International Trade International Trade


T: 0121 725 8994 E: ibh@birmingham-chamber.com


Lack of preparation is causing delays at ports


Post-Brexit red tape and documentation problems are causing disruption and hold ups at Britain’s ports. Despite a massive taxpayer-funded


advertising campaign leading up to Britain’s final exit from the European Union, some hauliers and exporters have still been caught unprepared for the change of rules on 1 January. Among the problems is that exporters have


not been prepared for some of the additional checks and documents that are now needed in order to export goods to the Continent. Others have been caught unaware that


certificates of origin documents stamped ‘EU’ have been replaced by new ones marked ‘UK’. And a further group who need to take equipment abroad on a temporary basis – for example, engineers travelling with tool kits – have not realised that they need ATA Carnets (temporary export documents) to do this. All of this is causing hold-ups, with lorries are being trapped in long delays at the ports.


EEN services provided by Innovate EDGE


Services previously offered by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) programme, including support for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to help bring new products and services to market, will now be provided by Innovate EDGE. Following the UK’s formal departure from


the European Union the UK branch of the EEN programme is now operated by Innovate UK, with support in Scotland provided by Scottish Enterprise, and will be funded by the European Commission and Innovate UK until 2022. Business advisers across the country, including Sunny Claire and Amerdeep Mangat based at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, will continue to offer advisory support to SMEs now via the Innovate EDGE programme. Sunny and Amerdeep provide business


with access to funding and finance, improving new product and service management and entering international market support. The EDGE initiative is run by Innovate UK,


a public body funded by the Government to support firms bringing new products and services to markets at home and overseas.


To contact the Innovate EDGE team based at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, call 0121 455 0268


50CHAMBERLINK February 2021


Leah Quarmby: new challenge


Sarah Barton: export knowledge


These delays have been further exacerbated by


the current need to provide evidence of negative covid tests at the border – and the government has admitted that while it is working to ease the problems, it believed there would continue to be significant disruption for the time being, particularly on the Dover – Calais route. Mandy Haque, the Chamber’s international


director, said that her advice to exporters was: “Check you have got everything you need. The last thing you want to do is get to the port and find you haven’t got everything.” She said the Chamber would be able to advise


on any issues with incorrect documentation, and added: “When people come to us with a document, we make sure that they have the right thing – we can be a backstop.” She added that one of the biggest problems


involved people requiring the carnets for temporarily exporting items that would eventually be returned to the UK, such as engineers travelling abroad to service machinery, or even


Mandy Haque: exporters need to be fully prepared before they reach the ports


camera operators involved in video shoots, who would be required to have documentation for cameras, lights and other gear.” She added that the Chamber website now


contained a step-by-step guide to applying for a carnet, and said the procedure involved was actually quite simple.


Team welcomes new staff


The Chamber’s international team has two new recruits, one of whom has taken up a new role as international trade training manager. Leah Quarmby joins the Chamber after ten


years working for another Chamber, where she began her term as an export documentation apprentice. After eight years, she was promoted to supervisor, before leaving for pastures new. She said: “The role of International trade


training manager appealed to me as I have always loved the training side of export. “While still keeping a hand in documentation I


can really focus on some of my passions, I love liaising with our customers and finding out how we can help them, helping them get the best knowledge to add to their role in the ever changing international world is job satisfaction. “Working with customers and being able to


provide them with a service that helps them is my main goal.”


The other new starter is Sarah Barton, who


has joined the Chamber’s documentation team. Sarah started her working life as a trainee in an office and then moved to steel stockholder Righton Ltd, where she moved up the ladder into the sales team. She spent 17 years at Righton, dealing with


products exported to the Middle East for use in the shipbuilding industry.


‘Despite Covid, it’s been a busy time for the documentation team’


After Righton, she worked as a purchasing


administrator for Waterbury Bathroom Accessories, buying these items from China for use in new build and refurbished hotels and pubs. She said: “With leaving the EU, I knew it


would be a challenging and exciting time and I could bring some exporting knowledge to the documentation team, who I had previously dealt with as a customer.” Sarah is due to become certified in export documentation this Spring. Chamber international director Mandy Haque


said: “Despite Covid, it’s been a busy time for the documentation team, not least because of the demands of Brexit. “Both and Sarah and Leah will be a big help in


the coming months as we seek to both help businesses with the processing of their export documentation.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88