Tony Goodman MBE

Photo montage of Industrial Container Cargo freight ship for Logistic Import Export concept

Networking on a Global scale

The largest networking event in the world for exporters launches this October having been delayed by 12 months because of the global pandemic. EXPO 2020, in Dubai, is a massive undertaking including 191 participating nations and numerous organisations meaning a huge number of Pavilions to visit. This mammoth cornucopia of displays which runs for six months from October 2021 to March 2022, is a five yearly event that assembles the world in one place and provides a plethora of opportunities to connect,

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Northern Ireland Border Protocol

When is a deal not a deal? When it is Schrödinger’s Protocol!

I step forward in trepidation to write this article knowing full well that approaching the subject of Brexit is like walking on a hornets’ nest. The likelihood is that I could upset people from both sides of the political debate, but bear with me and I will try to carefully tread a middle path. I do not want to repeat the arguments of the rights and wrongs of Brexit, so for the purposes of this article let’s start from the point that the UK has left the EU and we have to make the best of it;

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Where in the world? Back to basics

The first time you start to sell away from your local neighbourhood it could be said that you have started your export journey. There is nothing scary or mysterious about exporting, it is simply about selling your products or services ‘somewhere else’. With exporting, that somewhere else has come to be understood as being to another country, but the principles behind it are exactly the same.

Exporting is just selling!
The first time you receive an enquiry from a potential customer in London,

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It’s a New World, it’s a New Day…

The new year has arrived and with it ushered in a new era for the UK. The protracted flurry of activity towards the end of last year that led to the free trade agreement with the EU, came more with a whimper than with a bang.

So, it is a new world, it is a new day, but are we feeling good?

My sense is that we have been suffering a national hangover that will take time to clear.

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The world is a small place

There is a shortage of available 40’ containers in Asia, and as a result transport costs are rising sharply. There are resultant delays, and this robust export demand has the potential to slow down global economic recovery. Also, China has some of the busiest ports in the world and one of the busiest routes is between China and the USA west coast ports. There are so many questions that arise from this, and many lessons to be learned that it is a challenge to know where to start.

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How will the potential of WTO trade tariffs affect worldwide shipping?

by Bryn Atherton, Allseas Global Logistics

As trade and commerce continue as normal during the Brexit transition period, many companies who regularly import and export goods with Europe are becoming increasingly concerned about the threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. There is plenty of speculation that a free trade agreement between the UK and Europe could yet be achieved. But with discussions still ongoing it’s looking increasingly likely that the UK will revert to WTO trade tariffs from January 2021.

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The fog is slowly clearing

The blurry outline of the landscape is emerging. And it has changed, we just don’t yet know exactly how.

When I wrote my last article we were in the very early stages of lockdown, with fear and uncertainty as the prevailing emotions around the world. Since then many parts of the world have come through the first pass of the virus, though some are still in the thick of it. Political strategies have moved from being nationwide to more regional or hyper localised.

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If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…

by Tony Goodman MBE.
Well at least we aren’t all worrying about Brexit anymore! The complex situation arising from the Covid-19 global pandemic has caused widespread confusion but has not stopped all trade, and exports are continuing, though they are undoubtedly rapidly slowing. The immediate implication for most businesses is to go into survival mode, changing plans and building contingencies whether their business has been affected or not.

If you have been affected by a slowdown in your business,

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And then with one leap, they were free!

So now we know…or do we really?

by Tony Goodman MBE

Whilst we do now have the certainty that we are leaving the EU on 31 January 2020, we will then be entering the 11 month limbo of the transition period up to 31 December 2020. Or is it certain? That is what the UK Government are saying, but the EU are making noises saying that it won’t be possible in that timescale.

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Its Groundhog day!

by Tony Goodman MBE

Halloween has passed us by and in spite of promises that we would have finally reached a conclusion, we are still in Brexit limbo. Politicians are out canvassing, knocking on doors like some delayed reaction, continuous loop of trick or treat, whilst every business I have been speaking to simply wants this uncertainty to end. It has reached the point when the uncertainty itself is causing more difficulties than either leaving or staying.

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