Welcome to another edition of Customs Manager ESSENTIALS. We are the "little sister" of our weekly strategic intelligence PRO briefings.

We bring you

• Four carefully selected updates from our PRO briefings.
• One highlighted risk alert.
• One financial recovery opportunity.
• A fresh new VIDEO OF THE WEEK from our own YouTube channel.
• A rare government asset that we found, and you may have missed.
• A list of upcoming training to keep you up to date. With Customs Manager ESSENTIALS, we only scratch the surface.

Email us to activate your free 30-day trial of Customs Manager: PRO. No commitment. No credit card.

I. What You Must Know

UK: EU SPS Deal Preparation

We discussed this in The Customs Watch UK (Edition 11 - Week 12/2026) because the proposed SPS reset with Europe could reshape how agri-food trade operates across Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK government is exploring a potential alignment or "reset" on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures to reduce border friction. This shift could see the removal of many current physical checks but will require businesses to rebuild supply chains for speed rather than friction.

USA: IEEPA Refund System for IEEPA Duties

We discussed this in The Customs Watch USA (Edition 11 - Week 12/2026) because the Supreme Court's dismantling of the IEEPA tariff regime has triggered a massive duty refund situation for importers. CBP is currently racing to build the "CAPE" system to process these refunds, which involves importer-submitted CSV claims and phased validation batches. This is a board-level priority for any company currently carrying meaningful IEEPA duty exposure.

EU: U.S. Deal Vote Moves Ahead

We discussed this in The Customs Watch EU (Edition 11 - Week 12/2026) because Brussels is moving toward a final tariff decision on U.S. industrial goods while incorporating new safeguard language. The European Parliament is adding stricter enforcement triggers, signalling that trade trust is declining and politics is increasingly driving tariff decisions. Importers should prepare for a shift from general policy noise to specific, enforceable duty risks on industrial shipments.

EU: Frozen Voting Rights Blocked

We discussed this in The Export Control & Sanctions Watch (Edition 11-2026 - Week 12-2025) because the EU court confirmed that frozen Russian-linked assets lose their governance and voting rights. This legal precedent means that simply holding these instruments no longer guarantees participation in board decisions or corporate actions. Compliance teams must refresh their screening and governance controls to ensure they are not inadvertently facilitating restricted voting activities.

II. How To Reduce Your Risk

CDS Release 5.1.0 - Key Changes for Traders

• What It Means: Tighter validation rules in the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) will lead to immediate system rejections for entries with even minor data gaps.
• Who Is Impacted: The Logistics/Shipping Manager is affected because incomplete document codes or origin entries will cause food consignments to be delayed at the border.
• What You Can Do: Perform a "data audit" with your customs brokers to ensure all supporting references and excise data align with the new mandatory validation standards.
• What to Watch Out For: Expect a spike in "hard rejections" starting March 28, 2026, if legacy filing habits are not updated to meet the new technical requirements.
• Link To Find Out More: The Customs Watch UK (Edition 11 - Week 12/2026)

III. How To Keep More Of Your Money

USA: IEEPA Duty Refund Execution Strategy

• What It Means: The Supreme Court's strike-down of IEEPA tariffs has opened a massive, time-sensitive window to reclaim millions in previously paid duties.
• Who Is Impacted: The Finance Director or CFO is affected because these refunds represent a direct "cash injection" and a significant restoration of eroded profit margins.
• What You Can Do: Prepare a structured CSV claim file of all IEEPA entries to upload into the new CAPE system once CBP activates the phased validation batches.
• What to Watch Out For: Anticipate high administrative scrutiny on "protest" status; ensure all entry summaries are precisely mapped to avoid technical rejections by CBP.
• Link To Find Out More: The Customs Watch USA (Edition 11 - Week 12/2026)

IV. VIDEO OF THE WEEK

We recommend you watch "Denied Party Screening: The Export Compliance Risk". In this video, we explain why exporters today face strict liability under modern export control laws and how businesses can unknowingly violate sanctions — even when selling to customers in “friendly” countries. Governments now expect companies to prove they performed proper due diligence on buyers, distributors, banks, and ultimate end-users. This video is from our “Ask The Customs Manager Ltd.” YouTube Channel. We post new videos every week based on questions from the global customs and trade community. Free to subscribe.

V. TRADE DOCUMENT OF THE WEEK

Every week, we are pulling one high-value asset from your knowledge Hub, our searchable repository that PRO subscriber’s bookmark and return to for documents that are difficult to find easily elsewhere.

This week, we have selected: "UK Alignment with EU SPS Rules" – the executive summary of our new PRO Briefing.

To cut red tape and costs for importing and exporting with the EU, the UK will align with EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) legislation. Here is what it means! [Download the Executive Summary now].

VI. UPCOMING TRAINING

• Mon, Mar 23 The DEFINITE Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) (Training)
• Mon, Mar 23 U.S. Tariffs Update 2026
• Tue, Mar 24 Customs Warehousing (Training)
• Tue, Mar 24 Lodging a Successful CBAM Report
• Tue, Mar 24 Inward & Outward Processing (IP & OP) (Training)
• Wed, Mar 25 EU Sanctions Against Russia (and Belarus) - TRAINING
• Wed, Mar 25 Customs Valuation (Training)
• Wed, Mar 25 Export Controls: Dual-Use (Training)
• Mar 31 U.S. First Sale For Export
• Wed, Apr 01 CBAM CO₂e Reporting Training
• Fri, Apr 03 IACBAM 3004:2025 – CBAM Fundamentals Training
• Wed, Apr 08 VAT in Cross-Border Sales (Training)

To book, please e-mail [email protected]

If you want real Trade Intelligence, get an exclusive free test to CUSTOMS MANAGER: PRO and see the difference for yourself. If you would like to receive our full Intelligent Trade Briefing with the complete red, yellow, and green triage analysis to help your company move from being reactive to defensible, please e-mail [email protected].