EU law update July-August 2026

Two new origin tests now decide whether goods are released and what duty applies, and in both the evidence must be in the declarant's hands when the declaration is lodged. From 1 October 2026, steel in the 26 Annex I categories of the Steel Regulation, whatever its origin, needs the country of melt and pour and the heat number, or the import is rejected; fallback documents without a mill test certificate are accepted only until 30 September 2027. Since 1 July 2026, US-origin goods get the adjusted duty only with proof of direct transport, and a stop in a third country must be evidenced. On classification, the General Court's Kronospan judgment moved decorative paper from 0% to 6.5% because the resin, not the majority material, decides the product's use, and five further July instruments are covered. The summer's sanctions listings reached Russia, Iran, Cambodia and Myanmar, and a 'no match' in screening still leaves ownership, control and front companies to check. Beyond customs law, the Commission's list of 20 July 2026 counts 383 acts that customs enforces, and July and August added ten CBAM guidance documents, the third edition of the EUDR guidance ahead of 30 December 2026 and the PPWR from 12 August. Trade remedies are given product by product, and the EU-US part sets out the adjusted EU duties, the 31 December trigger on steel and aluminium and the new US Section 232, 301 and 201 tariffs. Watch the recording for the full picture of the July-August 2026 changes, from origin to the dates to diary up to December 2027.