Glasgow Business . 39
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
and CPD carnets, which allow goods to be temporarily taken into or out of the EU without having to complete the customs declarations. Cathy Bryson, Head of International
Certification at Glasgow Chamber, and her team are on hand to guide people through the exporting process, and can have a new customer signed up to the Chamber’s online export documentation portal and taken through the procedure within 30 minutes. Cathy is a great source of knowledge as she
has been involved in the export market for 32 years. She said: “In addition to processing and approving export documentation, we can offer advice to companies on customs requirements of a particular country, and we will also raise any issues with documents that are not completed properly, so as to minimise any delays in trade.” Errors can typically happen when a customer
uses a previous document and does not update the details properly, but Cathy’s eagle-eyed team will spot any irregularities and contact the company to correct the document. She added: “Although they can be silly
errors, they can delay clearance in foreign customs. For example, if they have not declared a correct commodity code for a country it could be stuck in customs, and possibly incur charges. “Each country has its own customs
regulations so it’s complex, but that is the satisfaction the team gets, helping people trade with the world and sorting out problems.”
“The Chamber is delighted to be supporting some of its members explore markets overseas”
One of those companies new to exporting
that found Glasgow Chamber’s help invaluable was Promote Medical. Its Commercial Manager, Roisin McClory explained: “We are a relatively new business in Scotland and have set ourselves up to trade in the UK and internationally. Exporting will be a key area in the future and we are currently working with Scotish Development International to maximise our export opportunities. “Being new to the export market we found
ourselves requiring urgent guidance on obtaining a Certificate of Origin for safe delivery of 44 fully stocked Promote Medical bags to Qatar. We contacted the Certification Department of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and they were brilliant in guiding us through the process and providing us with the right documentation for our client and for customs.” In addition to being helpful, Cathy
is also tenacious, as she has been fighting a £26,000 customs claim on behalf of a member exporter for the past
Deputy Chief Executive Richard Muir
three years… and just recently won the case for the company. While Scotland’s international trade statistics
look healthy at the moment they actually hide a worrying structural weakness, as Richard explained: “While the export figures look great, the reality is that there are way too few companies who are actually exporting – only around 50 companies account for around 50 per cent of all exports. “Tat’s why the Chamber needs to reach out
to companies that are dipping their toe into the export market and support them. And, we’d like to encourage those that have the potential to develop foreign markets for their products and services but have not made that step yet.” Richard believes there is still a lot of untapped
potential in international markets: “Tat’s why the Chamber is delighted to be supporting some of its members explore markets overseas.” Some of that is no doubt part of the estimated
80 tonnes of Scotish goods that are being flown out to Dubai daily by Emirates as part of its cargo manifest on its twice-daily flights – so isn’t it time your company got on board the export market?
DID YOU KNOW? According to the Global Connections Survey 2015: ”The concentration of international exports is skewed…with around 50 per cent of international exports attributable to around 50 businesses”, most of these being larger companies.
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