Import duties on Sri Lankan products entering the EU could be removed, but only if the country implements reforms on human rights, the environment, the rule of law and governance.
Under proposals made by the European Commission, duties would be removed on 66% of tariff lines, covering a wide array of products including textiles and fisheries.
The removal of customs duties would, however, be conditional on Sri Lanka’s ongoing commitment to ratify and effectively implement 27 international conventions on a range of issues including labour conditions and environmental protection.
Accounting for nearly a third of Sri Lanka’s global exports, the EU is Sri Lanka’s largest export market with total bilateral trade amounting to €4.7 billion in 2015.
Goods exported from Sri Lanka to the EU were worth €2.6 billion, with the most significant being textiles, rubber products and machinery.
The Commission’s proposal would see the EU initiate a special version of the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences. Known as GSP+, the arrangement is designed to support developing countries by fostering their economic development through increased trade with Europe and providing incentives to take tangible steps towards sustainable development.
Eight countries currently benefit from GSP+ agreements: Armenia, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay and the Philippines.
Announcing the latest initiative, Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that GSP+ preferences could make a significant contribution to Sri Lanka’s economic development by increasing exports to the EU market.
Following the Commission’s proposal, the European Parliament and the Council have a maximum of four months to raise objections before the measures take effect.
Reacting to the signing of the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC said:
“The BCC welcomes the signature of the UK-New Zealand free trade agreement today. This will mean zero-tariff trade for UK exporters with customers in New Zealand once the agreement enters into force early next year. It will also be easier for SMEs to access the New Zealand market as paperwork and red tape are reduced through modern provisions on digital trade. The FTA should be worth up to £800m to the UK economy and raise bilateral trade by around 60%.
“We also welcome the opportunities for business travel and being able to provide services in New Zealand on an equal footing together with a new entry route to facilitate this.
“The agreement will also boost trade in environmental goods and services – essential for the transition to Net Zero.
“We will engage with businesses in the UK and New Zealand to discuss the many plus points of this agreement, and hope to see it force as soon as possible.”
Way to Work is a new partnership between the government and employers to get 500,000 jobseekers into work by the end of June 2022.
This partnership will help fill record numbers of vacancies, supporting job-ready people into the labour market and helping them progress into a career.
Whether you’re a job seeker finding your way back into work, or an employer who’s looking for a way to get the right person to help their business, Jobcentre Plus and Way to Work can help.
More information can be found by clicking on the below links:
On the 7th April Norfolk Chambers hosted its first Co.next event at The Forum in Norwich. This saw four individual speakers sharing their stories of navigating life with neurodivergent brains.
Hosted by Co.next Chairman James Groves, we heard from Rose Steward, Josh Smith, Gavin Jones, and Toby Bennett. Areas covered included ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Epilepsy, and PTSD, with lots of light-hearted anecdotes and honest advice. Presentations were followed by a Q&A session with a brilliant audience, allowing a safe space for people to ask questions for themselves or on behalf of people they know.
This was followed by networking, with a fabulous cake selection provided by The Feed.
We received some great feedback from the event.
“It was a pleasure – I think you are at the start of something really special and very important in putting on an event covering such a topic The speakers gave it such an air of authenticity” – Morris Peacock, Howes Percival
“Thank you again for speaking today and to all of you for having the courage to talk openly about your struggles, helped me feel a little less alone in the working world, that at times can seem very overwhelming! Still trying to adjust myself and deal with new coping mechanism. I hope to see more talks like this in the future!” – Isabella Elsworth, Layrd Design Ltd
“I found it incredibly insightful, both in terms of tips to take back to my employer and managing expectations of myself as a neurodivergent person.” – Joanna Brown, Larking Gowen
On the 31st of March, we hosted our fourth GEN-E young professionals networking event at the stunning Rooftop Gardens in Norwich. Over 130 attendees brought this space to life, along with our wonderful speaker, Rebecca Lewis Smith. These events have continued to grow in popularity and are set to be bigger and better as the world starts to open up. The aim is simple: creating a fun and safe space for young professionals to come together, network and grow.
These events have been an integral part to the continued growth of Co.next, a new initiative from the Chambers designed to support and empower under 35s in Norfolk. The programme was launched in February and has big plans for 2022. Watch this space for more events, training sessions, mentoring and much more!
“The GEN-E event is exciting in its goal to bring together Norwich’s ambitious young people whether entrepreneur or corporate high flyer. It’s the perfect place to network and connect with likeminded individuals in a safe and sociable space. To add to this, each event brings inspirational speakers to talk about their journeys and what we as the next generation of business leaders should strive for, most importantly being individuality. Excited to see the event grow!” – Thomas Panton, Greenr
“By far one of the warmest and most welcoming networks I’ve been too (even on a rooftop in the snow!) The conversations, atmosphere, and event was unlike any other “networking” I’d been too. Nothing felt forced, and it was incredible to meet so many like-minded, motivated young people. They always say people do business with people they like, and the event was the perfect way to get to know new people. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking to meet vibrant people in business in Norwich (if you can get your hands on a ticket!)” – Lizzy Dring, Huxley Events
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak MP, delivered his Spring Statement 2022. The key headlines for businesses are:
5p cut to fuel duty
SME’s will receive £5,000 to Employment Allowance
A wider Tax Plan to support businesses to grow
The Spring Statement falls short of the action we have been calling for over the past few months. While there are some positive announcements that firms will welcome, it did not fundamentally address the huge cost pressures facing member businesses across the country.
Nova Fairbank, Chief Operating Officer, Norfolk Chambers of Commerce says “The Chancellor’s Spring Statement will be welcomed by many households, however, there is very little comfort for local businesses. Mr Sunak did nothing to fundamentally address the cost pressures that businesses are currently facing. Whilst Norfolk businesses will welcome the increase in the employment allowance and the cut in fuel duty, these are just a drop in the ocean when they are faced with a tsunami of price increases.
“Today was an opportunity to rebuild and renew the economy and Norfolk Chambers would urge the Chancellor to look again at putting in place an SME price cap on energy prices to help employers keep a lid on these costs and protect jobs, thus allowing them to get back to investing and growing our economy.”
Responding to the details of the Government’s legislative plan set out in today’s Queen’s Speech, Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC, said:
“Today’s Queen’s Speech had some welcome measures for business, but unless the Government takes immediate action on the economy, they will come too late to help many firms.
“An emergency budget is needed to provide firms with the breathing space they need to raise productivity and strengthen the economy.
“The costs crises facing firms and people in the street are two sides of the same coin. If we can ease the pressure on businesses then they can keep a lid on the price rises being driven by surging energy bills, staff shortages and higher taxes.
“Only after an emergency budget will some of the legislation set out in the Queen’s Speech have a chance to drive our economy forward.
“Businesses will then be able to focus on supporting the missions set out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, as well as reaping the benefits from the infrastructure programmes outlined today. However, to really speed up delivery of infrastructure projects, much wider reform of the planning system is needed to speed up the process and reduce complexity.
“The Higher Education Bill gives a welcome commitment to create a flexible lifelong loan entitlement that allows adults to upskill and reskill for the changing workplace. Funding for modular learning is crucial to help people gain technical skills and ensure employers can access a skilled workforce.
“The Brexit Freedoms Bill has the potential to unlock innovation and expansion in a range of new and developing technologies, especially the expanding world of Net Zero products and services.
“We will want to look closely at how any changes will help business domestically but also their impact on our trade links and exports with the EU.
“What we don’t want to see is deregulation for its own sake. We should not complicate our trading relationship by diverging so far it makes UK goods and services unsellable into Europe.
Commenting on the ONS Labour Market statistics for May 2022, BCC Head of Economics, Suren Thiru, said:
“Although payroll employment continues to rise and the unemployment rate is falling, the headline figures more reflect several distorting factors, including rising economic inactivity, rather than the reality on the ground.
“Record jobs vacancies highlight the perilous hiring crunch facing businesses. With rising economic inactivity confirming that the UK workforce is shrinking, labour shortages are likely to persistently drag on UK growth by stifling firms’ ability to operate at full capacity.
“Although total earnings growth rose sharply, the robust headline figure more reflects strong bonus payments rather than a meaningful improvement in underlying wage growth. Despite recruitment difficulties, the damage to firm’s finances from soaring inflation and rising national insurance will limit the extent to wages can continue rising.
“While demand for workers is currently strong, the squeeze on firms’ finances from soaring energy bills, surging inflation, and the increase in national insurance is likely to weaken recruitment intentions and weaken wage growth in the near term.
“An emergency budget is urgently needed to give firms the breathing space to recruit and retain staff, including reversing the recently introduced National Insurance increase until at least the next financial year.”
On the 28th June the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce team spent the evening paddleboarding with Go Paddle and Mark Keeler on the Norfolk Broads.
The evening session provided opportunities for some team building, a chance to relax, and most importantly time to have fun.
The session started with a demonstration of how to get on the board, how to stand and how to steer from Katie Baxter at Go Paddle.
Once everyone had (not so) gracefully got on their boards we paddled out of the marina and started our journey towards the Ferry Inn, with a couple of team members testing the water temperature before we had left the marina!
Once we had reached the Ferry Inn, after a quick rest and photo opportunity, we made our way back to the marina. It was then time for a bit of Simon Says which included kissing the water, press-ups, jumping, and mountain climbers all on the boards which resulted in more falls in the water!
We have several paddleboarding events this summer including team sessions, individual sessions, and a Co.next session. Part of the proceeds from the session will be donated to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. Book your paddleboarding place here.
About EACH – East Anglia Children’s Hospices
We support families and care for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Our care and support is tailored for the needs of all family members and delivered where the families wish – in their own home, at hospital, in the community or at one of three hospices in Ipswich, Milton and Framingham Earl.
Commenting on the latest ONS Labour Market statistics released today, Chief Operating Officer, Nova Fairbank, said:
“The labour market remains incredibly tight, in many cases affecting firms’ ability to maintain normal operations. Although these figures show the employment rate has risen it is having no noticeable impact on the overall number of job vacancies.
“The problems in the labour market are restricting growth and choking off any hope of a recovery for many firms; as inflation, supply chain disruption and energy costs also add to their headaches.
“But there are several avenues open to businesses and the government to shift this data in the right direction.
“We need to bring more economically inactive people back into the UK labour market by offering flexible working practices, rapid re-training opportunities and a focus on workplace healthcare and support.
“The Government must also reform the Shortage Occupations List criteria to include more jobs at more skill levels to give firms breathing space to train and upskill their workforce.
“The huge number of vacancies is holding back productivity and growth, and employers are at their wits’ end.”
The Prime ministers Boris Johnson’s rallying cry is “Build Back Better”. But what might this mean, how does it translate into work activity and importantly, what do businesses need from those structures designed to support them?
Unquestionably, the last year has had a huge impact on the Norfolk business community with very few exempt from the urgent and complicated task of adapting out of necessity and need rather than by choice. The economic impact of lockdowns and the subsequent changes in how we work, and of course where we work, are still being felt and will be for a while yet. So how do we go from this to ‘Build back better?
A great many of the supporting business conversations we are having and also a lot of the engagement we have, is around learning and applying new ideas and skills on aspects that they can directly influence, for example re-drafted business plans, looking to access finance and capital on the right terms and flexibility of approach in terms of staff working (to name just three,) but we are also voicing the needs for better infrastructure to support and help improve the chances of success.
The right infrastructure is very important. For instance, without strong digital connectivity, how do businesses compete nationally and internationally and how do they ensure that their teams remain accessible, whether this is in the office or from home? We also need excellent public transport links, whether this is bus or rail, that can meet the changing workforce timetable – is rush hour still nine to five or do we need wider ranging, more flexible timetables? Cycle and walking links have become extremely popular over the last year – how do we capitalise on this popularity and it becomes the norm to cycle or walk to work?
However, as a predominantly rural county, our road infrastructure is, without doubt, vital. As our economy re-opens and our population and jobs grow, we need better infrastructure to ensure that our transport networks can cope.
Our roads are a key lifeline into and out of the county for business, residents and visitors alike. Good transport and road links are a priority to the business community, who need to efficiently and reliably transport goods, reach wider customer, labour and supply markets, and ultimately increase their profitability – thereby growing the local economy.
As the only county in the UK without a motorway, improving the quality of our roads is critically important and work is already being done. We have funding for dualling improvements to parts of the A47 – our main east/west artery road. The Third River Crossing in Great Yarmouth will help support growth opportunities for offshore renewables and our enterprise zones, and Transport for Norwich is currently delivering £59 million of sustainable transport improvements, including £18 million from First Eastern Counties to be invested in its bus fleet and local services.
Further road improvements are planned. The Long Stratton Bypass will make accessing Ipswich and Suffolk easier and will help reduce congestion and make the commute into Norwich easier for many South Norfolk residents. The West Winch Housing Access Road, to the south of King’s Lynn, will form part of the A10 and help reduce traffic congestion, improve journey times and enable the delivery of much needed new homes.
Finally, the Norwich Western Link is the ‘missing’ link between the A47 and the Broadland Northway (formerly the NDR). This missing piece will complete a fully dualled orbital route around Norwich. It will significantly improve journey times, especially for those trying to access north of Norwich and beyond; it will improve access to key employment sites, including the Norwich Research Park, Norwich Airport and the Food Enterprise Park; and importantly help lead to a reduction in carbon emissions from vehicles, that will no longer be queuing and rat-running through unsuitable roads and small villages. Over a 60 year period, the Norwich Western Link will support Norfolk’s economy and local businesses by creating: £315 million of travel time benefits; £31 million of journey time reliability benefits; and productivity gains of £107million.
In an age where climate change is becoming top of the agenda, developing more road infrastructure is not always the answer, however Norfolk has lagged behind many other areas in the UK on infrastructure – these proposed improvements are necessary to ensure our county continues to contribute to UK PLC, supports economic growth, and creates prosperity and jobs. We can ‘Build Back Better’, with the right infrastructure to support us.
It believes too many smaller businesses are still missing out on export opportunities and says politicians heading to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC12) must adopt more practical measures.
It made the call ahead of the start of the four-day meeting in Geneva this Sunday (June 12).
William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC, said:
“Facing the trade headwinds of the war in Ukraine plus continued supply chain concerns in Asia, smaller businesses need a growth-focused Ministerial Conference in Geneva.
“We urge ministers to take further action on kickstarting e-commerce, improving the commitments on gender equality in trade, reaching agreement on subsidies, and adopting a bold reform agenda to create a trade system which business can more easily engage with, and rely upon.
“It is also vital that delegates do not end the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmission of goods and services. With the Office of Economic Co-operation and Development and WTO both lowering forecasts for global growth this year and next, the last thing businesses need is the re-introduction of customs duties on electronic transmission.
“They would hurt exporters of UK creative, professional and business services in particular. Leaders in Geneva must deliver practical support to smaller businesses in the UK, and beyond, who are keen to scale up their export capacity in the coming months and sustain global economic growth.”
