Today it is the National Day of my home country Sweden. The Swedish National Day is a national public holiday observed in Sweden on June 6 every year. Prior to 1983, the day was celebrated as the Swedish Flag Day. At that time, the day was renamed as the Swedish Natuonal Day by the …

European governments are advising businesses not to use British parts in goods for export ahead of Brexit, Sky News has established. In its advice rolled out to all Dutch businesses, the Dutch government has told its exporters that “if a large part of your product consists of parts from the UK” domestic exporters may …

Having worked the last five years in Brazil, I am always interested in the latest developments of the country. I love Brazil and its people. It is one of my favourite countries in the world. I have many friemds there. One thing I have learned is that Brazilian people deserve more and better than …

Time to go to London again. Brexit is the largest change in the Customs and Border environment in our lifetime and it is exiting to be able to play a role in the practical technical aspects of this historical event. As a Customs and Border expert, I have worked more than three decades on …

It is 40 years ago today. Bruce Springsteen released the best album ever made, ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’. Songs that changed my life. I still get tears in my eyes when I listen to that album. Badlands, Adam raised a Cain, Something on the Night, Candy’s room, Racing in the Streets, The …

Björn Borg is a former world number 1 tennis player widely considered to be one of the greatest in the history of the sport. He is also a Swedish national hero. During a decade Borg was impossible to beat on a tennis court, having made his entrance to the international tennis circus at an …

The UK must submit written proposals on how it plans to keep a frictionless Irish border after Brexit in the next two weeks, Ireland’s foreign minister has said. Simon Coveney said if that does not happen the UK will face an uncertain summer of talks. Both the UK and EU say they are committed …

Does a trade war have any winners? Not really. There are no good examples in modern history that protectionism over time is a successful instrument. In fact we know that trade is the driver of development, the engine making our societies better. So why do we see an emerging trade war on the horizon? …

EU opens WTO case against Trump steel and aluminium tariffs. Dispute settlement case lodged but EU stops short of applying retaliatory tariffs. The European Union is pressing ahead with countermeasures in response to what it said was Donald Trump’s “pure protectionist” and “illegal” decision to impose trade tariffs on steel and aluminium. The EU …

US Trade Minister Wilbur Ross confirmed today at a press conference that it will introduce duties on steel and aluminum products from the EU. The EU Commission will respond immediately with countermeasures, according to President Jean-Claude Juncker. The fees will be 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. Customs duties are also …

May was a really good month for this blog, CapacityNow (larskarlsson.com). I had plus 15.000 visitors last month, a great number. In fact the number of readers has steadily been increasing month by month the last half year. There is apperently an increasing interest in the public domain for websites about Customs, Borders, Trade, …

June 2018 is here. We entering the Notthern hemisphere summer period, even though it feels like we have had summer for a month already wothvyemperatures over 25C all over Northern Europe for weeks. Another föight, another early bird trip. This time London to Copenhagen. About to go home for weekend. May was indeed an …

The Exiting the European Union Committee, the Committe I testified in front of on new Customs solutions in March, has published its latest report on the progress of the UK’s negotiations on EU withdrawal and highlights significant issues yet to be resolved in the remaining five months of negotiations. On customs arrangements and trade, the …

I find more and lore that my old favourite record from the 80s, ‘London Calling’ by The Clash is the symbol of my life these days. Never before in history has Customs been so in the center of attention, in media and on everbodies agendas as due to United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

There’s money in war, as sad as that is to say. There is also money in terrorism. A whole lot of money, in fact. The more money a terror organization has, the deadlier they are. Of course, they can’t just get a 9-to-5 job or throw up a Go Fund Me page to raise …

After years of rumour and speculation, Daniel Craig’s return to the role of James Bond – and Danny Boyle’s appointment as director of the new 007 movie – have been confirmed. Production will begin at the start of December 2018, with the film released in the UK on 25 October 2019 and in the …

Earlier this week, Jon Tjompson CEO and Permanent Secretary of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), addressed the UK Government Treasury Select Committee on Brexit and the cost for the two presented alternstives for Customs, Borders and UK-EU trade post-Brexit. Mr. Thompson explained how the two alternatives; Option 1: New Customs Partnership (NCP) and …

Cyber-anthropologist Amber Case wants to see smarter people instead of smarter technology – using calm tech. “The Tech World’s Titanic is happening right now”, she says. Self-propelled cars, smartwatches and refrigerators that can tell us when the bananas have become bad. The Internet of Things – or the Internet of Things – grows in …

In years to come, this Real Madrid team will not remember the details of how it moved from mere greatness to genuine legend, of how it etched its name in history alongside the very best club teams soccer has ever produced. This game will be remembered some very specific moments. Gareth Bale’s two goals …

– A move by the United States to explore tariffs on auto imports is based on flimsy logic and is part of the pressure from Washington to renegotiate the NAFTA trade pact, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday. In an interview with Reuters, Trudeau said that while U.S. President Donald Trump had …