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 commercial shipment does not clear. It is the most basic piece of customs identity a business can hold, and one of the most misunderstood, because since Brexit a single company can […]
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 operator orders a liquid-cooled GPU cluster. The order covers millions of dollars of accelerators, the racks, the cooling distribution units and the fluid. The hardware gets all the attention, and it usually clears customs without drama. The line that gets held, or cannot legally be used in the country at all, is the […]
You Moved Production Out of China. Your Certifications Did Not Automatically Move With You.
A hardware company moves production of its networking equipment from Shenzhen to a contract manufacturer outside Hanoi. The tariff maths works and the first Vietnamese-built units ship to the US and the EU. Then a routine customs examination in Rotterdam pulls a unit, and the compliance team finds the new factory swapped the wireless module […]
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 […]
The EU Digital Product Passport Makes Your Importer Liable
On 19 July 2026, the European Commission switches on the Central Digital Product Passport Registry and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation reaches full application. Almost nothing happens. No product on any shelf in Europe becomes illegal that morning, no shipment gets turned away at Rotterdam, and most importers of IT hardware will not notice […]
The Section 122 Tariff: What It Was, What You Can Still Recover, and What Replaced It
The Section 122 tariff was a 10% surcharge on almost all US imports that ran for exactly 150 days, from 24 February to 24 July 2026, and then expired by operation of law. For the five months it was in force it was the single largest variable in the landed cost of importing into the […]