Trends Transforming Trade

Originally published in International Banker Magazine, November 2020

The COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented in reach, speed of contagion and spread—and in the depth of economic impact that will result. COVID-19 is devastating human beings, families, communities and businesses across the globe. It is doing so within the context of a persistent focus on trade wars, troubling evidence of narrow self-interest in international activities, and increasing disrespect from various circles for multilateralism and the norms of international engagement.

There is a growing consensus that public finances won't be enough to help least developed countries (LDCs) recover from COVID-19.

Join investors, business and government leaders in this digital event to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted finance and investment for trade in LDCs and what strategies can help LDCs access new sources of finance and investment for trade.

The Informal Working Groups on MSMEs have acknowledged that promoting the participation of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in international trade is an important issue in the WTO agenda, all the more considering the significant negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had including on MSMEs, as well as the contribution that the WTO can make to support the global recovery; Reaffirming the pledge, as contained in the Joint Ministerial Statement at Buenos Aires, to address obstacles related to foreign trade operations that represent a significant burden for MSMEs interested in participating in international trade.

Lessons for global trade from the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, a two-part series COVID-19 has precipitated huge increases in our participation in digital trade. It has also seen a rise in protectionism, a push for great economic sovereignty and a further fracturing of our online world along US-China fault lines. With all this in mind, how can we create robust global and bilateral framework for governing digital trade?

Lessons for global trade from the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, a two-part series COVID-19 has precipitated huge increases in our participation in digital trade. It has also seen a rise in protectionism, a push for great economic sovereignty and a further fracturing of our online world along US-China fault lines. With all this in mind, how can we create robust global and bilateral frameworks for governing digital trade?

The GTPA is pleased to support and partner with TFG on the recent White Paper which was jointly produced by Deepesh Patel, Editorial Director, Trade Finance Global (TFG), and Emmanuelle Ganne, Senior Analyst at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Lisa McAuley, CEO GTPA and Robert Handfield, Executive Director, SCRC, NC State University recently presented the early insights into the recent APEC survey on the impact of COVID-19 on global supply chains and international business.

The Australian Government together with the Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA) recently held an interactive workshop to share the preliminary results of the APEC Supply Chains Resilience Survey.

The Australian Government together with the Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA) recently held an interactive workshop to share the preliminary results of the APEC Supply Chains Resilience Survey.

Trade is crucial to the recovery from COVID-19, but in a more complicated political, economic and security environment. It is critical to “build back better”, and to build a standardised, digitised and connected ecosystem that covers both trade and trade finance, that allows for the streamlined introduction of new participants (including new suppliers of capital in trade finance) and which reduces the time, risk and cost of trade. While there are a number of current initiatives to digitise trade, or trade finance, there is the need for an integrated solution that brings the best of business, knowledge and government together, and which further leverages the developments in technology, trade and new sources of capital and funding.

International payments experts WorldFirst have sat down with local businesses who are conquering global markets. Learn how Budgy Smuggler and Caden Carbon Wheels have expanded their businesses partnering with WorldFirst.

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities and strengths of the least developed country (LDC) businesses in supply chains. In the face of coronavirus, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) is leading a social media campaign to share a message for building the resilience of LDCs in global value chains and to power up trade.

The Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA) is proud to announce the launch of our inaugural Festival of Inclusive Trade! What started out as the drafting of a white paper focussed on the issues faced by marginalised groups when engaging in international trade, has evolved into an online celebration of all things inclusive trade. Featuring over 80 world-class business and art events, the Festival runs for two weeks from 19 October.

The table of COVID-19 support measures shown below has been compiled by the WTO Secretariat. It is an informal situation report and an attempt to provide transparency with respect to support measures taken in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. It does not pass judgment on or question the right of WTO members to take such actions. The measures in the table are not categorized and no assessment of their potential relation to trade is made.

In this session we covered the following topics:

• Establishing a robust supply chain
• The evolution of logistics
• In-house Vs Third Party logistics
• Third party logistics & fulfilment
• Warehousing in-market
• Localising your manufacturing

Change in business and government is no longer an identifiable event, but rather a constantly and rapidly evolving state.

Singapore. 22 September: The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Academy is delighted to announce its collaboration with Global Trade Programme Alliance (GTPA), to offer businesses and trade professionals with ISO/IEC 17024 certified training programmes. As per the alliance, anyone who takes the ICC Academy’s trade finance, international business and regulation & compliance certificate programmes, will attain the relevant competency standards for ISO/IEC 17024 certification, under GTPA’s Global Trade Professional (GTP) programme.

Speaking on the collaboration, ICC Academy General Manager Daniel Kok said, “In an ever-evolving global trade environment, business leaders and trade professionals need to have better access to cutting-edge training, so as they develop competencies to cope with the ‘new normal’. As the educational arm of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), we have been offering a wide range of specialized online training and blended learning to trade professionals worldwide.

Improving women’s and SMEs access to global markets will be critical to economic recovery and growth in the post-COVID-19 period and beyond.

This survey will help to build resilience through a better understanding of the current needs of business, ensuring that government pandemic support initiatives are appropriate and sufficient to meet these needs. The survey will further help to ensure alignment of future government policies and programs with business needs.

The survey will contribute to a larger goal of the GTPA, which is working with a global coalition of partners established by Bloomberg New Economy, to identify actionable solutions for “Building Business Resilience in Global Value Chains 2020-21”, covering MNCs and SMEs participating in GVCs.

You can download the latest eCommerce session video recording here. In this session you can join Ms Collins Rex who discussed:

• Knowing the law
• Getting your price right
• Getting paid
• Your returns policy
• Understanding the tax implications
• Cybersecurity and data protection
• Protecting your IP

Inclusive trade refers to the principle that all levels of society should gain from increased trade. It promotes the inclusion of groups that may currently be marginalised or challenged in their ability to engage with international trading opportunities.

The GTPA is planning to develop an Inclusive Trade White Paper that will produce practical recommendations on how capacity building and standard setting can facilitate a more inclusive international trading ecosystem. The paper will focus on four groups – gender, youth, diaspora and indigenous communities – and the importance of standards and capacity building to support their engagement in international trading opportunities. It will produce recommendations to benefit organisations, institutions and individual professionals engaged in international trade.

To facilitate the development of this white paper, the GTPA is seeking to engage with as many representatives of the highlighted groups as possible.

Today, more than two-thirds of world trade occurs through global value chains (GVCs).

With the world economy facing multiple disruptions, including slow economic growth, natural disasters, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, GVCs – and supply chains more broadly – are transforming more rapidly than ever.

According to a recent study, 94% of companies are seeing supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 and 75% have felt negative or strongly negative impacts on their business and 55% of companies plan to or have already downgraded their growth outlooks as a result.

Resilience and redundancy must be rebuilt into global supply chains.

The international trading system pre-Covid-19 pandemic did not provide full opportunities for all strata of society to benefit from international trade.

Beyond its human tragedy, the economic impacts of the pandemic, with national lockdowns shutting key elements of economic activity and global supply chains, have led to the most drastic slowdown in economic activity since the Great Depression.

Crises of this magnitude offer an opportunity for reflection as reconstruction and recovery begins.

As a Micro to Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) you play a major role in the economy, and you account for the majority of businesses worldwide.

In this session we discussed:

• Customer engagement strategies
• Localising your website
• Translating your assets
• Fit-for-purpose marketing
• Developing an effective digital media strategy

eCommerce has saved many a business in these COVID-restricted times, but selling online is far from risk free. Just as in any business, you need to understand the risks of selling online so that you can mitigate them.

Join our expert, Collins Rex, next week for “eCommerce Risk Management”, the next in the GTPA’s Business Health Check webinar series.

Evolutionary design requires individuals to constantly look for emerging patterns in how material moves through their supply chains. Force or action must be taken to change the path of supply chain flows, to compress the amount of time that inventory remains in the system or impacts how cash is consumed over time. Pioneers of lean supply chains sought to develop nearby suppliers, especially in automotive and electronics sectors. Over time, however, the appeal of low-cost production in Asia lured many Western manufacturers to seek production overseas. These extended supply chains are the equivalent of systems with low compression. In other words, they are extended, with long lead times, opaque visibility and tracking systems, and lots of inventory spread out through the transportation and logistics system.

Purpose - The present study examines the relationship between supply integration and relationship stability, and the relationship between relationship stability and performance, and analyzes the moderation effect of environmental uncertainty between supply chain integration and relationship stability.

Amid lockdowns and other containment measures, digital technologies have kept trade flowing. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption and use of these new technologies, but digital protectionism risks fragmenting markets and limited the benefits of electronic commerce. To promote greater trade cooperation in this area, Singapore has started leading the negotiation of digital trade agreements.

Global Trade Review (GTR) is delighted to confirm that in line with current restrictions and concerns over the holding of physical events, GTR Commodities 2020 will be taking place virtually on September 15-16.

This exciting new initiative will combine a mixture of live-streamed and pre-recorded content and unrivalled networking via GTR’s dedicated virtual event platform, providing a comprehensive overview of the global commodities sector – from oil and gas, to metals, mining and agribusiness – as well as key financing trends.

Please join us in transitioning to this exciting new model, offering participants to benefit from critical market insights and idea-sharing, along with plentiful opportunities to network and connect to the wider community at a time of great uncertainty.

In just two days, leading experts will discuss what the future holds for global trade in the third episode of the Asia Trade Insight Hours.

In this session we discussed the following topics:

• Selling directly (through your own website) vs indirectly
• Platforms vs marketplaces
• Marketplaces: the big three
• What it costs
• Selecting the right marketplace

WHAT IS THE EVENT ABOUT?

BUILDING ECONOMIC RESILIANCE WITH TRADE

Global Trade Review (GTR) is delighted to announce that in line with current restrictions and concerns over travel and the holding of physical gatherings, GTR East Africa 2020 will take place virtually on October 1-2.

Once again welcoming support from a host of leading trade finance players alongside key supranational and industry bodies, this exciting event will utilise GTR’s bespoke virtual platform to deliver a comprehensive range of live-streamed and pre-recorded content and unrivalled networking opportunities, focusing on key trade sectors from commodities and agribusiness, to the development of local value-add industry and achieving digital innovation.

As we continue over a decade of market-leading gatherings, don’t miss your chance to participate in this beginning of an exciting new era for GTR East Africa; promising the high quality content and networking you have come to expect, delivered via specialist virtual technology platform for an optimal attendee experience.

As part of this online event we covered the following topics:

• What constitutes a crisis?
• Managing your way out of a crisis or disaster
• Planning and managing supply chains in a crisis
• Seeking opportunities in crisis recovery
• Planning for a future crisis

Supply chains are seeing rapid transformation. Driven by disruptions such as COVID-19. In the face of this transformation, we need your help so that you can be supported in building resilient supply chains. Whether you work in a large corporation or a small to medium-sized business or are a sole trader. Your views are important to help us understand how your business has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

This online training course provides an in-depth overview of logistics calculations commonly used in the Transport and Logistics supply chain.

Designed by My Freight Career (RTO 90489) this training course has been developed for anyone, including students and employees needing a practical understanding of common weights, measurements and calculations used in Transport, Logistics and freight.

This online training course provides an in-depth overview of logistics calculations commonly used in the Transport and Logistics supply chain.

Designed by My Freight Career (RTO 90489) this training course has been developed for anyone, including students and employees needing a practical understanding of common weights, measurements and calculations used in Transport, Logistics and freight.

Over the past four months COVID-19 has exacerbated existing trade and geopolitical tensions, fuelled scepticism about the benefits of globalisation and seen already high-levels of economic uncertainty rise.

Following on from the recently announced dumping duty investigation into Australian wine, the Chinese Government hit the industry with a countervailing duty investigation on 31 August. Below we briefly set out the claims that will be investigated by the Chinese government, the difference between a dumping and countervailing investigation and what further actions needs to be taken by Australian wine exporters.

To paraphrase that Illinois newspaper editor who way back in 1870 wrote something like: “Doing business without advertising is like winking in the dark.You know you’re doing it, but no one else does.”