Policy paper

Fifth Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin Meeting Minutes

Published 13 March 2026

16 October 2025, London

Joint Minutes

1. Opening Remarks by the Co-Chairs

The UK and EU Co-Chairs welcomed participants to the Committee, hosted in Stratford (UK) for the first time. With regard to some of the more specific issues on the agenda both sides equally acknowledged the value of technical discussions, with the Committee providing the opportunity to update on those to demonstrate our progress and future plans. This update would be valuable to businesses that trade between the EU and UK. The Co-Chairs acknowledged the relatively dense agenda and the importance of continued collaboration under the TCA.

2. Adoption of the Agenda

The agenda was presented and adopted without changes.

3. Exchange of Information on Customs Regimes and Border Strategies, Including Legislative Developments

a) UK Update/Presentation on Digital ATA Carnets + EU Update on Digital ATA Carnets

The UK provided an update on the progress towards digital ATA Carnets, transitioning from the current paper-based systems. The UK noted successful trials held with international partners that had helped to shape current proposals. The launch of the UK’s rollout of Digital ATA Carnets is planned for April 2026 with regard to traffic from and to Norway, Switzerland and the EU. Legal preparations are ongoing in view of the fully digital implementation that is expected in 2028. The EU shared its own preparations, emphasising increasing readiness among Member States and the importance of coordinated communication. Digital ATA Carnets offer benefits to support compliant trade, including speeding up processes. Both parties agreed to share relevant contacts to support ongoing alignment of processes and the sharing of communications to help inform and facilitate trade.

b) EU Update on Union Customs Code (UCC) Reform Proposal

The EU outlined the current status of UCC reform proposals, explaining the legislative process and the limitations in sharing information until any new legislation proposal has been finally adopted. The EU set out its aims for a simpler customs union to facilitate legitimate trade and prevent instances of non-compliance, outlining the changes through which they aim to achieve this, including making online platforms function as responsible actors in the process for e-commerce formalities. The UK Co-Chair emphasised the UK’s dual interest in the reforms, regarding how they will impact GB exports to the EU as well as their implications for Northern Ireland, highlighting the need for EU-UK technical discussions on the reforms, including exchanges on e-commerce, as soon as possible.  The EU acknowledged the UK’s need to be consulted with regard to Northern Ireland and suggested to this end the customs subgroup of the Joint Consultative Working Group (JCWG) under the Windsor Framework. Regarding GB, the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin would be the appropriate forum, while any individual question could of course be raised when it appears.

c) UK Presentation on Customs Simplifications

The UK presented recent simplification measures from the Tax Update 2025, including improvements to temporary admission procedures, increased limits for authorisation by declaration, and initiatives to support customs digitalisation. Authorisation by declaration can now be used up to 10 times per 12-month period, simplifying access to certain special procedures. The UK also highlighted digitalisation initiatives, including pilots with US Customs and Border Protection to test solutions for US and UK businesses trading with each other, and forums to foster adoption of Electronic Trade Documents (ETDs). The HMRC Transformation Roadmap was highlighted, focusing on modernising and reforming customs administration. The UK noted positive feedback from industry and ongoing efforts to modernise customs processes. The EU drew parallels with their UCC reform plans and enquired on timelines for the review into post and parcels exports, following the consultation on their customs treatment.

d) ICS2 Update - Changes Regarding Entry Summary Declarations for Safety and Security Purposes for GB Operators

The EU presented on ICS2 changes, covering new requirements, the phased decommissioning of old ICS system, and the impact of derogations (i.e. postponement of obligations for the economic operators) for land and road good movements and trade operators affected. For some EU Member States that have requested derogations from the use of ICS2, the Commission was preparing a legal act to grant them additional time until 31 December 2025 to prepare businesses to comply. From the 1 January 2026 ICS2 for road and rail goods movements will become fully applicable as concerns flows between the EU Member States and UK. The EU explained further that some Member State requested derogation from the use of NCTSP6 (combined transit data with the new ENS security data) . For those Member States the Commission will grant derogation until 31st May 2026. The EU also explained that derogations for France apply only until 31 December 2025, after which economic operators must use ICS2 for goods entering France. The EU clarified that postal goods should be declared in ICS2 from 1 January 2026, in all cases. If an ENS is lodged in ICS2 as well as any other system (for example, ICS or NCTS P5), then it is the ENS recorded in ICS2 that must be processed in terms of risk assessment and controls. The business continuity plan (BCP) regarding ICS2 and NCTS P6 will be published by the end of the year. On ICS 2 evolutive maintenance, some v2 messages will be decommissioned by 3 February 2026, so only v3 messages will be accepted by the system after this time, and economic operators should prepare accordingly, to avoid disruption in their goods flows.

The EU emphasised the importance of economic operators preparing early and beginning to use ICS2 as soon as they are ready. The primary communication channels to receive the latest ICS2 information updates are the Europa and CIRCABC websites, as well as communications directed from national administrations. The UK asked about plans for supporting traders working with mixed systems, and the EU acknowledged the existing challenges, noting that trade associations continue to play a key role in disseminating information. The EU agreed to share information on support channels so these can be communicated to trade.

4. Discussion on Rules of Origin of the TCA

a) CAM Guidance

Discussions focused on progress towards publishing joint guidance for the definition of Cathode Active Materials (CAM) within product-specific rules for batteries. Both sides recognised the urgency for industry clarity ahead of rule changes in 2027, with a desire to include examples to illustrate requirements. The EU is working on its latest iteration of the joint guidance and aims to share updated text as soon as possible. Changes are anticipated to cover the creation of dedicated codes in the Combined Nomenclature for cathode materials, clarifications on how certain CTH/CTSH rule is to be applied in the context of the guidance, a clarification on how the value-added rules for chemical products can be applied to CAM and the treatment of recycled products. The EU suggested organising a technical meeting to achieve consensus on changes once the new version is ready and indicated that it will be up to both sides to agree on the text and organise simultaneous publication. The UK welcomed technical conversations to follow and hoped these could be held before the end of the year.

b) Used Clothing

The UK provided an update on the longstanding issue of rules of origin for used clothing, thanking the Commission for constructive engagement held earlier in the year. A comprehensive review of legal and policy implications was underway, with further updates to be shared once assessments were complete. The EU welcomed the UK’s approach and looked forward to receiving the UK’s proposals, which would be reviewed in detail and shared with EU Member States. The EU committed to returning a swift response once the information is received, in order to bring this issue to a close.

5. Implementation of the Protocol on Mutual Administrative Assistance (MAA) on Customs Matters – State of Play

The UK and EU reflected that updated lists of contact points to be utilised for MAA requests had been exchanged in advance of the committee, noting that this is a regular and necessary function, and it was good to see this being achieved early and successfully.

In reviewing the implementation of the MAA Protocol since the last meeting, the Commission reflected positive survey results from EU Member States that suggested cooperation was working well and had shown improvements from previous years. There are a few instances of reply delays, but it is understood that quick replies are not always possible for more complex requests. The EU intends to implement new processes to enable the statistical numbers of requests to be more accurately captured across all Member States. The UK was pleased to hear that their internal work to streamline UK MAA processes this year had generated improvements in practice. On methodology, the UK reiterated that AFIS mail is the correct delivery method for requests sent to the UK, and the EU noted the UK’s preferences. Both sides were happy with visible improvements, but the UK noted there was scope to discuss what might be driving a general downward trend in the numbers of requests being generated.

On OLAF matters, positions were outlined on the use of OLAF officers for UK witness statements, and it was agreed to hold a discussion to explore if there are any potential resolutions or alternative evidence provisions in future cases. It was noted that the respective legal structures make implementing any process changes regarding the dependence upon witness statements difficult. OLAF would continue to support cases where required but were keen to try improving processes

Transit compliance issues were briefly discussed, with the EU suggesting their analysis shows fictitious declaration closures. The UK highlighted the need for CTC forums and colleagues to be involved on any future discussions.

On the topic of OLAF input and potential accompanied visits to the UK, OLAF thanked the UK for the information exchanges that had occurred during 2025. Accompanied visits to the UK had not been necessary, which was due to the positive information exchanges between both parties - a result that OLAF wanted to highlight as a success and wished to maintain moving forward. It was agreed to continue to feedback on any OLAF-UK exchanges at the 2026 meeting of this Trade Specialised Committee.

6. Any Other Business (AOB)

No additional items were raised.

7. Conclusions and Next Steps

The Co-Chairs concluded the meeting, noting the positive atmosphere and productive discussions. Both parties agreed to continue their cooperation and to arrange if appropriate follow-up technical meetings.

8. Closing Remarks

The meeting was brought to a close, with both co-Chairs reiterating their thanks to all participants for their contributions and preparation. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing collaboration under the TCA.

Annex 1 – Participants of the Fifth Meeting of the Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin

• EU Delegation: EU Co-Chairs, European Commission Officials, Representatives of the EU Delegation to the UK, Representatives of EU Member States,  
• UK Delegation: UK Co-Chair, HM Revenue & Customs, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (including UK Mission to the EU), Department for Business & Trade, Cabinet Office, Crown Dependencies, Devolved Administrations (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)