United

We’re all going to need a bigger rudder to navigate through new disruptors to international trade

News Feed
Thursday, 27 April 2017

IN the iconic film Jaws, one of the memorable lines was ìWeíre going to need a bigger boatî - uttered when it became clear the shark threat was bigger than anyone had anticipated - 

By Andrew Hudson, Rigby Cooke Lawyers.

We face a similar environment now where ëthe disruptorsí affecting the efforts to advance liberalisation in global trade are proving larger and more real than most of us had anticipated.

For some time, industry has been able to rely on co-ordinated plans either from the WTO or on a bilateral or regional basis.  However, that environment changed suddenly with Brexit, a Trump presidency, a rise in protectionist sentiment and increased political tensions.  To paraphrase Jaws, we are at a point where a ëbigger rudderí is needed to manage newly-turbulent waters.   


The Export Council of Australia (www.export.org.au) (ECA) is an industry association representing predominantly small and medium sized exporters and which is trying to help.  The ECA is engaged in many areas, including education and training, research, advocacy and work in trade policy in conjunction with Government and agencies at home and overseas.

Part of its recent work has been the development of successive ëTrade Policy Recommendationsí (TPR) and in the most recent of those (TPR 4.0) the ECA has included recommendations to address some of the current problems under the heading of ëA prosperous future for all Australians through international tradeí.

As a director of the ECA with responsibility for trade policy, I have been directly involved in the development of the TPRs over time and the release of TPR 4.0 has given us the means to ventilate our ideas with a focus on advancing the interests of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to deliver the most immediate boosts to the economy, especially in these difficult times.   The details of TPR 4.0 can be found at http://www.export.org.au/publications/trade-policy-recommendations-4-0-2017 and I recommend contacting the ECA to you.

These are macro ideas supported by significant research and planning by the ECA and will require co-operation from interests here and overseas.  However we also hope that all levels of Government here embrace them now and work to implement them.  There also is much more that can be done by like-minded parties.

At the same time there are more immediate concerns for those in the supply chain including exporters, importers and their service providers including airlines, shipping lines, providers of road transport, freight forwarders and others. 

These parties operate in the most complex and heavily-regulated environments ever seen, considering we live in a time when trade facilitation is a desired outcome.  Not only does the level of regulation potentially create impediments to trade, the associated fines, penalties and sanctions create an additional level of uncertainty and risk for those in the supply chain and those who insure and finance those parties.

This environment also poses challenges for those providing legal advice (such as myself).  I and others need to advise on domestic and international laws but also need to appreciate the potential impact of the laws of other countries and to have expert colleagues in those jurisdictions.  I also need to have an understanding of the political and economic influences which could have an impact ñ not just now but in the future so that I can advise on what may assist in future plans.  Having an idea of what is in the pipeline is vital intelligence and all those representing parties in the supply chain need to have a wide appreciation of the law and its external influences.

Of course, none of this is clear or easy and only collaboration between Government, its agencies, those in the supply chain, their representative associations and professional advisers ensures answers can be found.  No one party operates in a vacuum and more than ever the interaction between those parties is vital. 

And of course, if pain persists, see your lawyer.

HACTL
Cathay Cargo
United

We’re all going to need a bigger rudder to navigate through new disruptors to international trade

News Feed
Thursday, 27 April 2017

IN the iconic film Jaws, one of the memorable lines was ìWeíre going to need a bigger boatî - uttered when it became clear the shark threat was bigger than anyone had anticipated - 

By Andrew Hudson, Rigby Cooke Lawyers.

We face a similar environment now where ëthe disruptorsí affecting the efforts to advance liberalisation in global trade are proving larger and more real than most of us had anticipated.

For some time, industry has been able to rely on co-ordinated plans either from the WTO or on a bilateral or regional basis.  However, that environment changed suddenly with Brexit, a Trump presidency, a rise in protectionist sentiment and increased political tensions.  To paraphrase Jaws, we are at a point where a ëbigger rudderí is needed to manage newly-turbulent waters.   


The Export Council of Australia (www.export.org.au) (ECA) is an industry association representing predominantly small and medium sized exporters and which is trying to help.  The ECA is engaged in many areas, including education and training, research, advocacy and work in trade policy in conjunction with Government and agencies at home and overseas.

Part of its recent work has been the development of successive ëTrade Policy Recommendationsí (TPR) and in the most recent of those (TPR 4.0) the ECA has included recommendations to address some of the current problems under the heading of ëA prosperous future for all Australians through international tradeí.

As a director of the ECA with responsibility for trade policy, I have been directly involved in the development of the TPRs over time and the release of TPR 4.0 has given us the means to ventilate our ideas with a focus on advancing the interests of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to deliver the most immediate boosts to the economy, especially in these difficult times.   The details of TPR 4.0 can be found at http://www.export.org.au/publications/trade-policy-recommendations-4-0-2017 and I recommend contacting the ECA to you.

These are macro ideas supported by significant research and planning by the ECA and will require co-operation from interests here and overseas.  However we also hope that all levels of Government here embrace them now and work to implement them.  There also is much more that can be done by like-minded parties.

At the same time there are more immediate concerns for those in the supply chain including exporters, importers and their service providers including airlines, shipping lines, providers of road transport, freight forwarders and others. 

These parties operate in the most complex and heavily-regulated environments ever seen, considering we live in a time when trade facilitation is a desired outcome.  Not only does the level of regulation potentially create impediments to trade, the associated fines, penalties and sanctions create an additional level of uncertainty and risk for those in the supply chain and those who insure and finance those parties.

This environment also poses challenges for those providing legal advice (such as myself).  I and others need to advise on domestic and international laws but also need to appreciate the potential impact of the laws of other countries and to have expert colleagues in those jurisdictions.  I also need to have an understanding of the political and economic influences which could have an impact ñ not just now but in the future so that I can advise on what may assist in future plans.  Having an idea of what is in the pipeline is vital intelligence and all those representing parties in the supply chain need to have a wide appreciation of the law and its external influences.

Of course, none of this is clear or easy and only collaboration between Government, its agencies, those in the supply chain, their representative associations and professional advisers ensures answers can be found.  No one party operates in a vacuum and more than ever the interaction between those parties is vital. 

And of course, if pain persists, see your lawyer.

HACTL
Cathay Cargo
HACTL
Cathay Cargo