Do Harmonized Provisions Ensure Fairness in International Trade? The European Customs Law Experience

Although the efforts made by the Union legislator, even more recently, to ensure the correct and uniform tariff classification and determination of customs value are praiseworthy, divergent behaviours among European Union member states are still encountered, which is not without consequences for economic operators and the fair and competitive conduct of the internal market. For the customs classification of goods, the role of the Customs Committee Code comes to the fore, which, in the event of divergent views among member countries about the issuance of binding tariff information, is called upon to reach an agreed solution in a still uncertain regulatory framework. Even for value determination, the residual room for discretion for member states in issuing customs valuation authorisations generates undesirable gaps. This paper will examine the areas described above to determine whether the discrepancies found are physiological or whether action cannot yet be taken. Therefore, some solutions will be proposed without claiming exhaustiveness. We will also consider the draft of the new Union Customs Code that establishes, for the first time, a European Customs Authority currently under consideration by the European Commission. Keywords: Customs law; Binding tariff information; Customs value authorisation; Fairness; International trade