Customs and trade facilitation

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Efficient borders move at the speed of business.

Customs operations lie at the heart of international trade. Through our network of customs experts, ICC works to reduce friction where there should be flow.

This includes scaling trusted trader programmes, strengthening risk-based approaches to border management and advocating for better cooperation between border agencies to ensure goods move predictably, securely and at pace.

Digitalisation is central to this effort.

We are driving the shift from paper-based, fragmented processes to fully digital, interoperable systems – where data is submitted once, shared securely and recognised across borders.

Underpinning this is the need for clear, consistent rules and standards. We work in close strategic partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO), providing input into core technical areas such as the Harmonized System (HS), customs valuation and origin. We also help shape how customs evolves in response to new pressures, from carbon border measures to circular economy supply chains – ensuring global ambitions are delivered through frameworks that are workable for business.

This work is led by:

ICC Global Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission

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Valerie Picard – Global Policy Head – Trade

Paula Baena – Global Policy Lead – Customs

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What we stand for

Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programmes are voluntary schemes through which customs authorities grant trusted trader status to businesses that meet defined compliance, security and risk‑management standards. Approved businesses are recognised as low-risk operators and receive tangible benefits such as faster customs clearance, fewer physical and documentary inspections, and priority treatment at the border where controls are required.

Yet, uptake remains limited – particularly among MSMEs – due to complex participation requirements, burdensome certification processes, and limited perceived benefits. In many cases, programmes do not consistently deliver the tangible facilitation benefits needed to incentivise participation.

To increase participation and impact, governments should:

Simplify AEO application processes

Expand mutual recognition agreements to extend benefits across borders and improve coordination across government agencies

Clearly articulate the advantages of participation, such as faster clearance and fewer inspections for compliant traders

Raise awareness and provide targeted support, including training and helpdesks, to improve understanding of AEO programmes among business

Digitalise application and management processes to reduce administrative burdens

Ensure that programmes deliver clear, predictable and commercially meaningful benefits to participating traders

Greater uptake of AEO programmes reduces congestion at borders, allows authorities to focus on high-risk consignments and delivers faster clearance for compliant traders.

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Trade facilitation plays a central role in reducing delays, costs and uncertainty in cross-border trade, particularly for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). At the same time, it is a critical tool for strengthening integrity at borders.

Complex, opaque, paper-based border procedures, often spread across multiple agencies, create significant inefficiencies which disproportionately harm MSMEs while also enabling discretionary decision-making and informal payments. Corruption thrives in such environments. Trade facilitation, which reduces complexity and increases transparency, can play a central role in addressing these risks.

To strengthen integrity and improve efficiency, governments should:

Simplify and harmonise customs and border procedures across agencies

Digitalise processes to reduce manual handling and discretionary intervention

Increase transparency by publishing clear rules, requirements and fees

Establish robust feedback and grievance mechanisms for traders

Engage the private sector through structured public–private cooperation

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Circular economy models depend on goods moving efficiently across borders, often multiple times for repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing or reuse. However, existing customs frameworks are currently still largely designed for linear trade flows (import, use and discard) and do not adequately account for circular movements.

In particular, businesses face challenges related to inconsistent terminology and treatment of goods (e.g. ‘waste,’ ‘used,’ or ‘remanufactured’), the treatment of returned goods, inconsistent classification of used or remanufactured products, and duties or administrative burdens applied to goods re-entering a market after repair or refurbishment.

To support circular trade flows, governments should:

Promote greater consistency in definitions and terminology across regulatory frameworks and jurisdictions to reduce uncertainty and administrative burdens

Clarify and harmonise the customs treatment of returned, repaired and remanufactured goods

Ensure that goods moving for repair or refurbishment are not subject to unnecessary duties or duplicate procedures upon re-importation, including through more effective use of existing relief mechanisms

Adapt customs procedures to better facilitate reverse logistics and multi-stage cross-border movements

Provide clear guidance on classification and valuation of used, repaired and remanufactured goods

Promote greater consistency across jurisdictions to reduce uncertainty for businesses operating circular value chains

Enabling circular trade flows will support environmental objectives while maintaining efficient and predictable supply chains.

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Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs) – a tool to put a price on carbon – is adding a new layer of complexity to cross-border trade and customs compliance. As different jurisdictions move forward with their own approaches, divergent rules, methodologies and reporting requirements risk fragmenting markets, increasing compliance costs and disrupting supply chains, while placing additional administrative burdens on customs authorities and traders.

Governments should ensure that CBAMs are aligned across markets, based on clear and consistent methodologies, and designed to integrate effectively with existing customs processes, including data, reporting and risk management frameworks.

As set out in the ICC Global Principles for Effective Border Adjustment, more harmonised and coordinated approach is essential to avoid unnecessary burdens at the border, provide predictability for business, avoid unnecessary trade frictions, and support climate objectives without undermining the multilateral trading system.

In particular, CBAMs should:

Align with WTO rules and fundamental UNFCCC and Paris Agreement principles
Promote international cooperation, including consideration of the specific circumstances of least developed countries and small island developing states
Apply risk based approaches, including reasonable di miminis thresholds
Ensure interoperability, harmonised calculation methodologies and recognition of equivalence
Include meaningful consultation with trading partners and business in the design phase
Be implemented in stages, allowing for real testing, learning and adjustment in the implementation phase

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