Chamber international trade update Alan Rides MIEx (Grad)
This month we have featured Pacific rim countries after the historic signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) by our International Trade Minister, Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, whom I met. She said about the agreement “I have overseen the implementation of our Free Trade Agreements with Australia and New Zealand – the first deals the UK has negotiated from scratch since taking control of our trade policy, boosting our trade relationship with both countries by 53% and 59% respectively. I have signed the UK’s accession to CPTPP - a bloc now worth £12 trillion in GDP, eliminating tariffs on 99% of UK goods exports to over 500 million people. “ The agreement includes 12 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam, as we. as now the UK. These countries span four continents, covering a population of more than half a billion people. With this progress from our government, your Chamber now is pushing to introduce links to our members to help their business to grow via the following events.
Vietnam Trade Mission reception
They are the only national trade promotion agency in Vietnam and are dedicated to providing assistance to UK businesses seeking to purchase or sell products and services in the region. The next move will be for our Chamber to sign an MOU to help develop trade for our members.
Ninh Binh Province delegation
Separately, we also received a ten strong delegation from Ninh Binh Provincial People’s Council, Ninh Binh Province, to discuss trade and tourism who showed the following video. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PyaTJKao9wKi8 Gx9b5jdZIKRwQCnwmHs/view?usp=sharing They were welcomed by 14 of our members who are looking to meet companies that they can trade with or provide services to.
VCCI said that they are seeking partners in fields such as education, construction, industrial machinery, high technology, and financial investment consulting, among others.
We were pleased to exhibit with other companies at the Hoxton Hotel, Shepherds Bush, Hammersmith, to show friendship and promote bilateral trade. A packed-out hall heard speeches by Cllr Steve Cowan, Leader Hammersmith & Fulham council, Mr Hseih, Taiwan Diplomatic Representative London, Sam Lui, and Evelyn Lee, Chairwoman of the UK Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce.
The Changing Environment
New Zealand Trade opportunities
We were proud to receive a 30 strong delegation from Vietnam Chambers of Commerce who were met by 30 of our members to discuss and understand trade opportunities. Lead speakers were H.E. Mr Nguyen Hoang Long - Ambassador, Embassy of Vietnam to the UK Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh - Vice Executive Chairman of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Mr Trieu The Hung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Dr Renu Raj on International Mediation and Arbitration And a case study, from a British perspective, of trade with Vietnam by Mr Brook Horowitz CEO IBLF Group
Taiwan Friendship Day
Following the signing of our Chambers MOU with Phil Wood OBE, President, British New Zealand Business Association, and the government Free Trade Agreement, we were proud to hear from Phil via Zoom about how he can introduce New Zealand companies to our members. We were also incredibly pleased to have a live interactive session with Joe Nelson, Trade Commissioner, New Zealand High Commission who talked through trade in IT, Wine, Food and Agriculture and reminded us that the first New Zealand lamb was shipped to the UK 130 years ago.
To reflect on global trade and its implications on the planet we were proud to have as a guest speaker Jonathon Porritt CBE who talked about climate change. He highlighted forest fires in Southern Europe and in North America, Hurricanes in the Caribbean, and Tornadoes in the pacific that are no longer ‘one off’ events but are now regular occurrences multiple times a year. This will be reflected in insurance premiums in the future and could even result in some areas becoming uninsurable, with all the implications that that entails. We were also proud to invite a select group of students from West Thames College to hear this presentation. We also heard presentations from Dr Amy Burnett and Dr Robyn Owen from Middlesex University on ‘Greening up Freight and Logistics’ and ‘Green Open Innovation.’ Following this oneto-one meeting were held in a breakout room with our members. let’s talkbusiness
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