Trade Compliance in 2026: What To Watch Out For

The Trade Compliance landscape has always been rather complicated. Naturally, when such a wide variety of actors want to trade, a lot of different laws and regulations need to be considered. Yet, 2025 was different, and 2026 will see the repercussions. 

Julie David, Skill Dynamics' Content Lead for Trade Compliance, shares that "Trade compliance in 2026 won't be about reacting to change, it will be about designing for it. From tariffs and critical minerals to green trade rules and forced labour enforcement, organizations that embed compliance into supply chain decision-making will be the ones that stay resilient." 

In a landscape dominated by change, here's what Trade Compliance professionals (and their Supply Chain and Procurement colleagues) need to be keeping an eye on, this year! 

Tariffs 

An inescapable concept in 2025. Tariffs will continue to be a big part of trade compliance in 2026. 

All eyes are on the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of the long awaited IEEPA tariffs case. The President's authority to impose open-ended tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act has been challenged. If the Supreme Court decides these tariffs exceed the President's authority, the consequences are likely to be significant. Not only is there a distinct lack of administrative mechanism to process refunds and compensation in the event of the tariffs being overturned, but the impact on since established U.S. trade deals which often focus on lowering IEEPA tariffs is unclear. 

This complexity is the motivating factor for our Import & Customs focused training focused on the U.S. tariffs, Antidumping and Countervailing Duties, and Advance Country of Origin Determination, development. 

Rare Earth Mineral Regulations 

Tightening export regulations in China will be another one to watch, this year. Specifically, export controls surrounding the rare earth minerals, as well as the technologies and production equipment for manufacturing these minerals, have been subject to the expansion of more restrictive controls. 

There are a number of restrictions including the denial for military end-use, and the '50% rule', but it's the restrictions for semiconductor production and AI industries gaining the most attention. 

Reflecting the U.S. export controls on China in recent years, China's controls involve the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM) conducting reviews for items intended for these technological uses and require organizations to provide detailed information on end-use and end-users. 

Despite being the leading refiner of these minerals, China isn't the only country looking at rare earth (or 'critical') materials; 

• The EU FDI Regulation is under review and is expected to bring about the introduction of required FDI screening. 
• On January 17th, the EU-Mercosur agreement was signed, creating one of the biggest trade zones in the world. The agreement focuses on a number of areas including critical raw materials, aiming to make it easier, quicker, and safer to invest in related supply chains. 

Development of import and customs compliance training surrounding this has been a priority for Skill Dynamics. From encryption controls and global export compliance for the semiconductor industry to the U.S. export controls – this training will be a competitive advantage in an ever-changing landscape. 

Green Trade Regulations 

Although sustainability has in some ways become less of a news item as headlines have focused on developing geopolitical crises, it has still been ticking away outside of the limelight. 

Notably, Europe is rolling out new green trade regulations including the Carbon Border Adjustment Measurement (CBAM) and due-diligence rules to encourage 'cleaner' global production. The implications for EU importers and producers in the original country of origin means that impacted organisations need in-depth understanding of suppliers outside the EU involved in the procurement of any CBAM-related goods. 

The implementation of robust, risk-based trade compliance programs is therefore a necessary for companies to meet these requirements. Embedding this into existing processes is key. 

Forced Labour Controls 

Another growing area of focus is forced labour. Supply chain compliance means less operational disruption, and with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reviewing an increasing number of shipments, the EU advancing its enforcement infrastructure, and countries all over the world introducing more complex forced labour laws, the behaviour or organizations continues to shift. 

Forced labour compliance is now directly related to importability and financial risk. Institutional build-out of supply chain traceability and due-diligence proof will factor into operations in 2026 and the years to come. 

Trade compliance and execution should include forced labour controls, rather than sidelining them to ESG reporting to ensure the least disruption and greatest security. 

Trade Compliance Academy 

If the last couple of years has taught us anything about trade compliance, it's that a lot can change quickly and supply chains need to be prepared to minimize disruption. 

Making sure your employees know how to reduce risk and work with change is critical to safeguarding whole organizations from disruption and heavy financial consequences. 

The way to achieve this is with embedded high-impact, role relevant, learning. The Skill Dynamics Trade Compliance Academy offers personalized eLearning to achieve just this. Discover the full course catalog, today.