Under EU customs law, storing and warehousing EU and non-EU goods is possible if certain conditions are met. However, since 2020, non-EU goods subject to anti-dumping, countervailing, or safeguard measures, can no longer be stored together with EU goods. This is because EU customs law now states that non-EU goods subject to anti-dumping measures do not have the same commercial quality as EU goods, and goods that do not have the same commercial quality cannot be stored together.
These criteria may create obstacles for companies that make use of common storage and inward processing procedures under EU customs law. For background, a study highlighted that over EUR 200 billion (EUR 72 billion in imports and EUR 148 billion in exports) in 2021 benefited from EU inward and outward processing operations. Several industry associations have opposed the addition of the criteria mentioned above to the EU customs law, because their members have based their business models on such procedures.
Specifically for inward processing, EU and non-EU goods subject to anti-dumping measures may need to be physically segregated and accounted for. This is not always possible. Companies may face difficulties in their production process under inward processing procedures, especially companies that use continuous production processes, or processes in which raw materials are melted. These companies may have to invest in additional physical and/or IT infrastructure to store EU and non-EU goods subject to anti-dumping measures separately, which can be costly.
