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The free-trade deal with Australia is almost approved by the UK

Igor • 19 March 2023

The United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Australia declared that the free-trade agreement between the two countries is set to be ratified by the end of this month. 

The trade deal, signed in 2021, has been criticized by some UK officials for being "one-sided", including by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the campaign trail, last year. However, he declared he would not renege on the deal because this would mean returning to an international treaty. 

Vicki Treadell, the British High Commissioner, declared on Tuesday the deal should return to the House of Commons from the House of Lords by March 12th or 13th where it would need another two or three weeks to pass. She added that further debates might delay the process.

"The moment that is done, because you beat us to it at the end of your last sitting week of the last calendar year, if both countries having completed our parliamentary processes, it should come into effect pretty soon afterward."

The trade deal will remove tariffs on bilateral trade, which hit A$29 billion (£16 billion)in 2019-2020.

The deal was projected in 2021 to boost trade by over £10 billion "in the long run", opening up sectors like agriculture and allowing freer movement for service-sector professionals.

The deal comes into force 30 days after both parties notify each other of parliamentary ratification or on another mutually agreed date.

Import/export pre-notification cost

by Igor • 28 February 2022
Dear valued customer, After the United Kingdom left the European Union in 2021, the customs regulation has changed. All cargo to and from UK now has to be pre-notified to the Norwegian Customs Authority. Sea-Cargo is obliged to report all import and export to the authorities, and we have for the last year been performing this without any extra cost for our customers. We do however see that the administration needed for this reporting is comprehensive, and we will going forward offer this as an extra service to our customers. This charge will apply for all customers unless you can issue the notification yourself via NCTS. If you do arrange the pre-notification yourself, please contact us for an agreement. From 1st March 2022 the new charges will be: NOK 480,- per notification, including three HS codes Excess HS codes: NOK 45,- (per code) The fee will be charged to the party paying the freight We hope for your understanding, and you are welcome to contact us with any questions

Jacob Rees-Mogg, new Brexit minister, adamant to cut red tape

by Igor • 14 February 2022
The new Brexit minister is asking the companies struggling with red tape to write to him, while on a visit to the UK's biggest container port. Jacob Rees -Mogg said Brexit was "already a success" and that he would be working to "cut through the thicket" of red tape. When visiting the Port of Felixstowe, Mr. Rees-Mogg was given the new role in the PM's recent cabinet re-shuffle.But Suffolk's chamber of commerce said the paperwork was affecting the trade. Koyas Miah of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce said many members had seen a rise in the costs of administration, and rules being interpreted differently by different EU countries was not helping. "The paperwork, understanding what they (firms) need to do, how they need to do it is becoming a challenge," said Mr. Miah. "What businesses are now facing is one EU country saying they want XYZ for paperwork, but the other (EU country) wants something completely different," said Mr. Miah. He said the chamber has heard from businesses that have temporarily stopped trading with EU countries due to the problems with compliance. He has called for the Brexit minister to bring more clarity "in terms of what needs to be done". Mr. Rees-Mogg promised he would be tackling the issues of compliance. "We don't want to replace a European bureaucracy with a home-grown bureaucracy," he said. "My role is to try and cut through this thicket. My role as the Brexit opportunities minister is to find out where regulations exist that we don't need, and to try and get rid of them." UK exports to the EU fell by 14% between 2019 and 2020, while imports fell by 19%, according to the House of Commons library data. Last week, a cross-party committee of MPs - the Public Accounts Committee - said that new arrangements for the UK-EU border had added costs to businesses exporting to Europe. Mr. Rees-Mogg cited the pandemic and general disruption to global trade, such as containers stuck in world ports, as some of the reasons behind the drop in trade, rather than leaving the EU. "I think Brexit has been extremely beneficial for the country, I think the evidence that Brexit has caused trade drops is few and far between," he said. Source: BBC News

Trade with the EU ‘permanently damaged’ by new Brexit checks

by Igor • 18 January 2022
Air cargo shippers and air transport workers require more transparency for the sake of security. Of course, this will also enhance efficiency.
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