Meeting the demands of post-Brexit trade

Many importers and exporters are still coming to terms with customs changes resulting from the UK leaving the EU. With upskilling employees an important aspect of how companies respond, Business Network speaks to two businesses that have enrolled staff on the Chamber’s international trade training courses.

PETER MARTIN, INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER AT ROMPA, BASED IN CHESTERFIELD

What does your company do?

More than 30 years ago, Rompa was created to improve the quality of life of people of all ages and all abilities. Employing 50 people, we are now the globally-recognised market leader in designing and installing sensory rooms for hospitals, schools, care homes and domestic settings.

What have been the biggest challenges Brexit has posed for your business?

Export documentation and new customs procedures have been the biggest challenges we have faced so far. Fortunately, we were able to initiate the implementation of the necessary changes towards the end of 2020, which has allowed for the shipment of goods to reach their final destinations as planned with minimal delays.

How have you responded to these challenges?

We have responded by ensuring our documentation is correct and that everything is aligned for the safe import of goods into their final destination countries. Communication between our partners has been key as it has become evident that each EU country has different requirements and needs. We’ve invested in training our workforce so every division has a good understanding of the new changes and their implications.

How has the Chamber supported you in your international trade training requirements?

The Chamber has been our main training

Rompa designs sensory rooms for a variety of settings and customers

provider for a variety of international trade courses and it has been instrumental in highlighting the changes we’ve needed to make to ensure minimal impact on our business and operations.

We have been fully supported by the Chamber’s team and our questions have always been answered promptly. The training courses we completed are in customs declaration, export documentation and Incoterms 2020, while three of our colleagues completed an ITOPS course. STACIA ROWBOTHAM, EXPORT ADMINISTRATOR AT JOWITT ABRASIVES, BASED IN CHESTERFIELD

What does your company do?

Jowitt Abrasives is a specialist abrasive manufacturer of discs, segments and wheels for surface grinding, spring grinding and knife grinding. We employ 33 people and ship all over the UK and worldwide.

How has the way you trade internationally changed since Brexit?

Although we’ve maintained great working relationships with our EU customers, we’ve faced a lot of difficulties with the new rules postBrexit. The commercial invoices now require a lot more detail, such as EORI numbers and customs procedure codes, for EU trading.

What have been the biggest challenges this has posed for your business?

Like all exporters, we faced a lot of challenges at the beginning of the year when goods were stuck at the borders, which were closed. Once this was resolved, we faced even more challenges with the new rules and spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year streamlining our processes to ensure they met the rules and suited our customers. For example, the incoterms we were trading with no longer suited our EU customers, so we had to work closely with our freight forwarder to use a new incoterm that suited.

How have you responded to these challenges?

We’ve spent time making sure we fully understand exactly what the new rules mean for both for our business and customers. We’ve been very proactive keeping up with any new changes and have been constantly updating the way we do things.

How has the Chamber supported you in your international trade training requirements?

The Chamber has supported us by answering any questions, no matter how big or small. It has consistently given us the best advice and advised us where funding was available. Because of this, I’ve been lucky enough to do my ITOPS, which I’m really enjoying.

New rules require new skills if you want to go global

International Trade Operations and Procedures– better known as ITOPS – is one of the key qualifications for employees in a business that has new administrative burdens for importing and exporting with the EU. Julie Whiting, international trade training and services manager at the Chamber, explains what it involves and how it’s already helped some companies make huge savings.

The ITOPS course, delivered in partnership with Fidelitas Training, is a practical and relevant qualification designed to prove that candidates have the necessary skills to accurately operate the administration procedures in an international trade administration environment.

It’s suitable for anyone employed in an international trade environment, such as a manufacturer, supplier or freight forwarder.

Delegates will learn how to avoid costly mistakes and improve their international trade procedures. By being able to quote accurately, they will understand all the costs involved, and avoid the problems of losses and hidden charges such as demurrage, fines and overcharging errors.

Some previous candidates have saved their employers thousands of pounds by learning the skills on how to make and save money when dealing with international trade administration.

One example was an exporter saving £250,000 by improving its processes, while a freight forwarder saved £38,000 after streamlining its freight charging processes.

THE ITOPS COURSE

Delivered virtually across four separate online workshops, the course covers the main elements of export administration – administration procedures, export documentation, customs and excise, export payments, and dispatch and shipping.

Candidates also have the opportunity to visit the DHL East Midlands Airport hub to gain invaluable experience.

It is followed by an assessment about four months after tuition ends, with successful candidates awarded the ITOPS qualification and British Chambers of Commerce foundation award in international trade.

The next ITOPS course begins on 1 September and runs until 20 October. It costs £1,690 + VAT for members and £2,364 + VAT for non-members.

Visit www.emc-dnl.co.uk/enablinginternational-trade/internationaltrade-qualification-itops

The five Cs for developing India free trade agreement after Covid and Brexit

As the UK and India commit to working towards a future free trade agreement, Morningside Pharmaceuticals founder and Department for International Trade “export champion” Dr Nik Kotecha OBE (pictured), who has both family and business ties to India, explains the key points for developing relations between the countries in the post-Covid and post-Brexit era.

India is an important part of the UK’s postBrexit future. The country is viewed romantically by many Brits who reference shared language, culture and history, but the current and future relationship can really flourish if we focus on certain areas.

Going forward, the relationship between the UK and India should be characterised by five Cs.

First, Covid, which both countries have and still suffer from. As we know, the second wave in India has been lethal.

The UK has been sending urgent medical supplies to India and it’s heartening the countries have worked together on rolling out vaccines. More than a billion doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are being produced by the Serum Institute of India.

The second C is commerce, which was the focus of the free trade agreement announcement that aims to double trade by 2030.

UK-India trade was already worth £23bn in 2019, and supports about half a million jobs in each other’s economies. Pharma is a particular sector of strength, with UK exports growing by 21.4% to £96.75m in 2019.

‘The Indian economy is expected to have one of the fastest growth rates in the G20 this year’

I know from my trade visits that India is particularly keen on Britain’s burgeoning expertise in life sciences, MedTech and diagnostics.

A Confederation of Indian Industry survey, also in 2019, highlighted the potential of Indian businesses in the UK, identifying 844 Indian companies operating in Britain, with combined revenues of over £48bn.

UK political and business leaders appreciate the Indian economy is expected to have one of the fastest growth rates in the G20 this year, and offers a market of 1.4 billion people.

According to many estimates, India will be the third largest economy in the world by 2030. Given these encouraging statistics, it’s no surprise the UK views India as such an important economic and trade partner.

The third C, for community, refers to the British Indian community numbering some 1.5 million, which provides the rocket fuel in the relationship.

They contribute hugely to the economic, cultural and social fabric of the UK. While comprising just 4% of the UK population, they pay some 10% of taxes to the Treasury.

The Anglo-Indian community is an entrepreneurial one. Research last year showed that Indian diaspora-owned companies have a combined revenue of more than £35bn and employ over 174,000 people.

British Indians have reached the top of business, politics, professions, science, the arts and other areas of public life, while Indian culture has mainstream appeal.

Fourth, the C of Commonwealth is an important glue in the relationship. India, of course, is the giant of the association.

It joined in 1949 as a founding member when Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said it was “better to keep a co-operative association going, which may do good in this world, rather than break it”.

The UK, which is the current chair-in-office and India are two pivotal forces in working together to maximise its effectiveness.

The final C is climate change. In November, the UK will host the global climate change conference COP26.

India is one of the countries that could be most affected by global warming. There is scope to collaborate on shared solutions, which is already happening on issues such as scaling up the electric mobility markets.

There is so much potential in the UK-India relationship. Together, our two countries can work on shared challenges and mutually beneficial trade.