Fragmentation and regulatory inflation: Customs Law and International Trade at the heart of geopolitical challenges

The successive crises that international trade has faced in recent years have reshaped supply chains. Once a secondary concern for businesses after the rise of liberal globalisation driven by the 1994 Marrakech Agreements, the management of customs risks has now become a differentiating factor and a driver of competitiveness. On top of this come the risks inherent to regulatory enforcement.

The slowdown of multilateralism: The paralysis of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), combined with increasing geopolitical tensions, has paved the way for a fragmentation of international trade. This is illustrated by the growing use of unilateral and regional tariff and non‑tariff measures as economic weapons serving political and geostrategic objectives.

Impact of trade fragmentation on supply chains: The disproportionate multiplication of trade policy measures (customs duties, additional duties, quotas, tariff preferences) and economic coercion tools (such as security measures, economic sanctions, and export‑control policies), used as legal instruments to assert States’ influence and power, has led to a “Balkanisation of global supply chains” by dividing them into regional or national blocs. As a result, supply chain optimisation no longer follows financial logic but political logic. Within this new reality, the rise of friendshoring and reshoring reflects companies’ need for stability and predictability in designing their sourcing and production chains. Today, businesses must factor in strategic State‑to‑State rivalries — including the components and technologies used — as a key element to secure tariff advantages and ensure compliance.

The need for compliance mastery as a corporate defence mechanism: More than ever, companies must ensure strong control over compliance — now referred to as trade compliance — not merely for operational purposes, but as a resource for legal security and competitiveness. Trade compliance is now a condition for access to the European market, due to the integration of economic, environmental, and social objectives into the EU’s trade policy. This integration illustrates how trade policy is used as a geopolitical lever that businesses must adapt to. In this context, the Trade/Customs function can no longer be viewed as an economic or financial burden, but as a strategic performance tool — a lever for competitiveness for companies and corporate groups.

Compliance, once primarily declarative and document‑based, has evolved into evidence‑based compliance, driven by data. The information chain is becoming increasingly complex. Companies must be able to master customs data as well as trade‑related or indirectly trade‑relevant data, in a context where interoperable IT systems are being deployed alongside the strengthening of automated audit capabilities by public authorities. Mastery of information inherently means mastery of presumption. Thus, the trade compliance function becomes a strategic tool — a means of defence essential for the economic viability and competitiveness of businesses.

The full analysis by our Fendler Salva Partners team is available in La Semaine juridique – Entreprise & Affaires, No. 51–52, December 18, 2025, accessible via this link.

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