What moves your costs, your transit times and your cargo today.

Good morning. One issue clearly outweighs the rest today: since yesterday, the EU has charged for every item sold remotely from outside the bloc and requires product identifiers in the customs declaration. This is not a minor charge for operators handling low-value orders, as it accumulates per unit rather than per parcel; incomplete data can also hold up clearance. The second front is operational: shipping lines are adjusting services in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and the transatlantic, while air cargo enters the expensive phase of peak season. Outside Europe, the San Antonio blockade is already affecting container movements and fruit exports. The day brings no single crisis, but several changes requiring data, capacity and delivery dates to be reassessed before an operation is confirmed.

THE DAY IN 30 SECONDS

• The EU has applied a €2 charge per item since 1 November and requires product identifiers.
• Norway has activated the EFTA-Mercosur agreement with Brazil and Uruguay, with more than half of its exports duty-free.
• WorldACD puts global air spot rates at $3.80/kg, up 5% in week 43.
• CMA CGM is withdrawing the European leg of PAD for 18 weeks and removing four vessels from the service.
• Sidra and Emirates Shipping are reorganising Red Sea connections, while CU Lines replaces Sohar with Duqm.
• Messina is removing one of its two Misurata calls from its service from Castellón and Barcelona.
• Agreporsai continues to block access to San Antonio depots, with the fruit season already affected.
• Antwerp is raising towage charges by 3.57%; Posorja is expanding capacity and Arken is nearly doubling its intermodal yard.
• Knight-Swift warns of reduced Mexico-US capacity; Nuevo León cuts a state toll by 50%.

TODAY IN FIGURES

⚖️ TARIFFS AND TRADE POLICY

Norway launches Mercosur agreement with Brazil and Uruguay

The figure: more than 50% of Norwegian exports become duty-free from day one

The free-trade agreement between EFTA and Mercosur entered into force on 1 November for Norway, Brazil and Uruguay. Elimination of the remaining tariffs will be phased in over periods of between four and fifteen years, depending on the product.

The pact particularly improves Norwegian access for industrial products, fish, machinery, electrical components, fertilisers and maritime services. Argentina, Paraguay, Switzerland and Liechtenstein have yet to complete their ratification processes.

Why it matters: the agreement does not change tariffs on EU-origin goods, but it reduces the disadvantage faced by Norwegian suppliers compared with EU companies in Brazil and Uruguay. Under DDP, the seller assumes clearance and duty; under DAP, these are borne by the buyer/importer. Norwegian competitors may gain preference in the same tariff lines supplied into these markets.

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🚪 CUSTOMS

The EU charges €2 per item and requires identifiers

Why it matters: the charge accumulates per item, rather than per shipment, and can exceed the duty itself on orders containing many low-value units. Under DDP it is included by the seller; under DAP, CPT or CIP it falls to the buyer/importer, although the platform or declarant may advance and recharge it. Product catalogue structures and master data become material before new declarations are lodged.

• The customs handling charge is fixed, non-refundable and applies to every item in a distance sale, including when the shipment exceeds €150.
• From 1 November, the trader and manufacturer identifiers must be declared for each item; the standardised identifier is added when one exists.
• The charge is added to the temporary €3-per-item duty that has applied since 1 July to certain shipments of up to €150.

What to watch: rejections or holds affecting H1, H6 and H7 declarations submitted without valid identifiers or with inconsistent product references.

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🚢 OCEAN SHIPPING

CMA CGM removes Europe from PAD for 18 weeks

The figure: four fewer vessels between mid-November 2026 and late March 2027

CMA CGM will temporarily suspend the transatlantic leg of its Panama Direct service after the kiwi season ends. Northern European ports will disappear from the rotation, which will retain weekly departures between Australasia and the US East Coast.

The fleet will be reduced to eleven vessels of around 2,500 TEU. European cargo originating in or destined for Australia and New Zealand will require another line or a different transhipment during the winter.

Why it matters: the withdrawal reduces options for refrigerated cargo and European cargo moving to Australasia. The last European PAD sailing and transit margin for orders due between November and March become relevant planning constraints.

What to watch: the transhipment port and total transit time CMA CGM will offer as a replacement to European customers.

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