CLECAT's influence on the legislative process

In this post-conference reflections interview, Eva Cartwright, Senior Manager for Customs and Digitalisation at CLECAT, speaks with CustomsClear's Irina Duleva about how the association represents freight forwarders, logistics providers and customs agents in EU policymaking — a subject directly relevant to customs and trade compliance professionals following the EU customs reform.

Topics covered:

• How CLECAT channels practitioners' realities into EU policymaking through position papers, meetings with the Commission, Parliament and Council, and its seat in the Trade Contact Group (TCG) and related DG TAXUD expert groups
• The EU customs reform debate on liability, and how evidence from CLECAT members across 26 member states helped bring recognition of AEO certificates and the direct/indirect representation distinction back into discussions — with relevance also to CBAM and EUDR
• What makes CLECAT's voice distinct: sector-neutral, practitioner-led, and representative of SMEs without their own customs departments
• How CLECAT balances the interests of its roughly 19,000 diverse members through the Customs and Indirect Taxation Institute
• CLECAT's three priority areas: the EU customs reform (liability, representation, proportionality), digital interoperability (Customs Data Hub, ICS2, EFTI/ECMR, single windows, digital product passport), and sustainability through smarter logistics
• What is still missing to build genuine trust between business and customs authorities, and the role of the Trust and Check model
• The biggest challenge in representing industry interests amid the differing pace of legislation, technology and politics
• A ten-year outlook for a genuinely digital, data-driven customs environment built on partnership rather than control

For a broader overview of the topic, please watch the full recording. The slides are available in the Resources section.

Please note that this summary was generated using AI, based on the recording and available slides.