Can AI Replace Your Importer of Record? What It Can and Cannot Do
If you move high-value equipment across borders, servers, GPUs, networking hardware, medical devices, you have almost certainly asked a version of this question in 2026: can an AI tool now handle the import side, so I do not need to pay for an importer of record? It is a fair question, and getting the answer […]
Power of Attorney for Customs: What It Authorises, Who Stays Liable, and Why It Is Not a Formality
A power of attorney for customs is the document that lets a broker or agent transact customs business in your name. Almost every import that clears through a third party rests on one, and most importers sign it without reading it, on the assumption that handing over the authority also hands over the risk. It […]
What Is an EORI Number? Who Needs One, and the GB, XI and EU Split Explained
An EORI number is the identifier customs authorities use to know who is moving goods across a border. Without one on the declaration, a shipment does not clear. It is the most basic piece of customs identity a business can hold, and also one of the most widely misunderstood, because since Brexit a single company […]
Importing Used Equipment into Vietnam: 20 Years, 85%, and a List You Have Never Seen
A semiconductor packaging line is being relocated. The tools are eleven years old, fully functional, and worth a fraction of what the current generation costs. The receiving site is in Vietnam, one of the few places actively building semiconductor capacity from the ground up while the rest of the industry competes for finished AI hardware. […]
Importing Data Centre Cabling: Why a Fire Rating Does Not Cross Borders
Cable is the least interesting line on a data centre bill of materials. It is bought by the kilometre, it costs a fraction of what the compute costs, and it is usually the last thing anyone reviews. It is also, on a large build, one of the few items where the paperwork can stop the […]
Importing Network Security Equipment: The Licence You Cannot File Yourself
It is 2026, and a hyperscale operator ships the security stack for a new facility in Southeast Asia: firewalls, security gateways, encrypted storage, the routers and switches that tie it together. The export side is handled properly. The classification is confirmed, the parties are screened, the filing is made, and the shipment leaves the origin […]
Importing Diesel Generators: Why Emissions Certification Matters More Than Customs Clearance
A data centre programme is running to a commissioning date. The backup power package arrives on schedule: several multi-megawatt generator sets, procured from a manufacturer with a global footprint, shipped against a build deadline that has no float left in it. The units usually clear customs where the import documentation is complete, because a generator […]
The Coolant, Not the GPUs, Is the Hard Part of Importing a Liquid-Cooled AI Cluster
An AI infrastructure operator places an order for a liquid-cooled GPU cluster: several million dollars of accelerators, the racks, the cooling distribution units, and the fluid that makes the whole thing possible. The hardware is the expensive part and the part everyone focuses on. It is also the part that clears customs without much drama, […]
You Moved Production Out of China. Your Certifications Did Not Automatically Move With You.
A hardware company spends nine months moving production of its networking equipment from Shenzhen to a contract manufacturer outside Hanoi. The tariff maths works. The unit cost holds. The first Vietnamese-built units ship to customers in the United States and the European Union, and for a quarter everything looks like a success. Then a routine […]
US De Minimis Exemption Suspended 2026: What Every Importer and E-Commerce Seller Must Do Now
The US de minimis exemption has been suspended. Since August 29, 2025, every commercial shipment entering the United States, regardless of value, regardless of country of origin, and regardless of shipping method, is subject to formal customs entry, 10-digit HTS classification, and full duty payment. The $800 threshold that allowed 1.36 billion packages to enter […]