Erich Paul Lemke, chairman of the BDI Working Group on Customs and Trade Defence Instruments, knows that digitalization offers enormous potential for simplifying customs procedures and must therefore be implemented consistently. In the interview, he also talks about further opportunities for simplification, the creation of a level playing field and other priorities of the working group.

Digitalisation and de-bureaucratisation offer an important opportunity to simplify customs procedures. This is not only to the benefit of economic operators, but also of the customs authorities. Digitalisation of customs procedures must therefore be implemented consistently at all levels and should always lead to a reduction in bureaucratic requirements for economic operators.

Rules of origin determine when a product can be traded under the preferential conditions of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). They are intended to prevent trade diversions. However, they significantly increase the complexity of trade agreements. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, suffer from the additional bureaucratic costs. Rules of origin should therefore be simplified and harmonised.

EU anti-dumping (AD) measures are essential to protect European producers from unfair competition from abroad. At the same time, it must be ensured that their application complies with the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The EU completed the reform of its trade defence instruments, including AD measures, in July 2018.

Clearing goods at customs originally meant a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork. For many countries this is still the case today. In the EU, electronic customs procedures are already the norm. However, they vary from country to country and a large number of contact persons makes the clearance of goods unnecessarily burdensome. In the digital age, responsibilities should be more centralised and custom procedures further digitalised.