AI technology addresses rising customs risks in global trade

Customs authorities are facing significant challenges in managing global trade volumes driven by the rise of cross-border e-commerce. The surge in low-value shipments, often governed by de minimis rules, has created opportunities for criminal networks to exploit gaps in oversight through document alteration and shipment splitting.

Legacy customs systems often rely on rigid, rule-based processes that require manual code updates when policies change, leading to delays in threat detection. Furthermore, fragmentation across multiple platforms and the inability of older systems to process unstructured documentation—such as varying invoices and packing lists—necessitate slow manual reviews. This manual approach is becoming unsustainable due to massive shipment volumes. For instance, US Customs processed 1.36 billion de minimis shipments in 2024, representing approximately 92% of all US import entries by volume. Similarly, the EU recorded nearly 5.9 billion low-value items in 2025.