A recent announcement of new funding for customs information technology and training grants for importers, exporters, brokers and forwarders in the United Kingdom may be too little and too late, said the British International Freight Association. Announced Sept. 3 (see 1909030069), the new round of £16 million may not lead to “thousands of more customs experts on hand to help businesses on and after Brexit day,” BIFA said. It could take up to a year to train new staff, even if there are enough trainers and courses for the new staff to attend, BIFA said. Less than 1,000 U.K. businesses applied for the first round of grants, out of more than 240,000 that currently trade with the EU, the trade group said. And worryingly, the funding may not be available until after Brexit day on Oct. 31, unless a company can get a training quote and submit an application within the next week, BIFA said. “That just adds to the enormous uncertainty and pressure that BIFA members, which are responsible for managing the movement of a large proportion of the UK’s visible international trade, have faced since the result of the Brexit referendum in June 2016,” BIFA said.
In the Sept. 3 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom’s HM Revenue & Customs is reopening the period for companies that file customs declarations to apply for grants for training and information technology improvements ahead of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union, HMRC said in an updated guidance document. Grants are available for U.K.-based companies that either complete customs declarations (or do so on an importer’s behalf) or intend to once the U.K. is outside the EU. IT grants are available for small businesses that complete customs declarations for importers and exporters. “You can use the funding to reimburse what your business has spent on relevant IT improvements and training since 31 July 2019, as well as in the future,” HMRC said.
The European Union published a notice Sept. 3 announcing changes to its safeguards on steel products meant to avoid double counting for goods also subject to antidumping and countervailing duties. For any goods subject to the three-year tariff-rate quotas on steel that become subject to the 25 percent out-of-quota rate, no AD/CV duties will be collected if the applicable total of AD and CV duty rates does not exceed 25 percent. AD/CV duties will only be collected if they exceed 25 percent total, and by the amount at which they exceed 25 percent, the notice says.
A major European trade credit insurance company currently puts the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit at 40 percent, it said in an export risk report dated Aug. 28. Euler Hermes says the United Kingdom is likely headed for new elections after a no-confidence vote on current Prime Minister Boris Johnson. That could potentially lead to a second referendum on Brexit, and would favor an approval of another extension of Article 50 by the European Union, “probably until Q3 2020,” Euler Hermes said in the weekly report. “However, we continue to give a 40% probability to a no-deal scenario.”
In the Aug. 29 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
In the Aug. 27 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade on Aug 27 updated its collection of exporting country guides for U.K. exporters. The guides contain information on exporting to Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.
Some fruits and vegetables could face new restrictions on importation into the European Union beginning Sept. 1, according to blog post by Canadian law firm Tereposky & DeRose. That’s the date an EU regulation issued in March takes effect, setting new import requirements for some fruits and vegetables, including exporting country certification, many of which have not yet been met, the law firm said.
In the Aug. 26 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: