The UAVs in International Trade and Logistics - New Challenges and Regulation

The paper is focused on the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in international trade and regulation, while special attention is paid to the position of trade and production leaders, categorisation of UAVs according to performance parameters, and last but not least, to MFN rates applied to imports of UAVs under six relevant HS codes. Indeed, given the security aspects, UAVs are subject to a wide range of regulatory issues that shape their trade flows and application possibilities. This is inter alia reflected in their actual employment in logistics. The national states vary in terms of regulations applied, yet, e.g., within the EU, a common UAV regulatory framework will come into force on July 1, 2020, which is likely to give an additional impetus to the UAV market. The objective of the paper is to present the current state of play in the international trade in UAVs, analyse the novel regulation issues at the EU as well as the U.S. levels, and draw conclusions concerning the further proliferation of delivery drones within the EU and the U.S. We further develop, broaden, and update the topic of the original paper (Černá, 2016) and enrich it with the deeper insight into the customs and regulatory issues.