10 UK Export News You Might’ve Missed – Week 12
In this edition of Export News from Expordite, we’ll cover the top 10 UK export news and headlines from week 12 of 2024 – March 18th-24th, 2024.
Key News:
Export News:
1. Customs Declaration Service is open for all export migration
“All businesses can now move their export declarations to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed.
Businesses who have yet to move their export declarations to CDS will have a transition period to move across, until 4 June 2024. After this date, customs declarations cannot be submitted through the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) service.
CDS is replacing CHIEF and provides businesses with a more user-friendly, streamlined system with greater functionality. It has been running since 2018 for import declarations and more than 100 million customs declarations have already been submitted through CDS, including more than 30% of all export declarations.“
Source: GOV.uk
2. UK takes major step towards joining Indo-Pacific trade bloc
“The UK is today [20 March] one step closer to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) later this year, as the new Trade (CPTPP) Act received Royal Assent.
In July, the UK signed up to the vast Indo-Pacific trade group, bolstering its combined GDP to £12 trillion in 2022 – a huge 15% of the global economy. Under the deal, over 99% of current UK goods exports to CPTPP countries will be eligible for zero tariffs, including Scotch whisky and cars.
The UK will be the first European member and first new member since CPTPP was created, which would have been impossible had we remained in the EU. Being part of CPTPP will support jobs and economic growth across the country, with every nation and region expected to benefit. “
Source: GOV.uk
3. UK Export Finance signs cooperation agreement with U.S. Department of Energy LPO
“UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO).
Signed at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, the agreement signals UKEF and the LPO’s interest in considering potential new joint financing opportunities for energy and green infrastructure projects.
This is the first-ever MoU between a European export credit agency and LPO, which has closed over $30 billion in financing deals for energy and advanced technology vehicle projects in the last decade.”
Source: GOV.uk
4. Car industry insists 2,000% increase in sales to Azerbaijan has nothing to do with Russia
“Sky analysis has found that the British car sector sent another £40m worth of cars to Azerbaijan in the first month of this year, raising fresh questions about whether those cars were being sent there to circumvent sanctions on Russia.
New data from HM Revenue & Customs shows that while direct car exports to Russia remain at zero, where they have been since the imposition of sanctions in 2022, in January £43m worth of cars were sent to Azerbaijan, the former Soviet state neighbouring Russia.
A spokesman from Britain’s motoring lobby group, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said it had detected no evidence the vehicles being sent to Azerbaijan were destined for Russia – and that they were evidence that it was a “flourishing market in its own right”.
“UK vehicle exports to Azerbaijan – as to many countries globally – have increased due to a number of factors, not least a flourishing economy, new model launches and pent-up demand,” it said.“
Source: Sky News
5. New rules to avail export concessions under UK scheme
“Indian exporters who want to avail the duty concessions on their shipments to the UK have to adhere to Britain’s new rules under their Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said Monday. The has replaced its existing origin declaration process under Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) with the UK DCTS effective June 19, 2023.”
Source: The Economic Times
6. UK Introduces Export Controls for Emerging Technologies
“On 12 March 2024, the UK Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) announced that UK export control regulations would be amended to introduce new controls on the export of emerging technologies and provide a number of technical updates. Implemented through the Export Control (Amendment) Regulations 2024, the amendments are set to come into force on 1 April 2024.
These amendments demonstrate the UK’s alignment with other countries – such as the US – insofar as the export restrictions that are being applied to emerging technologies can have dual-use applications. Businesses developing these technologies and operating in this space should ensure they follow robust compliance processes.“
Source: JD Supra
7. ‘No re-export to Russia’ clause to become mandatory for EU operators
“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU swiftly adopted unprecedentedly tough sanctions. The 13 packages of EU sanctions adopted since then have resulted in an unparalleled set of measures targeting key sectors of the Russian economy and political elites. However, the unprecedented nature of the sanctions imposed against Russia, in scale and scope, have created new implementation challenges. EU sanctioned goods still find their way to Russia, albeit through increasingly complex routes and schemes.
Against this background, member states and EU institutions have renewed efforts to close loopholes to prevent circumvention. Among others, the EU has established legal instruments such as the ‘no re-export to Russia’ clause to tackle sanctions circumvention. It is not just companies continuing business with Russia which have to take sanctions seriously. The new instrument applies to operators selling, supplying, transferring or exporting certain goods to third countries.
Many EU operators already insert ‘no re-export to Russia’ clauses in their contracts restricting onward movements into Russia or for use in Russia, as a best practice within their due diligence. For EU operators that have not reviewed or updated their contracts, it is important to check if their commercial contracts fall within the wide-ranging scope of Art. 12g of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014.“
Source: Pinsent Masons
8. Blog: Industry-wide dairy export drive
“International trade remains of paramount importance to the dairy sector, and we are anticipating some promising developments for our exporters in 2024.
Working collaboratively with industry and government, a drive to help boost British dairy exports following an additional £1m investment from the Government will take shape this year, with AHDB very much at the forefront of delivering these services.“
Source: AHDB
9. Exclusive: UK weighs up ban on Polish chicken after salmonella surge
“UK food safety chiefs are considering a ban on some Polish poultry products in response to rising salmonella infections, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) can reveal.
In a letter sent to the European Commission and Poland’s chief veterinary inspectorate in December, officials said they were concerned about the failure to tackle the disease in contaminated meat and eggs exported to the UK.
“Owing to the significant public health risks, we are considering the options available to us to protect UK consumers,” the Food Standards Agency (FSA) chief executive Emily Miles and the UK’s chief vet Christine Middlemiss wrote. They said they would consider potential “safeguard measures on affected products”.“
Source: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
10. New Brexit border rules risk UK food shortages as produce may spoil before arrival
“Britain’s food supply chain faces being thrown into chaos within weeks by problems with new post-Brexit border controls which could see long delays at inspection facilities and goods carrying incorrect paperwork sent back across the Channel.
Food and drink industry sources have warned that the cost of the checks could fuel food inflation and that border delays may lead to perishable foods, some £18bn of which arrives in Britain from the EU each year, being spoiled even before reaching the shelves or their shelf life being reduced.
With just six weeks to go before new customs rules for foodstuffs entering Britain from the Continent start to be enforced at the end of April, importers and hauliers have complained of critical gaps in Britain’s new state-of-the-art customs system, ranging from “wholly inadequate” inspection facilities to a lack of clarity on issues including fees that could add as much as £1,200 to the cost of a single truckload of goods.“
Source: iNews
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