Global Trade Updates

The Export Council of Australia is very proud to announce that we have developed in conjunction with AUSVEG a new online e-learning training program to assist Australian Vegetable growers to chart a new way forward by offering export development courses available for all levy-paying Australian vegetable growers at all levels of export experience.

Orientique is an Australian business providing Ladies Fashion exclusively to small boutiques across the world and the ECA's featured member. The impacts of COVID-19 were initially felt by Qrientiue with closures of retail stores across Europe in early March. Their Summer stocks were about to be delivered to our Northern Hemisphere customers and Winter stocks to Australia NZ.

Basanti Pradhan participated in Women Trading Globally in May-June 2019, supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Basanti shares her experience of the program, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy and the way she has pivoted her business to empower women, and how she will expand her floriculture offerings.

We are now threequarters of the way through 2020 and many things have changed due to COVID – 19. The Australian economy declined by 7% in the April-June quarter - the largest fall since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began compiling records in 1959. Domestic consumer spending fell by 12.7 per cent. And it is unlikely to make any significant rebounds in the near future.

Our sixth Incoterm® is CIP - Carriage and Insurance paid to (Place of Destination) - Incoterms 2020. CIP can be used in any transport mode, and the risk transfers from the seller to the buyer as soon as the goods reach the nominated first carrier and the carrier takes charge of these.

Western Union Business Solutions has partnered with Arthur Psaltis to tell his personal story on surviving the 1998 Sydney to Hobart superstorm and how it influenced his life and the trajectory it's taken.

As part of the establishment of the Australian Sanctions Office (ASO), the Online Sanctions Administration System (OSAS) is being replaced by the new Australian sanctions portal, Pax, effective from 9:00am AEST on 1 October 2020.

One of the stories from the COVID–19 pandemic has been the surging numbers of goods being moved through e-commerce. The forced levels of isolation have caused consumers and corporates to resort to purchasing even more goods than ever online seeking urgent delivery.

For Brisbane Importers who require a day-definite or consistent transit time we suggest using the fast direct loops from Shanghai / Xiamen / Ningbo / Shenzhen / Guangzhou ( JKN/CNJ ) Avoid using vessels via Sydney and Melbourne in the short term, announced One Global Logistics. 

The NSW Government with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) invite you to participate in a webinar briefing on market updates and business and investment opportunities in Malaysia on Wednesday, 23 September 2020 from 4.00pm to 5.00pm (AEST).

Advanced manufacturing growth centre (AMGC) has released a latest research: Ten Ways to Succeed in Australian Manufacturing. This report arrives at a critical juncture in the current economic climate. 

The Government is backing Australian businesses to grow their exports and create jobs through reforms to the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme, after an independent review of financial assistance for small and medium enterprise exporters.

Mental Health within the workplace has never been as important as it is today! Did you know that one in 5 Australian workers is currently experiencing a mental health condition? That should be no surprise with all that is going on in the world.

This information session will provide details about the Digital Tech export programs to the UK and/or USA so you can prepare an application. Hear more about opportunities for growing your technology business in the United Kingdom and/or the United States of America. 

Construction of the Port Botany rail line duplication between Mascot and Botany in New South Wales is a step closer, with the design and construct tender package released by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack.

The Department of Agriculture has (13 August 2020) issued a notice that it is planning urgent action on Khapra Beetle infestations. Importers of plant products, freight forwarders, customs brokers and high-volume specialist operators will be affected.

Motherhood is the reason Anamika Sengupta created Almitra Tattva, a company utilising sustainable hand woven fabrics sourced from regions of India to create quality baby wearing products, gaining an international following for her designs and values.

When the COVID-19 outbreak emerged, our fortnightly featured member, Point Valle, a global leadership and company collaboration educator had to rearrange its business in order to fit into "a new normal" in providing business couching services.

The Government of Western Australia has endorsed a plan to build a new 4.5 million TEU capacity container port at Kwinana. The new port will be at the Kwinana Industrial Area, about 20 km south of the existing port at Fremantle, near to the Kwinana Bulk Terminal and the Aloca jetty.

Article 6 in our series of Incoterms® 2020 – In each article we will identify the responsibilities of the seller and buyer in the transaction at different points in the shipping journey.

DFAT have launched a public consultation process on possible reforms to Australia’s regulatory framework for the protection of geographical indications (GIs). Australia is currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU). Consistent with its approach toward other FTA partners, the EU has identified the protection of GIs as one of its key goals.

The Australian Commonwealth Constitution (the Commonwealth) has an interesting history including its development through a series of Constitutional Conventions between the representative of state governments and other interested parties. 

The NSW Government invites all interested business to attend the introductory section on how to grow cleantech business in India. The webinar will be held on Thursday, 10 September, 3pm-4pm EAST and it will provide details about the Going Global-Pathway to India export assistance program targeted at NSW cleantech businesses.

As the voice for Australian exporters, the Export Council of Australia calls on the Australian Government to take immediate action to develop and implement a comprehensive and practical trade-led economic recovery package. We recognise the challenges and constraints faced by the Government but, now more than ever, they need to lead here and internationally.

On 8 August 2020, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) marked its 53rd anniversary. Looking back on half a century of development, ASEAN has made a tremendous journey since its inception in 1967. The remarkable achievements ASEAN has made, far exceed what the founding fathers of ASEAN had imagined.

We advised in our last Global Trade Updates newsletter ( GTU) news of the upcoming ban on the import all solid waste into China effective 1 January 2021.
We highlight below an article from Shipping Australia that provides further updates on this topic.

China will ban the import of all solid waste from 2021 for environmental reasons, but ferrous scrap will not be affected by the move. Import restrictions imposed since July 2019 have significantly slowed the inflow of ferrous scrap into China. 

In August the ECA presented a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) regarding certain aspects of the treaty-making process in Australia.