Chamber News

Since July 2014, the EU and 16 other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been negotiating on an agreement to remove barriers to trade in green goods that are crucial for environmental protection and climate change mitigation.

These would include products such as carbon dioxide scrubbers, recycling machinery, heat pumps, thermostats and wind turbines.

The negotiators are building on a list of 54 products on which the member countries of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have agreed to reduce their tariffs to 5% or less.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Commissioner said: “Making trade in environmentally friendly technologies cheaper is a key step on the way towards reaching the targets set in the Paris agreement on climate.”

However, a joint statement with the US Trade Representative, released after the Geneva meeting indicated that agreement has still not been reached.

While recognising that many participants engaged constructively, and brought new contributions to the table, the statement concludes that “participants will now return to capitals to consider next steps”.

Commissioner Malmström and Ambassador Froman said: “We believe a high standard EGA would enhance global access to clean technologies; advance environmental protection; and benefit workers, businesses, and consumers.”

The EU and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have co-hosted an event aiming to define practical ways to ensure sustainability in the international garment and footwear supply chains.

Representatives of industry, trade unions, civil society and international organisations met officials from the Governments of Cambodia and the main importing countries in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

They discussed how to step up the industry’s current sustainability efforts by putting into practice the OECD’sDue Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector.

This sets out how companies active in the sector can better identify, prevent and mitigate any potential harmful impacts with regard to respect of human and labour rights and protection of the environment.

The guidance has recently been made available for consultation and a draft version can be found atwww.oecd.org.

The fully free access to the market offered by the EU to the least-developed countries such as Cambodia stimulates growth of their export-oriented industries and the overall economic development.

This has contributed to the growth of an important clothing and footwear industry, generating employment and livelihood for many Cambodians, especially women.

However, in line with the EU’s current responsible trade policy strategy “Trade for all”, the Union wants to ensure that such trade-driven growth not only benefits the economy of those developing countries but also brings appropriate social and environmental practices.

Without the Scotch whisky industry’s exporting success, Britain’s trade deficit would be 11% higher. Members of Parliament, industry representatives and the media were told as a recent Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) reception in London.

The Scotch whisky industry is now the single biggest net contributor to the UK’s balance of trade in goods.

Hosting the event, Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell said: “The Scotch whisky industry is a truly global exporter which generates billions of pounds for our economy and supports thousands of jobs in Scotland and across the UK.”

Every second of the day, he continued, 34 bottles of Scotch are shipped overseas and sold to 175 countries around the world.

There is a bright future ahead for Scotland’s whisky producers, Mr Mundell concluded, stressing that the UK Government would be backing them all the way.

In response, SWA acting Chief Executive Julie Hesketh-Laird thanked the Scottish Secretary for hosting the Association’s annual celebration of Scotch whisky and recognising the industry’s importance to the entire UK economy.

She noted that the Association had met Scotland Office representatives regularly throughout the year to discuss issues of mutual interest, such as overseas trade.

“Brexit is clearly top of the agenda,” Ms Hesketh-Laird continued, “and we will be having further discussions with the UK Government on what we see as industry priorities as the UK leaves the EU.”

(Based on November 2016 data releases)

This month’s headlines:

• Q3 UK GDP growth unrevised with business investment supporting growth in the quarter
• OBR downgrades its economic and fiscal outlook for the UK
• UK job market strengthens

UK growth was unrevised in Q3 at 0.5%. Despite the slow down, growth in Q3 marked the fifteenth successive quarter of growth. In annual terms GDP was up by 2.3% in A3. UK economic output is currently 8.1% above its Q1 pre-recession peak. Overall the latest GDP figures confirm that the UK economy is growth in line with the long-term historic average.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has predicted slower growth for the UK in 2017. It has downgraded its forecast from 2.2% to 1.7%. The OBR expects 2.0% growth in 2016.

In the 3 months to September, UK employment rose by 49,000 compared with the previous quarter. The number of people unemployed fell by 37,000 over the same period. In Norfolk the recent October figure showed a slight rise in unemployment claimants from 6540 in September to 6830 in October. This is an average rise in claimants across Norfolk of 1.3%. Some of this rise can be attributed to seasonal work coming to an end.

For full details of this month’s economic review click here.

Andrew Thomson, Chair Elect of East Coast College Governors, Rob Evans, Chair Great Yarmouth College and Tina Ellis, Chair Lowestoft College are asking for feedback on the proposed merger between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Colleges. They have jointly issued the below open letter: Dear Stakeholders We are excited to announce that the proposed merger of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Colleges is progressing well. Following the public consultation conducted in January and February 2016 the Corporation’s Governing Body were able to decide to proceed with the legal steps required to dissolve. We are now delighted to announce that the Corporation of Great Yarmouth College of Suffolk Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 0ED is conducting its statutory consultation in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, on the proposal to dissolve the College as a legal entity and to merge together with Lowestoft College. Thereby forming a new, two campus institution that will operate under the name ‘East Coast College’ (subject to consultation and Department of Education consent to the proposed name change). Please see the attached consultation document. Why is the dissolution proposed? Between January and July 2015 Great Yarmouth College and Lowestoft College and (along with three other colleges) were voluntary participants in a pioneering Area Review, the first of its kind in England.

Led by the Further Education Commissioner, Dr David Collins and Peter Mucklow, the Sixth Form College Commissioner, and involving representatives of national funding agencies and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, this initiative made a comprehensive review of post 16 provision in North and East Norfolk, and North Suffolk.

One of the review’s expert conclusions was that, ‘a soft collaboration will not deliver the level of change and savings needed and that full partnership (either hard federation or merger) between the colleges is the only route to achieving the critical mass of students and economies of scale required to make costs savings and to build and sustain excellent provision so as to ensure improvement of the offer to students and employers on employability and skills’. The Corporations believes that there are some, key benefits which will result from the merger as follows:

• together, combining the complementary strengths of the two organisations, we can offer a wider, richer range of academic, technical and professional opportunities to 16-18 school leavers, adults, higher education students and the business community;
• the merged colleges will be able to enhance the training, bespoke courses and apprenticeships offered to employers, and build a stronger partnership with industry;
• the merged colleges can create an organisation with a combined annual turnover of around £25 million, which will enable further investment in learner resources and facilities, and ensure the continuity of good local provision; and
• the merged colleges will be able to develop an organisation with a greater capacity to engage regionally, nationally and internationally with partners, bringing greater benefits to all the colleges’ students and local communities

Date of the proposed dissolution The planned dissolution date is 31st March 2017. (Subject to consultation and legal requirements.) Name Change On that same day it is planned that the two colleges will merge and that the name of the college will change to ‘East Coast College’ (subject to consultation and Department of Education consent to the proposed name change). New Board We will also be establishing a new East Coast College Corporation and will be looking for new Governors to join us. If you wish to receive further information on this please contact Wendy Stanger, details below. Further Details Please see https://www.lowestoft.ac.uk/east-coast-college Providing your views We are appealing to you personally, as a key stakeholder, to submit your views on the proposed dissolution and name change proposals by 9th January 2017. Please submit your feedback in writing to ‘Public Consultation, Attn. Wendy Stanger Head of Governance, Great Yarmouth College Suffolk Road Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR31 0ED’ via email to [email protected] Or via our brief survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8QGKK2B What happens next? Great Yarmouth College Corporation is legally required to take account of views and representations made under this consultation. The Corporation Governing Body will consider all responses before they make any final decision to dissolve and merge. A summary of the consultation and outcomes will be published by the Corporation by 9th February 2017. Yours sincerely Andrew Thomson CHAIR ELECT OF EAST COAST COLLEGE GOVERNORS Rob Evans Chair Great Yarmouth College Tina Ellis Chair Lowestoft College

On Thursday 8 December over 90 members joined us at Sprowston Manor for a morning of festive networking. Our featured charity for the breakfast was East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice (EACH). As delegates arrived early to get start they placed donated gifts for the charity under the Christmas tree.

The morning kicked off with a welcome from Colin Lang and Sophie Mayes from EACH. They then introduced our first networking ice breaker: The A-Z of Christmas. Delegates named a Christmas word for each letter of the alphabet, with many using ‘zzzzzz’ for the letter Z.

Breakfast was served and followed by the second ice breaker for the morning which brought out the creative side to our members. Each person was given a Christmas song to draw whilst others on their table attempted to guess what the song was. A gallery of those we collected can be seen in the images – including the best drawing from the morning (although we don’t know which song it is!).

After a safari move mixed delegates around, the last activity of a Christmas movie quiz took place. The questions were tough this year, with the highest score being 7/12. To finish the morning, EACH ran a raffle for two luxury hampers and Jay Warnes, NPS Property Consultants Ltd was crowned with the best Christmas jumper.

The morning was filled with laughter and a great festive spirit. Given the popularity of this event, we are looking to hold one in Norwich, one in Great Yarmouth and one in West Norfolk for 2017.

Merry Christmas!

Key trade-related measures announced by the Chancellor in last week’s Autumn Statement have been highlighted by the Department for International Trade (DIT).

In particular, it points out that additional financial support for UK exporters will be available through the UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The new measures will see what the DIT describes as UKEF’s “total risk appetite” double to £5 billion and the maximum cover limit for individual markets increase by up to 100%. The move will, potentially, provide up to £2.5 billion of additional capacity to support exports to some destinations.

The number of pre-approved local currencies in which UKEF can offer support is also being significantly increased, rising from 10 to 40. More overseas buyers of UK exports will therefore be able to pay in their own currency.

Overall, the increased support for UKEF should ensure that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance from the private sector, the DIT claims.

In a further significant move, the Department will receive £79.4 million to develop and deliver an independent international trade policy. The money will be used to support a smooth exit from the EU and – the DIT explains – will help to negotiate the best possible global trading arrangements for the UK.

Additional resources will also be allocated to strengthen trade policy capability within DIT in co-operation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Annual funding of £26 million by 2019/20 was allocated to this initiative in the Autumn Statement.

Commenting on the measures, International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said that they will help ensure that the Government is able to support more UK exporters, attract more overseas buyers and strengthen the UK’s capability to develop and deliver an international trade policy.

A survey by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) has shown that British companies are confident about trade with China in the aftermath of the UK leaving the EU.

Over half (56%) of the 266 respondents said that Brexit would create either “many more” or “more” business opportunities with China generally, while 44% stated that a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and China would generate more opportunities for their own companies.

A significant majority (88%) of respondents think that it is either “very important” or “important” to achieve an FTA, and almost three-quarters (73%) believe it is possible to do so in under five years.

Ensuring a simpler approach to dispute resolution, simplified UK and Chinese visa rules and the strengthening of intellectual property rights should be among the main aims of negotiations on such an agreement, respondents suggested.

Removing tariffs, standardising and digitising trade documents, and reinforcing protection for foreign investors in joint ventures (JVs) were also seen as key issues.

Reduced tariffs were seen as being positive for their particular sectors by an overwhelming majority (95%) of those surveyed.

Based on the survey results, the CBBC has made a number of recommendations to further support UK-China trade and investment in the coming years. They include establishing a China-specific taskforce within the UK Government to assess the parameters of an FTA.

The taskforce should, it said, include key members of the UK business community with expertise on UK-China trade and investment.

Other industry taskforces should also be created, comprising leading UK companies who can make recommendations in their specific sectors. The CBBC wants to see working groups set up with relevant Chinese stakeholders from both government and business.

Further details of the CBBC survey can be found atwww.cbbc.org.

Award-winning languages business PAB Languages Centre has joined the Chamber, having recently opened a second UK office in Colchester.

The firm’s new High Street office in Colchester will offer expert linguists translation, interpreting and localisation services in over 200 languages.

Denise Taylor, PAB’s newly appointed Business Development Manager in Colchester, is very familiar with the business landscape and opportunities of the south east of England having held similar roles for companies such as Staples, Securitas and more recently Banner, part of the EVO Group

Founder and Managing Director of PAB Languages Centre Iwona Lebiedowicz said it’s an exciting development for the firm.

“As part of our ambitious growth strategy we wanted to open an office in the south east of England to expand our reach and better support our existing clients in the region, and Colchester seemed like the ideal location,” explained Iwona.

“We aim to be supplier of choice for businesses requiring professional linguists to help them overcome language barriers they encounter within the UK or overseas.

“We offer written translations – both standard and certified – including multilingual projects such as business-focused website translations. We also currently offer language and cultural awareness courses for individuals or organisations dealing with countries other than their own.”

The Department for International Trade in Jordan is looking to support British companies working in:

• garments and textiles
• chemical (paints, fertilisers etc)
• manufacturing/engineering/electrical

As well as other sectors – please see here.Companies working in these sectors can benefit from relaxed rules of origin in Jordan, as well as low-cost setup opportunities.

In July 2016 the EU and Jordan agreed to simplify the rules of origin that Jordanian exporters use in their trade with the EU under the Association Agreement. This is intended to make it easier for Jordan to export to the EU, encourage investment and create jobs for Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

For exporters to be able to use these alternative rules of origin, production must:

• take place in one of 18 designated industrial areas and development zones in Jordan
• use a minimum proportion of Syrian refugee labour in the production facilities (initially 15% and increasing to 25% in year three)

If you are intersted in this opportunity and would like more details,please contact Jan Wimaladharma at DIT in Amman.

The B1149 Holt Road will be closed from 7pm on Monday 5 December, reopening no later than 6am on Tuesday 6 December, to allow Anglian Water to complete a water main diversion at the site of the new Drayton Lane roundabout.

Access in and out of Horsford at the southern end of the village will be via Church Street and the A140 Cromer Road.

• The overnight closure will allow Anglian Water to complete a water main diversion that was suspended on 18 November when excavations found the pipe to be too far under the road for the work to continue under temporary traffic lights.
• On Buxton Road full-time temporary traffic lights are likely to stay in place for the next two weeks to allow the diversion of a gas main.
• Temporary lights or stop/go boards are likely to be used as needed on a number of other roads crossing the NDR.
• Three roundabouts towards the western end are nearing completion. Once work has finished the speed limits on the A1067 Fakenham Road, Fir Covert Road and Reepham Road will be reviewed.

As President-elect Donald Trump announces that he plans to take the USA out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement as soon as he takes office, the EU is moving in the opposite direction – looking to widen its arrangements with trade partners.

It already has what is known as a Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement with Tunisia, that has been in force since 1998, but now it is considering replacing this with a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).

Before going any further down this road, however, the European Commission has invited traders and other businesses to submit comments on its plans.

Through aquestionnaire, it invites detailed views on the trade, investment and broader economic relationship between the EU and Tunisia.

“We are also specifically interested in practical experience in doing business with and in Tunisia,” the Commission explained, “so some questions are more technical.”

The existing Association Agreement already includes a Free Trade Area dismantling custom duties for industrial products and partially liberalising trade in agricultural and fisheries products.

The purpose of the DCFTA is to increase market access opportunities for both sides and to improve the business environment in Tunisia by supporting its economic reforms. Besides further liberalisation of trade in agricultural and fisheries products, it also aims to liberalise trade in services and investment.

The deadline for submitting comments is 22 February 2017.