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Legislation

Key Updates for International Trade and Transport

 Updated: 22 January 2026

Current changes in regulations and rules affecting international trade. In this section, we review key legal issues and provide expert commentary on how they apply in practice.

 

EAEU: Updates to Customs Rules and Technical Regulation

Customs and Tariff Measures

(Direct impact on import payments)

The Eurasian Economic Commission has reduced import duties to zero for waste and scrap of precious metals under certain EAEU HS codes until 31 December 2028 inclusive. The decision enters into force 30 calendar days after its official publication. The EEC noted that the previous import duty rates for these positions were 15% of the customs value. 

Practice

If you work with these product categories, recalculate the economics of your contracts and check the accuracy of HS code classification in advance.

Technical Regulations and Standards

Indirect impact: market access for goods

The EEC continues to update lists of standards and testing methods linked to EAEU technical regulations. The evidence base for conformity assessment must remain up to date.

Practice

This is not “customs” in the narrow sense, but at the border it often turns into a very practical problem: no valid document = no release. Check that your test reports and certificates refer to the current applicable standards.

Where to Track Official Updates

News, decisions, and updates on regulatory measures are published on the EEC website. Legally significant texts should also be checked through the official EAEU legal portal.

 

Türkiye: Changes in International Transport and Foreign Trade

Foreign Trade / Import

(Basic rules of the import regime)

The İthalat Rejimi Kararı — Import Regime Decision No. 3350 — was published in an updated version on 6 January 2026.

Practice

This document sets the general framework for import procedures and applicable charges. It is useful to check it when rates, exemptions, or licensing requirements change, and in disputed cases involving import permits or supporting documents.

Customs Clarifications
Circulars

The Turkish Ministry of Trade maintains a Genelge section where customs circulars are published. These circulars may include changes or clarifications to annexes, lists, procedures, and implementation details.

Practice

Circulars can change real border practice faster than large laws. Naturally, because apparently logistics needed one more way to surprise people.

International Road Transport

Changes to the Karayolu Taşıma Yönetmeliği

Türkiye’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has reported amendments to the Karayolu Taşıma Yönetmeliği, including changes published in the Resmî Gazete.

An updated version or amendment package was also published on 1 October 2025, and it is often used in the sector as a consolidated text.

Practice

Check the carrier’s licenses, authorizations, operational requirements, and applicable sanctions. In international transport, a “small formality” can easily turn into a fine, a delay, or a blocked shipment.

Türkiye’s CBAM / SKDM Agenda

Carbon-related requirements as part of foreign trade

The Turkish Ministry of Trade publishes clarifications on SKDM, Türkiye’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism agenda, including amendments and reporting-related timelines for 2026.

Practice

Even if you are not the importer into the EU, your European counterparties may start requesting emissions data, origin data, and supporting documents from your supply chain.

 

European Union: Import, Export, Sanctions, Certification, and Environmental Requirements

Sanctions and Restrictions

Export, import, services, and transport

The European Commission maintains an official section on restrictive measures / sanctions and regularly updates explanations and FAQ materials.

Practice

Sanctions compliance is not a checkbox. It is a real risk area involving blocked payments, refusal of insurance or freight services, and customs problems. A tiny document mismatch can become a very expensive “learning opportunity”, as humans call disasters with invoices.

CBAM and 2026

The EU’s Access2Markets platform provides official guidance on CBAM and its application. The European Commission also publishes Q&A and overview materials on the development and strengthening of CBAM.

Practice

If your goods fall under CBAM sectors, such as steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen, and related categories, the European importer will request data on embedded emissions and supporting documents from the supply chain.

EUDR: Deforestation Regulation

Application dates postponed

The European Commission’s official EUDR page confirms the application dates:

  • Large and medium operators: 30 December 2026

  • Micro and small operators: 30 June 2027

  • Micro and small operators already covered by the EU Timber Regulation: 30 December 2026

The Commission also notes that the EU amended the Deforestation Regulation in December 2024 and December 2025, introducing simplification measures to reduce administrative burden. 

Practice

For timber, coffee, cocoa, and other covered product groups, this means traceability and due diligence should be prepared in advance. A postponement is not a cancellation, despite the heroic optimism of people who read only headlines.

Sustainability and Certification

Digital Product Passport under ESPR

The European Commission describes the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Digital Product Passport as tools for providing data on products, components, and materials.

Practice

This will gradually move from “environmental reporting” into the category of mandatory data for sales and imports. The more complex the product, the more painful it will be to catch up at the last minute.

Customs and E-commerce

The rules for small parcels are changing

The European Commission announced the introduction of a temporary €3 customs duty per item on low-value e-commerce parcels sent directly to consumers from third countries. The Council of the EU also confirmed that, from 1 July 2026, goods entering the EU in small consignments valued below €150 will be subject to a fixed €3 customs duty under the relevant conditions. 

Practice

Importing into the EU through small parcels will become less “cheap and fast”, and customs control will become more systematic.

 

International Conventions and Standards: What Matters in Practice

CMR / eCMR

Road transport

UNECE provides the framework for the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention concerning the electronic consignment note, commonly known as eCMR. The UN Treaty Collection should be used to check the status of participation by country.

Practice

eCMR reduces paperwork and speeds up document flows, but it works properly only when all participants in the chain are ready: carrier, sender, consignee, platforms, and the legal framework in the countries along the route.

TIR / eTIR

Customs transit

UNECE provides an overview of the TIR system as a global customs transit mechanism and of eTIR as its digital development.

Practice

TIR can save time at borders, but it requires discipline with documents, seals, and routes. eTIR moves this into digital form, meaning the human factor can now break the process earlier, at the data-entry stage. Progress, apparently.

IMO / IMDG

Dangerous goods by sea

The IMO’s IMDG Code regulates the maritime transport of dangerous goods, including packaging, stowage, segregation of incompatible substances, and related safety requirements. The IMDG Code 2024 Edition, Amendment 42-24, enters into force on 1 January 2026, with voluntary application possible from 1 January 2025 during the transition period. 

Practice

Errors in dangerous goods documents can lead to loading refusals, delays, and penalties. Check classification, marking, declarations, and carrier-specific requirements under the 2026 edition.

Incoterms® 2020

Contracts, risks, and costs

The ICC’s Incoterms® 2020 rules define how tasks, risks, and costs are allocated between the seller and buyer in international trade transactions.

Practice

The most common mistake: parties write “FOB” or “EXW” out of habit, fail to specify Incoterms® 2020, do not clearly name the place of delivery, and then end up arguing over terminal charges, export clearance, insurance, and the exact point at which risk transfers.

Links

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