If the UK is to retain its position as a global trading hub, then the Freight Transport Association (FTA) believes that creation of increased airport capacity in the southeast of England is vital.
The leading membership association in the logistics sector, whose members account for around 70% of the UK’s imports and exports, made the comment in response to the Government’s Draft Airports National Policy Statement.
It called for a swift resolution to discussions over the construction of a third runway at Heathrow before the airport loses further prominence in global trading to its European neighbours, including Paris Charles de Gaulle and Schiphol.
Alex Veitch, the Association’s Head of Global Policy, said: “The FTA has consistently supported the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, in preference to Gatwick, as our members believe it will deliver greater economic benefits to the whole of the UK from what is the key logistics hub for the entire country.”
Cargo is currently sent to and from Heathrow to 185 destinations in 84 countries, he went on, and expansion work must start swiftly to protect the airport’s reputation as the UK leading air freight gateway.
According to the York Aviation Report, jointly commissioned by FTA and Transport for London (TfL) in 2015, failure to expand capacity at London’s airports would have a detrimental effect on future trading partnerships, hitting shippers in terms of time and cost as they attempt to get goods to market, both in the UK and overseas.
The FTA’s Sky-high Value report into the value of extending Heathrow’s capacity can be found here.
Addressing the 2017 European Business Summit in Brussels, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström set out the state of play for the EU’s ambitious agenda of trade policy.
This includes working with partners including the USA, China, Canada and Japan as well as Latin America, southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The Commissioner noted the benefits trade can bring including cheaper products and services, and the creation of new jobs. She called for an approach which responds to people’s concerns, with a trade policy which is transparent, based on values and which shapes globalisation.
With regard to the UK, Ms Malmström expressed her personal sadness at the Brexit vote.
“But we’ll have to respect it and get on with it,” she continued. “Negotiations will resume after the election. The first priority is to ensure it’s an orderly withdrawal.”
In her speech, the full text of which, is available at trade.ec.europa.eu, the Commissioner gave an overview of progress in the trade agreements currently under discussion.
She also took the opportunity to attack the rise of protectionism and populism, and stressed that trade must not lead to a race to the bottom, with each side undercutting on standards.
The Commissioner closed by calling for a strengthening of the open, rules-based global trade system. The EU, she said, is open for business.
If you’re considering entering the EDP Business Awards but you’re unsure about which category is right for you, or you would like advice on how to tell your business story, then this session is not to be missed.
Norfolk Chamber of Commerce are running a special one-off free training as part of their Chamber Sessions which are one-hour free training workshops at their Norwich office. How to write award winning entriesDate: Friday, 23 June, 2017 – 8:30am to 10:00 Venue: 9 Norwich Business Park, Whiting Road, Norwich, NR4 6DJ FREE TO ATTEND
The interactive workshop will feature top tips from PR expert Suzy Pettican from Reflection PR, revealing the secrets of how to construct a winning entry which stands out to the judges.What’s more, Anna Norman (Events Manager for EDP Business Awards) will be providing insights about meeting this year’s criteria and answering any questions you have about the judging process.
Entering the awards provides significant opportunities to reward, recognise and promote your business – so if you have an initiative to shout about, join us and improve your chances of success.
Three take aways from this session:
Know what category is right for your business to enter.
Discover how to make your entry stand out from the crowd.
Find out answers to EDP Business Awards myths.
To book your place on this free workshop click here.
EDP Business Awards 2017
The EDP Business Awards 2017 are open for entries. The deadline for submitting your entry to any of the twelve award catergories is Sunday 30 July. Finalists will be invited to the black-tie Awards Ceremony at the Norfolk Showground on Thursday 2 November 2017.
We have an announced the lucky winner of our competition to receive 2 x VIP Tickets to the Royal Norfolk Show, congratulations Jonnie Butcher from Desire Marketing.
Don’t forget Norfolk Chamber members can receive 10% off the price of Royal Norfolk Show tickets.
The Royal Norfolk Show is the county’s biggest event of the year. It attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the UK. It takes place on Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th June 2017 at The Royal Norfolk Showground.
To purchase your ticket and receive 10% discount click here and use the code RNS44.
Ahead of the general election, Norfolk Chamber is setting out the key Norfolk business asks for any future government and is calling for support for Norfolk exporters and for the government to work with businesses to secure the best possible deal with the EU.
Commenting on the need to support Norfolk’s exporters, Esther Evans, member of Norfolk Chamber’s Board and Managing Director of STM Packaging Group Ltd said:
“Many of Norfolk’s most successful businesses are staying very positive about Brexit and ensuring they are in a good position to take advantage of any opportunities that arise.
“To give Norfolk companies greater confidence over the next two years, we want to see down to earth and sensible dialogue on business issues from any future government, but we would also like to see the government working closely with businesses of all sizes to help deliver the best possible deal with the EU and deliver the most advantageous economic environment in which Norfolk’s exporters can thrive and grow. This can be achieved by canvasing opinions and utilising all the region’s best business talent via the voice of the Chamber of Commerce.”
“Brexit is also a fantastic opportunity for the UK Government to lighten the regulatory burden on businesses in order to stimulate business growth and innovation. Norfolk businesses have a huge capacity for both growth and innovation, and are perfectly placed to take advantage of these opportunities so that they can offer greater employment and improved skills opportunities to all current and many new employees.”
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber outlined what Chamber members want to see as part of the Brexit negotiations:
Business Voice: support Norfolk exporters to drive economic growth. Develop trade policy with business, and leverage Chambers of Commerce, which are best placed to provide stable export support in all regions of the UK.
Labour: Protect the rights of existing EU workers to stay in the UK. Create a future UK immigration system that is responsive to economic needs and skills shortages at all levels, and ensure that there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
International Trade: Tariffs need to be kept to a minimum, with simplified customs procedures to make exporting as easy as possible. To grow our export capacity, swift trade agreements with countries should be reached and trade missions should be expanded.
Standards: Product standards should be aligned and recognised by the EU, to ensure that Norfolk products remain competitive.
Funding: UK funding levels for business and people development need to be maintained in Norfolk to the levels that were formally funded from the EU.
Norfolk Chamber members are already noting how Brexit has impacted on their businesses so far:
Gordon Chetwood, Managing Director of Pasta Foods said:
“Pasta Foods has seen an upward path since the UK’s Brexit vote. Most of our pasta competitors are European businesses supplying into the UK, so the devaluation of the pound makes us more competitive to UK customers, in spite of the fact that we have faced rising costs, as we buy raw materials from Europe.
“In our snack business, we export snacks across the world to over 40 countries and we have seen very good sales growth in spite of raw material cost inflation and we anticipate that this will continue into the future.”
Alex Durand, Chief Executive of SaxonAir Charter Ltd said:
“Brexit has shown no signs of affecting our business yet, but as the majority of our flight operations are international, and particularly to, from and around Europe, it has the potential to significantly damage our business. Our view is that we need to prepare ourselves both for the good or the bad – there may be new opportunities created, or we may have to dramatically change our business. Either way, our approach needs to be the same: we have less than two years to make our business as efficient and dynamic as possible.”
Huw Sayer, Director of Business Writers said:
“Surprisingly, the Brexit vote has been good for our business so far but longer term uncertainties remain. Several of our European clients have already asked us to write marketing material emphasising their continued access to the EU single market and a pan-European supply chain.
“We have also been writing case studies for inward investment agency clients, showing how they can advise and support UK companies looking to future proof their business by establishing a base in the EU. The main threat we see is to our UK manufacturing and financial services clients, who may find themselves trading under WTO rules if the UK government does not secure a negotiated settlement.”
Sean Clark, Director of Clark St James said:
“Clients in the financial industry, based around stock investment, have severely cut their advertising spend as uncertainty is delaying potential investors from making any significant investment decisions. Travel and tourism advertising spend is up within the “staycation” market as the exchange rate makes it more beneficial to holiday in the UK.”
Yesterday, local businesses were invited to hear an economic update directly from the Bank of England at a meeting held at the Chamber’s office in Norwich. A range of businesses attended the event including those from the manufacturing, retail and service sectors.
Tim Pike, the Bank of England’s Agent for the South East, provided an update on the national economy and discussed what the local economic picture looked like from the perspective of the businesses around the table. Business confidence; investment and employee recruitment expectations; quantitative easing; and Brexit were amongst the topics raised at the meeting.
Feedback from the businesses highlighted that whilst an actual Brexit deal is still at least 2 years away, the business community intend to drive their businesses to success and invest for future growth and jobs.
Ahead of the general election, Norfolk Chamber is setting out the key Norfolk business asks for any future government. The Chamber is calling on all the political parties to consider the importance for Norfolk businesses to be able to access fast, reliable broadband.
Technology and how we use it is evolving rapidly, but Norfolk’s digital infrastructure needs to keep pace. As more and more businesses rely on technology, Norfolk Chamber is keen to ensure that both our digital infrastructure and our business community are ready to take advantage of new technology developments as they evolve.
Whilst approx. 86% of Norfolk has access to 24mbps, a recent British Chambers of Commerce survey, reported that the Norfolk business community still thought that Norfolk’s digital infrastructure was not yet totally fit for purpose. Throughout the county, significant numbers of companies of every size and sector said they lacked reliable internet connectivity – a basic requirement for businesses to operate efficiently in today’s world.
Commenting on the need to provide more access to superfast broadband, Lynsey Sweales, a Norfolk Chamber Board Member and Director of Social B said:
“A reliable broadband connection is absolutely vital for all companies, yet 20% of Norfolk companies suffer from unreliable connections. The BCC survey shows that firms in rural areas are at least twice as likely to have unreliable connections as those in towns. The focus of any future government must be on providing businesses with sufficient and reliable broadband connections to enable to them to do business confidently. Having a business in a rural location shouldn’t mean you sacrifice market opportunities, businesses operating in Norfolk as well as businesses looking to invest and trade with Norfolk businesses need broadband confidence to do business”
The survey also showed that with more reliable connections Norfolk businesses could do more. Over half of businesses (54%) said that if the reliability of their broadband connection was improved it would allow them to use more applications, particularly cloud-based services (24%), transfer of large files (16%), and remote server access for employees (14%).
Commenting on the need for further broadband improvements, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“Unreliable connections stunt productivity, causing needless delays, costs and frustration. While businesses across the county are affected, it is the rural areas and small businesses that are most likely to suffer. An unreliable connection acts as a barrier to growth, and puts those companies most in need of support at a competitive disadvantage.
“These are a few of the reasons why Norfolk Chamber is calling for any future government to commit to more investment in broadband infrastructure across our county to ensure that local businesses, whether they are based in the city, market towns or in rural locations, can be compete on a level playing field with the rest of the UK and beyond.”
There are a variety of opportunities for members to speak at Norfolk Chamber of Commerce events and we are always interested to hear from experienced speakers with an interesting story.
From speaking at business breakfasts, delivering a one hour bitesize free training session in our office, to speaking at a large scale conference on a specialised conference – there are great opportunitites available.
Attendees at our events expect our speakers to share information and best practice without heavily promoting their business.
In order to maintain the high quality expected of speakers at Chamber of Commerce events, we have introduced a speaker application form. Please complete the form by clicking here if you would like to be considered.
Afghan industry leaders, small business owners and public sector representatives met earlier this month to explore provincial trade challenges and solutions that can feed into the ongoing design of the country’s National Export Strategy (NES).
The Strategy is intended to set out a blueprint for competitiveness and development of the country’s export sector and strengthen links between export development and socio-economic growth.
It will provide national and international development partners with an appropriate implementation plan for trade-related operations.
Jointly organised by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MOCI) and the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI), the event follows the first NES stakeholders’ consultation held in Kabul in February 2017.
Deputy Minister for Commerce Mohammad Qurban Haqjo said: “The strong public and private sector dialogue that has taken place today on topics, such as quality management, skills development and market intelligence, will be invaluable in developing a sustainable and inclusive NES.”
The NES initiative falls under the auspices of the EU-funded “Advancing Afghanistan Trade” project, which aims to assist the country in improving the conditions to use trade as a lever for enhanced regional co-operation, economic and human development and poverty reduction.
Afghanistan acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in July 2016 and has placed trade and regional economic co-operation at the heart of its development strategy.
Further information about the Advancing Afghan Trade project can be found here.
The EU is removing import duties on a wide range of products imported from Sri Lanka. Effective since 19 May, the initiative will see the full removal of duties on 66% of tariff lines, including textiles and fisheries products.
Made in response to reforms made by the Sri Lankan administration, the EU’s action is tied to what it characterises as rigorous monitoring of Sri Lanka’s commitment to sustainable development, human rights and good governance.
Sri Lanka has committed itself to effectively implementing 27 international conventions on issues including labour conditions and environmental protection, the European Commission noted.
The removal of import duties has been agreed as part of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+), which supports developing countries by fostering their economic development through increased trade with Europe.
An application for GSP+ was made by the Sri Lankan Government in July 2016. The country had previously benefitted from the scheme, but preferential treatment to Sri Lankan imports was stopped by the EU in 2010 over concerns about human rights violations.
The EU is Sri Lanka’s biggest export market. In 2016, total bilateral trade amounted to almost €4 billion, with EU imports from Sri Lanka totalling €2.6 billion (primarily textiles, rubber products and machinery).
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that granting GSP+ status to Sri Lanka is intended to provide an opportunity for further economic development, including creating more and better jobs for all Sri Lankans.
Sri Lanka joins eight other GSP+ beneficiaries: Armenia, Bolivia, Cape Verde, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay and the Philippines.
On Thursday 25th May over 100 Norfolk Chamber members joined us at Caistor Hall for a morning of networking with a delicious breakfast and a presentation from Charlie Gauvain, Managing Director at Eye Film.
Jonathan Cage, President of Norfolk Chamber, hosted the morning. Members started off the morning with an ice breaker game of ‘Business Bingo’. This involved the guests deciding among them who fulfilled 9 statements on a bingo sheet, from personal to business facts. The members where then invited to take part in Safari Move, in order to meet and talk with new members. A delicious breakfast was then served and members got a chance to speak to the people they were sat with.
To introduce more networking before we had Charlie’s presentation, we had a ‘Guess the Advert’ quiz, where guests worked in teams to guess which brand was behind some notorious adverts in order to highlight the influence of stand-out video advertising.
Charlie Gauvain then took to the floor to emphasise the importance of an effective video strategy for your business. He suggested that it isn’t always necessary to hire a professional to create video marketing and gave some hints and tips for the business members present about how they could create their own material. He also explained when the best time to call in a professional might be. A few of the guests engaged in a practical demonstration of how best to film video testimonials, and the common pitfalls to avoid.
Following Charlie’s presentation, Jonathan started a Q&A between the delegates and Charlie to help them get a better understanding of how they can use these tips within their own businesses. After this had finished many delegates stayed and networked with their existing contacts and also the new ones they had made that day.