Member States in the EU’s Council have authorised the signature and conclusion of the trade and investment agreements between the Union and Singapore.
Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said: “I am very pleased that Member States have given their formal backing to these agreements, paving the way for their signature on 19 October.”
Opening new opportunities for European producers, farmers, service providers and investors is a key priority for the Commission, she went on.
These deals do that, and more, the Commissioner insisted, given that Singapore is an important gateway to the whole Asia-Pacific area.
The agreements also promote sustainable development, as they include ambitious commitments on the protection of the environment and labour rights and uphold the right to regulate.
They are, Commissioner Malmström said, another example of the EU’s determination to work with like-minded countries to uphold rules-based international trade.
The Council decision follows the proposal made in April of this year by the European Commission. EU and Singapore leaders will now sign the agreements during the current Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
After signature, the European Parliament will vote on the agreements. Once it gives its approval (expected to be a formality), the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to enter into force in 2019, before the end of the current mandate of the European Commission.
The EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement will only enter into force following its ratification at EU Member State level.
The second North Norfolk Business Awards are now open for entries – and businesses across the district are being encouraged to put themselves forward to win one of the prestigious titles.
The 2019 awards (#NNBA19) are being organised and hosted by North Norfolk District Council. The 2018 awards, which were held back in February, saw scores of entries, and it is expected that the competition will be even stronger this time.
Following feedback, the number of categories has been increased to eight with the introduction of a Small Business award. It means that businesses of all sizes and in all sectors should be able to find a suitable category to enter. The awards are free to enter.
Sponsors of the awards include Eastlaw, the Fakenham & Wells Times, Menta, New Anglia LEP, the North Norfolk News and Thursford Christmas Spectacular.
Judging will take place early in 2019. Once the shortlists have been drawn up, the awards night will be held at Gresham’s School, Holt, in February, where the eight winners will be unveiled. The awards night will again be hosted by Chris Sargisson, chief executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce.
Commenting on the awards, Chris Sargisson, CEO of Norfolk Chamber said: “I am delighted to be asked to host the Norfolk Norfolk Business Awards once again. This is a great opportunity to celebrate business success in our region and I would encourage as many businesses as possible to enter and showcase their talents.”
Cllr John Lee, Leader of North Norfolk District Council and Leader of the Conservative Group at NNDC, said: “Our inaugural Business Awards were a huge success and they were greatly appreciated by the local business community. It gives us the opportunity to reward local businesses for the hard work that they put into making North Norfolk a thriving, diverse and great place to do business.”
Cllr Sarah Butikofer, Leader of the Lib Dem Group at NNDC, said: “Local businesses and entrepreneurs contribute significantly to the vitality and viability of the communities we serve, bringing both economic benefits and employment to the area. I am delighted we are able to recognise these contributions with these awards.”
Cllr John Rest, Leader of the Independent Group at NNDC, said: “This event is a marvellous opportunity to celebrate the entrepreneurial skills of traders in this district and to reward them for the very valuable contribution that they make to the community and tourism.”
The full list of categories is Agriculture, Horticulture & Countryside; Business Growth; Environment; Innovation; New Business; Small Business; Tourism & Hospitality; and Young People & Skills.
Exciting news in the Norfolk Business calendar arrived last week, with the EDP revealing the finalists for their elven categories. The shortlist has now been expanded to four companies per category, which is a great chance to showcase the talented business community in our county. It is fantastic to see so many of our Norfolk Chamber members in the finalist lists. We wish them all the best for the next stage of the award selections. Skills of Tomorrow, sponsored by Lotus
KakeCo Ltd
Netmatters
The College of West Anglia
The Kinetic Science Foundation
Best Employer, sponsored by Pure and Birketts
Flagship Group
Holden Group
Morgan Sindall
The Maids Head Hotel
Investing in Future Growth, sponsored by JDC Corporate Finance
David Utting Engineering
Black Swann International
Gnaw Chocolate
Panel Graphic
Director of the Year, sponsored by Dipples
Jan Hytch, Arnold Keys
John Dye, JD Cooling Systems
Rosie Kefford, Rosie’s Hair, Beauty and Make-Up Studios
Steve Earl, Panel Graphic
Small Business, sponsored by Cozens-Hardy
CIM Signs & Graphics Limited
Deepdale Backpackers & Camping
Indigo Swan
Just Financial Planning
Environment and Sustainability, sponsored by Lovell
Barnwell Printing
Cornerstone (East Anglia)
Rosedale Funeral Home
The RedCat Partnership
Breaking Boundaries, sponsored by Lovewell Blake
FXhome
Panel Graphic
PBD Biotech
PlantGrow
Large Business, sponsored by City College Norwich
JD Cooling Group
Mills & Reeve
Natures Menu Ltd
Neilsen Brandbank
Tech Innovator, sponsored by Computer Service Centre
The UK is one of three parties with which the USA wishes to conclude a trade deal, Washington has confirmed.
On 16 October, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified the US Congress that the Trump Administration intends to negotiate separate trade agreements with the UK, the EU and Japan.
Describing the announcement as an important milestone in the process of expanding US trade and investment through deals with the three parties, Mr Lighthizer underlined the administration’s commitment to concluding negotiations “with timely and substantive results for American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses”.
On the US side, the process will also involve Mr Lighthizer, as the US Trade Representative, consulting the public on the direction, focus and content of the negotiations.
Objectives for the negotiations must be published at least 30 days before formal trade negotiations begin.
In his notification letter to Congress regarding the UK, Mr Lighthizer notes that an ambitious trade agreement between the two countries could further expand the current trade and investment relationship by removing existing goods and services tariff and non-tariff barriers “and by developing cutting edge obligations for emerging sectors where US and UK innovators and entrepreneurs are most competitive”.
The letter also acknowledges that the UK is not free to negotiate trade agreements until it has left the EU.
In 2017, US trade in goods and services with the UK was worth an estimated $235.9 billion, of which exports accounted for $125.9 billion and imports $110.0 billion. The US trade surplus with the UK last year was $15.9 billion.
US trade with the EU in 2017 was worth nearly $1.2 trillion, with exports totalling $527 billion and imports $627 billion, and a US trade deficit amounting to $100 billion.
The value of US-Japan trade in the same period is put at $283.6 billion – $114 billion in exports and $169.5 billion in imports.
Half of businesses surveyed say that Brexit is making it difficult to decide whether to import or export, hampering British trade
Volatility of sterling is also causing concern
Chambers have long been calling for clarity for business on the practical questions over Brexit
A survey by British Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with DHL Express UK, has today revealed that almost half – 49% of businesses have uncertainty over Brexit front of mind when deciding whether to trade internationally, highlighting the economic cost of the persistent lack of political clarity.
A similar number (48%) of firms are concerned by the related issue of exchange rate volatility, which can increase the cost of raw materials and potentially make UK exports less competitive. Exchange rate volatility is a much greater concern for manufacturers (61%) and B2C firms (64%) than B2B businesses (36%).
As EU leaders gather in Brussels, the BCC today brings together 500 exporters, trade professionals and business leaders from around the world, including a delegation from Norfolk, at the BCC International Trade Summit to discuss the issues and trends at the forefront of international trade, and to give innovative firms the tools they need to enter new markets.
The research also shows that while there are many concerns for businesses when deciding whether to trade internationally, those that do trade internationally are more likely to be innovative within their business – 65% of those that are internationally active have launched a new product or service in the last 12 months, compared to just 41% of firms who are UK-focused.
Government must do more to boost business confidence at the Autumn Budget and incentivise export and import growth. This, coupled with clear progress in negotiations, will encourage firms to take risks and break into new markets, boosting innovation and productivity in the UK economy.
Commenting on the results, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy, Governance and Public Affairs said:
“Norfolk firms have been dealing with uncertainty over the future relationship with the EU since the referendum vote over two years ago. However, this survey shows that as we get closer to the crunch, the lack of precision is starting to have a material impact on their decision-making.
“While business faces uncertain times, the research shows that businesses who do trade internationally are more innovative and dynamic compared to those who just focus their attention on the UK market. It is vital that clear progress is made in negotiations – to give firms in our region the confidence and empower them to take risks and try to break into new markets, creating the Global Britain this government so often talks about.”
Also commenting on the results, Dr Adam Marshall, BCC Director General, said:
“At our International Trade Summit, we will hear from trade experts and dynamic businesses – as we look to help build connections and encourage firms to unleash their potential. Chambers of Commerce work day in day out to support businesses trading internationally, but we also need the government to step up and provide clarity now or put British competitiveness at risk.”
Shannon Diett, VP of Marketing, DHL Express UK, added:
“The uncertainty expressed by British businesses taking part in this survey mirrors the increasing concern we are hearing from our customers, both of which further highlight the criticality now surrounding the Brexit negotiations. It is important to note however, that increasing the number of markets a business trades with helps to reduce risk and increase the opportunities for growth.
“It is imperative that decisions are made to allow businesses to plan for a successful Brexit and to facilitate continued smooth international trade with Europe.
“At DHL Express we are preparing for every scenario and as part of this we are reviewing resources, infrastructure, systems and people. We are joining forces across the DHL divisions to do everything within our power to ensure our customers can continue to operate and trade internationally in the smoothest way possible.”
Commenting on the labour market figures for October 2018, published today by the ONS, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“With UK employment high by historic standards and unemployment continuing to fall, the latest figures paint a positive picture of the UK jobs market.
“While wage growth increased again, the pace at which pay growth is exceeding price growth remains well below the historic average, meaning the current squeeze on spending power is unlikely to ease. Achieving a meaningful improvement in wage growth will be an uphill struggle unless the underlying issues that continue to limit pay settlements are tackled – notably sluggish productivity, considerable underemployment and high upfront costs for businesses.
“The number of job vacancies is close to an all-time high, providing further evidence of the worrying skills shortages plaguing UK businesses. Firms are reporting that recruitment difficulties have reached critical levels, which coupled with Brexit uncertainty is increasingly putting employers off trying to hire, and if sustained could increasingly weigh on jobs growth.
“Against this backdrop, the upcoming budget must be used to halt the alarmingly decline in apprenticeships, including scrapping the 10% co-investment apprenticeship contribution rule for small businesses, a key barrier to SMEs recruiting and training young apprentices. We also urge ministers to work closely with business to deliver a future migration system that enables access to the skills needed at all levels to help grow our economy.”
Businesses and organisations in West Norfolk are being urged to ‘Be a Reason to Love West Norfolk’ and sign up to the Love West Norfolk campaign.
A new Love West Norfolk commitment and toolkit have been launched which will allow organisations to join the campaign and celebrate everything that West Norfolk has to offer.
As well as signing up to the Love West Norfolk commitment, those joining the campaign will also be able to use the logo and display a ‘We’re a Reason to Love West Norfolk’ sticker and image.
And organisations will be supported to promote their activities through Love West Norfolk social media and communications activities.
Tony Hall, Chief Executive of Freebridge, Chamber member, and Chair of the West Norfolk Strategy Group said: “It is the people of West Norfolk who have made Love West Norfolk so successful and so we want to give organisations the opportunity to officially join the campaign.
“This is open to all types of organisations – shops, companies, schools, charities, and voluntary groups, for example – who, like us, love West Norfolk. Join in the campaign and help us to promote everything this fantastic area has to offer.”
The commitment and toolkit were launched with Ward Gethin Archer who became the very first Reason to Love West Norfolk by signing up to the commitment. Sarah Scott, director at Ward Gethin Archer said: “We are delighted to be involved in this campaign. One of our core values is to provide a local and friendly service. We enjoy working with the community not just on a professional level providing legal services, but also getting involved in local events as much as we can. In the last year this has involved entering a team in the GEAR 10k run as well as the dragon racing at Downham Market. We are proud to serve West Norfolk. The team we work with and the clients we work for make West Norfolk a great place to live and work”.
West Norfolk Strategy Group is behind the Love West Norfolk campaign. Superintendent David Buckley of King’s Lynn Police said: “We are really excited about phase two and in particular the opportunity to involve more local people, businesses and organisations in the campaign.
“We are so grateful to everyone for their support to date and we are really pleased that through our commitment and toolkit, we will be able to provide people with even more opportunities to join in the campaign. Love West Norfolk belongs to West Norfolk.”
Anyone wishing to ‘Be a Reason to Love West Norfolk’ or looking for further information and the commitment and toolkit can get in touch via:
Highways England are consulting on their proposal to upgrade the A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham. Their proposals will create a new dual carriageway that will relieve congestion, provide extra road space, improve safety and help provide a free-flowing network.
This statutory consultation is your opportunity to express your views on the design of the proposed scheme in advance of our application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to authorise construction of the project.
A DCO is a type of planning application, which is needed for a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). Following the submission of the DCO application, the Planning Inspectorate will hold a public examination of the application before making a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport who will decide whether or not the project scheme should go ahead.
Businesses, local authorities, public bodies, road users and the communities and neighbouring areas can play an important part in the development of the scheme design. Your feedback is therefore essential to this consultation as it will enable Highways England to improve the scheme before they submit an application for the project.
The A47 trunk road forms part of the strategic road network and provides for a variety of local, medium and long distance trips between the A1 and the east coast. The corridor connects the cities of Norwich and Peterborough, the towns of Wisbech, Kings Lynn, Dereham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft and a succession of villages in what is largely a rural area.
The Blofield to North Burlingham section of the A47 is an important, well-used stretch of road for those living and working in the area. Sandwiched between two dual carriageway sections, this stretch of the road acts as a bottleneck; resulting in congestion and leading to longer and unreliable journey times. The Highways England studies have identified that the single carriageway section of the road no longer meets the needs of its users. The section also has a poor safety record, with a total of 40 collisions recorded on the section between 2013 and 2017. With further planned growth, including the ‘City Deal’ for Norwich, including over 50,000 new jobs and 100,000 homes, it is likely that these issues will only be increased.
A highlight in the Norfolk Chamber events calendar, The B2B Exhibition continues to grow on its 20 years, bringing together the best businesses in Norfolk. Before we opened the doors to visitors, we kicked off with an exclusive opening for our exhibitors. Norfolk Chamber Chief Executive Chris Sargisson gave thanks to the 100+ business exhibitors who filled the room, emphasising how their support makes B2B the event it is. Andrew Gray from Best Stand Award Sponsors NatWest and Mark Shields, Business Editor for the EDP also gave their welcoming remarks and highlighted how the success of B2B shows what a strong and vibrant business community Norfolk has. Following the welcome our exhibitors made their way back to their exhibition stands to add the final touches, ready for doors to open at 10am and the best stand award judging to begin. Chris, Andrew and Mark then began their route to visit all 105 stands, spanning across two floors and the outside entrance. Although there were plenty of bribes on offer including ice cream, doughnuts, miniature golf, racing games and plenty more, it was East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) who took the best stand award with their Rio Carnival stand. Full of colour, props, games and more, their stand stood out amongst the crowd supporting a worthy cause; the judging panel were pleased to present them with the award. This year all exhibitors went above and beyond to put on impressive displays. At the main entrance to the exhibition Anglia Car Charging brought a fleet of electric vehicles including Tesla’s, Jaguar’s and even two B2B branded cars; a BMW i3 and Mini Cooper. Indigo Swan brought their usual energy to the show with a game of mini golf, GGS came to shine with a Greatest Showman inspired display and InnerShed gave visitors a virtual reality driving experience on their stand. As well as the two floors of exhibitors, 20 minute masterclasses were also held throughout the day with our guest speakers covering a range of vital business topics from LinkedIn to networking. We were pleased to have Ian Hacon from Yellow Brick Road and Energise.me, Matt Sykes from Salescadence, Sara Greenfield from Bright Yellow Marketing and Neil Foley from Business Growth Club join us with their expert tips and tricks. The B2B Exhibition 2018 was a huge success with over 750 people through the door on the day. Let’s make 2019 even bigger and better! With thanks to our event sponsors: Archant – Media Partners MIGSOLV – VIP Lunch Sponsor NatWest – Best Stand Award Sponsor Vertas – Silver Sponsor Breckland Council (EHT&C) – Bronze Sponsor Zing Insights – Research Partners View our gallery of event photos here.
Scotch Whisky, Welsh Lamb, Lough Neagh Eels and Stilton Cheese have two things in common: they are among the 86 UK products registered under the EU’s Geographical Indications (GIs) scheme and they are significant export earners, worth over £5 billion to UK trade figures.
The EU rules provide legal protection from imitation for both regional and traditional specialties, whose authenticity and origin can be guaranteed.
Producers of GI products value the schemes for the collective protection they bring from imitation and evocation and, in some cases, the premium it allows them to charge for products.
The various GI designations – Protected Designation of Origin (PDO); Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) – can take several years to earn and are considered to be of real value to producers and exporters.
The question therefore arises, what happens to this protection after the UK leaves the EU?
It is possible that some form of mutual recognition will be built in to a trade agreement with the EU – maintaining protection on European products such as Gorgonzola, Champagne and Münchener Bier – but it remains unclear as to if and when this might happen.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has accordingly launched a consultation seeking views on establishing UK GI schemes after Brexit.
“The mechanism for bringing the schemes into UK law will ensure that we have UK GI schemes in place from Exit day which meet our World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations,” Defra said. “It does not, however, allow the UK GI schemes to be changed substantially from the EU schemes.”
Full details can be found at consult.defra.gov.uk and the deadline for responding is 1 November 2018.
Best Use of Technology Award- Lintott Control Systems
Lintott Control Systems is certainly a company who have been flying high at the moment, with their recent success of winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation. They have now been selected by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC as the Eastern Regional Winner of Best Use of Technology award.
Started back in 1980 the company formally known as ‘Lintott Control Equipment,’ designed, manufactured, and commissioned electrical control systems, which were mainly for the steel industry. Since then they have grown and developed their portfolio, to include, for example, water and wastewater treatment systems, and software system integration.
As a company Lintott Control Systems is now a digitally-pioneering process solutions provider, which forges pioneering working practices, this also includes developing high-performing teams. Winning an award is a great opportunity for the staff and company to celebrate their success, vision, and achievements within the workplace.
“Lintott Control Systems Limited is overjoyed to be awarded the regional “Best Use of Technology” category at this year’s BCC Awards. This achievement reflects the creative talent of Lintott’s team in developing a pioneering digital eco-system. The cornerstone to this is a web-based customer-driven design application that slashes design time from weeks to just a few hours. This is coupled with a developing people strategy, which nurtures talent so that creativity is continually rekindled. Watch this space….” Jamie Thums, Chief Operating Officer
Winning the BCC regional awards requires meeting several key criteria. For the Best Use of Technology Award requires for example,
• The range of technology used in day to day business.
• How technology has improved the business process, and efficiency
• The use of technology to improve customer service and engagement
• How the above practices influence the organisation’s supply chain.
Lintott clearly has demonstrated all of the above and have been praised for their ‘innovative use in technology in every area of their business, it has led to significant growth.’ BCC Award Judges. The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce is delighted for Lintott and we wish them all the best in the next stage of the completion. https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/events/chamber-awards