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Croatia is expected to become a member of the European Union on 1 July 2013, see here, you may need to complete Intrastat returns if you import or export goods between the UK and Croatia. Click here for more information on Intrastat

The MEA are arranging with UKTI in Tripoli, a group Mission programme which will include meetings with both Ministries/Government Organisations and key players in Libya based on the sectors of interest represented by Mission delegates. A networking reception to which delegates may invite guests will also take place. Delegates will be assisted in obtaining the visa required to enter Libya and security arrangements will be in place.

This Mission will be multi-sector, with an emphasis on:

• Education
• Training andSkills
• Business andFinancial Services
• Defence andCivil Security
• Healthcare
• Technologyand ICT

The MEA believes it is the perfect time to engage with the Libyan market, as Libyans lay out the future plans for their economy and the rebuilding of their country and they anticipate that there will be excellent opportunities for both immediate business agreements and the commencement of long-term relationships.

To register your interest and obtain further information please click here,

Final negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and Singapore were completed last month. The agreement will be one of the most comprehensive the EU has ever negotiated and will create new opportunities for companies from Europe and Singapore to do business together. An EU-Singapore FTA will be the EU’s second agreement with a key Asian trading partner, after the EU-Korea FTA, which has been in place since July 2011.

UK products, services and expertise are in demand all around the world and businesses that export grow faster and survive longer than those that solely rely on their domestic market.

London 2012 has seen all the eyes of the world looking our way, providing a perfect platform for UK businesses to showcase themselves and do profitable business in overseas markets.

The Export Insight Series is an unrivalled opportunity to expand your business overseas. It aims to introduce novice and non-export businesses to the principles of international trade so that you can go on to grow internationally. If you haven’t exported before, you will probably have lots of questions and be unsure where to start. UKTI there to help you by providing a low-cost and accessible way to expand your business horizons.

What’s Included? There is a nominal charge of £99 +Vat for each of the Export Insight Visits. UKTI will then organise and pay for group flights, accommodation, in market group transport and activities.

Participants will need to pay for other food and drink, public transport and any personal extra charges incurred.

The remaining visits on the programme cover the following markets:

January 2013 France Italy

February 2013 Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Spain

March 2013 Republic of Ireland Poland Sweden

Please click here to see the brochure which includes details of how to book onto the visits.

The ninth issue of the Export Control Organisation’s Training Bulletin contains full details of courses, seminars and workshops that will increase your understanding of the UK’s strategic export controls.

These events are aimed at exporting and trading individuals or companies of all sizes, as well as government organisations, and cater for a wide range of knowledge levels.

The latest bulletin includes all details, charges and an application form. Download the bulletin here.

For more information on export controls and the work of the ECO generally, call the EOC helpline on 020 7215 4594, or email with your questions: [email protected]

A new framework to enhance the EU’s ability to enforce its rights in the international trading system has been put forward by the European Commission.

Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said that ensuring EU’s partners respect the agreed trade rules is essential to make trade agreements work for the European economy.

Covering the EU’s responses in cases of illegal trade measures in other countries, the proposal aims to provide for effective action to safeguard the interests of EU companies and workers.

A framework will be established to enable the Commission to take executive action when the trade interests of the EU are at stake, rather than, as at present, reacting on a case-by-case basis when EU rights are not respected.

This should allow the EU to implement trade responses in a more streamlined, efficient manner in order to encourage the offending country to remove the illegal measures.

“The EU’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bilateral trade agreements help the EU economy,” Mr De Gucht said. “However, those agreements must be respected for them to deliver results.”

Action under the proposed new regulation could also be taken to compensate for import restrictions imposed on EU products in exceptional situations (so-called safeguard measures), or to react to cases where a WTO member country changes its trade regime in a way that negatively affects EU trade (such as raising its import tariffs) without adequate compensation.

The Council of the European Union has agreed to adopt a new Council Regulation concerning restrictive measures against Iran which amends EU Council Regulation No 267/2012. This new Regulation came into legal force on 22 December 2012 and was published in the Official Journal of the EU.

The Council agreed to keep the prohibition on the purchase, transport or import of gas originating in Iran or exported from Iran (Article 14a) under review, with a view to ensuring its effective implementation. Other key industry sectors impacted by the new regulation are:

• Marine
• Software for certain industrial processes
• Graphite and raw or semi finished metals
• Finance

Following publication in the Official Journal on 22 December, the complete text of the Regulation is available on the EU website.

The rules on food imports from Japan, following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station on 11 March 2011, were until recently imposed by Regulation 284/2012. This has now been replaced by Regulation 996/2012 governing imports of Japanese food and animal feed. This Regulation notes that, since 2002, Regulation 178/2002 on the general principles and requirements of EU food law has provided for the possibility of adopting appropriate EU emergency measures for food and feed imported from a third (non EU) country in order to protect public health, animal health or the environment, where the risk cannot be contained satisfactorily by means of measures taken by the Member States individually.

Following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station, the European Commission was informed that radionuclide levels in certain food products originating in Japan – such as milk and spinach – exceeded the action levels in food applicable in that country. Such contamination may constitute a threat to public and animal health in the EU and the European Commission (EC) therefore imposed special conditions governing the imports of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan. Keeping the situation under review, the EC has replaced the relevant regulation on a number of occasions. The most recent version (Regulation 284/2012) applies from its date of entry into force (30 October 2012) until 31 March 2014.

The inflation figures published last Tuesday confirmed that CPI remained unchanged for the third successive month in December at 2.7%. The largest upward pressure came from the price increases in utility bills but this was offset by downward pressure from air fares. Although there is some uncertainty around the near term outlook, our view is that inflation will start to creep up over the next few months before slowing later in the year.

Recentretail sales figures were weaker than predicted. UK sales fell at a seasonally-adjusted 0.1% in December from the month before. Although retail sales were up 0.3% in annual terms, it was slowest annual growth rate for a December since 1998 – with the exception of December 2010. These figures increase the risk that the ONS will announce a small negative figure for the fourth quarter this week.

On last Monday the Pensions Minister confirmed that the government will introduce a single-tier state pension from April 2017. This will reduce complexity and offer a higher state pension for the self-employed but may reduce the state pension for higher earners; this will also eliminate ‘contracting out’ and associated national insurance rebates. The government will explore the possibility for defined benefit schemes to change scheme rules to compensate for this loss without trustees’ permission.

The government finally published its response to the Sickness Absence Review last Thursday. The response committed government to introduce an independent health advisory and assessment service that will provide an independent assessment of employees who have; been off work for four weeks; retain tax relief on Employee Assistance Programmes; reduce record requirements for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and look at removing tax disincentives for employers who want to pay for medical interventions for sick members of staff. The Percentage Threshold Scheme for claiming-back SSP will be scrapped.

Healthcare UK, the new organisation set up to promote Britain’s healthcare sector to international customers, will be launched in the Middle East at a major international trade show this month.

In a joint initiative between the Department of Health, NHS Commissioning Board and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), Health Minister Lord Howe will launch the organisation at the Arab Health Congress in Dubai on 29 January.

He will be joined by UK Business Ambassador Lord Darzi and the newly appointed Healthcare UK Managing Director, Howard Lyons.

Lord Howe described the UK as a world leader in healthcare, with unrivalled experience and expertise in meeting the health needs of a diverse population.

“Healthcare UK is good news for the UK economy, which will benefit from the extra jobs and revenue created by our highly successful healthcare industries as they trade more across the globe,” he went on. “It also means more money for the NHS across the UK.”

The aim is to provide a single gateway to the UK’s capabilities in healthcare – private, public and academic – to help international customers access the UK’s expertise.

UKTI Chief Executive Nick Baird said that Mr Lyons brought a great deal of international commercial healthcare experience to his new job, having worked in the NHS and the private health sector in Britain and overseas.

One of the tasks of Healthcare UK will be to facilitate the formation of consortia of UK organisations to provide complete solutions to major healthcare challenges.