, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring proper adaptation by the WCO in order to make the

The global economy is set to slow down this year before bouncing back in 2024, a senior official with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, citing China’s sudden re-opening following the end of its “zero-COVID” policy, and a mild winter, in Europe as factors. More precisely, “Growth will remain weak by historical standards, as the fight

In the course of his speech, Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis ensured that much importance is attached to the Transatlantic relationship in Europe, and underlined that both sides want the next Trade and Technology Council to deliver on common pledges to build a “Transatlantic Initiative on Sustainable Trade". Besides, the parties agree to step up TTC work on removing

Please find here the UN Regulation No 49 – Uniform provisions concerning the measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression-ignition engines and positive ignition engines for use in vehicles [2023/64].

The world faces a set of risks that feel both wholly new and eerily familiar. The Global Risks Report 2023 explores some of the most severe risks we may face over the next decade. As we stand on the edge of a low-growth and low-cooperation era, tougher trade-offs risk eroding climate action, human development and future resilience.

At the moment, chains that are transparent, resilient and actually manageable due to extensive digitalization, with chain partners who create concrete added value separately and jointly,  is still a distant prospect. But companies are taking resolute action to get there. The need for a supply chain transition is widely supported, write evofenedex directors Machiel van

On November 10, the WTO and other international organizations organised a side event at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, titled "Accelerating the Low-Carbon Transition Through Sustainable and Inclusive Trade". The aim was to explore how the transition to low-carbon economies can be a tool for development and support national efforts to achieve their nationally

In a context of economic uncertainty exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the food security crisis, G20 economies between mid-May and mid-October 2022 introduced export restrictions at an increased pace, particularly on food and fertilizer, according to the 28th WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures issued on 14 November.