Trends Transforming Trade

For many MSMEs, navigating the complexity of doing business globally whilemaintaining acompetitive edge requires the development of new skills and knowledge, as well as the ability todraw on a trusted network of skilled professionals and consulting services with the requiredcompetencies to support their business growth.Many of these businesses have significant international growth potential from day one of theiroperations and are essentially “born global”. Competing on a global scale from the outset means it isimperative that these businesses enjoy access to support networks and an ecosystem that allowsthem to take advantage of new opportunities.

By Karen Reddington, President, FedEx Asia Pacific

Innovation for all: the idea that innovation, in its fullest expression, serves everyone. Never before have small businesses and start-ups been so connected – in digital tools, technology, access and ideas.

Entrepreneurial innovators are leading with passion and counting on connectivity to expand their businesses across borders, seize niche opportunities and shape the global economic future.

So why then does evidence show that SMEs are failing to access trade deals – one of the most significant tools there is for multiplying business growth and opportunity? And what do agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) offer?

Whilst the world has started 2020 with political, economic, policy, regulatory, environmental and institutional challenges, the GTPA is committed to finding ways in which our services can help to unite and not divide.

As we look ahead to a new year and a new decade, we remain steadfast in our belief that trade can be a mechanism to support greater inclusion and global security. This includes new trade routes opening and technological advancements that will simultaneously render cross-border trade easier, while multiplying the possibilities for dispersing production facilities internationally, and bringing goods and services closer to consumers at a better price point.

On a personal note, the GTPA has several members of our team situated in Australia. I would like to take this opportunity to send our thoughts and prayers to our staff and their loved ones, as well as to commend the firefighters who have been working tirelessly on the front lines for months, with no respite in sight.

The GTPA is delighted to welcome Dr Tomás Quesada to the team. With his background as a Doctor in Politics from the University of Oxford, Master in Comparative Politics (Democracy) from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a lawyer from the University of Costa Rica, we are delighted to bring his expertise to the team.

As the business world looks toward continuing uncertainty and trade turbulence in 2020, GTPA CEO Lisa McAuley recently discussed the implications of this for international supply chains.

We are just days away from Going Global Live and we hope you are as excited as we are about meeting each other at the London ExCeL on the 27th & 28th!

As part of the GTPA’s involvement in the Going Global Live, our CEO Lisa McAuley is pleased to be visiting the UK to unveil our new solutions for UK businesses to gain access to online tools and training solutions to help them grow globally from 2020 onward.

GTPA is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a lead collaborator on one of six solutions as part of the 2020 Bloomberg New Economy Solutions. GTPA will be working to support unlocking inclusive tarade. Find out more about the solutions launched on Friday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Beijing.

Now in its 9th edition, the ICC Academy, the educational arm of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), is set to host the next chapter of its annual Supply Chain Finance Summit. Marked by its year-on-year success, the event returns to Singapore on 4-5 March 2020, highlighting the island city-state’s standing as a pivotal trade and financial hub that continues to shape the development of Asia’s supply chain.

It is only one week to go until Going Global Live and we hope you are as excited as we are about meeting each other at the London ExCeL on the 27th & 28th!

In line with the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) vision to secure peace prosperity and opportunity for all, the ICC Academy, the educational arm of the world business organization, is pleased to announce a dedicated scholarship programme for students and trade professionals worldwide.

The initiative offer an 80% bursary on the cost of the ICC Academy’s flagship online certificates on trade finance, the Global Trade Certificate (GTC) and Certified Trade Finance Professional (CTFP), as well as international business with the Export/Import Certificate (EIC).

IE School of Global and Public Affairs and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have established a partnership to collaborate in knowledge generation and dissemination in the field of international trade and public policy.

On 31 October IE School of Global and Public Affairs Dean Manuel Muñiz and ICC Secretary-General John W. H. Denton AO signed the agreement, according to which both institutions will cooperate in areas of mutual interest which may include education, applied research and training. The ICC Academy, the educational arm of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), will be part of the Academic Committee of the Executive Master in Internationalization and Trade (EMIT), supporting IE in designing and rolling out the degree.

We are now just 2 weeks away from Going Global Live, and we’re counting the days before we get the opportunity to meet at the London ExCeL on the 27th & 28th!

Our CEO, Lisa McAuley has put the finishing touches to her informative seminar on Powering UK business to grow internationally post-Brexit with new online international business tools that she will be presenting on the 28th November at 11am. Make sure you’re there to hear it!

“Tariffs and Trade Wars: The New Normal for Supply Chains”

The SCRC will be hosting it’s Semi-annual Conference (formerly Semi-annual Partners Meeting) on December 5th, 2019 at the Duke Energy Hall in the James B. Hunt Library on NC State’s Centennial Campus.

Join supply chain professionals from over 20 different companies for this day-long event as we discuss tariffs, trade wars, and navigating global trade. Please see below for a complete overview of the day’s events, including a list of guest speakers and presentation topics.

SESSION title: Powering UK business to grow internationally post-Brexit with new online international business tools

The GTPA will host a session as part of Going Global 2019 that will focus on powering UK businesses to grow internationally in a post-Brexit environment.

It will feature the launch of the Global Trade Capability Accelerator programme and eCommerce business tools as well as a demonstration of how these can be leveraged by UK businesses facing new international trading opportunities.

There’s only 4 weeks to go until we will be heading to the London ExCeL, to exhibit at Going Global Live 2019, and we couldn’t be more excited!

We’re going to be setting up base on stand 270, and we’d love to invite you to come and see us so that we can tell you all about our service in person!

The trade finance gap is not closing. Financing demands are becoming more specialized and difficult to meet, especially in the wake of regulatory stringency.

What working capital solutions are alternative lenders exploring to help businesses grow?
Can this help overcome entering frontier markets where risk is high but financing demand is strong? Will the credit insurance market begin to harden in 2020?

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is convening a global business delegation to participate in the 14th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Berlin to discuss pressing digital policy issues and the future of Internet governance.

Launched in 2006 by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan, the IGF is the prime venue for multistakeholder policy dialogues on key legal, political, social, and technical issues related to the Internet. Since the first forum held in Athens, ICC has been actively involved in the IGF to facilitate business participation and advocate for an open, inclusive and cooperative approach to Internet governance.

Global Trade Development Week (GTDW), now into its 19th edition, provides a connecting platform to global trade stakeholders to explore opportunities to facilitate and increase sustainable and seamless cross border trade and to detect and counter illicit trade by:

- Collaborating and linking existing initiatives
- Sharing resources and best practices
- Identifying commonalities and points of convergence
- Discovering emergent and interoperable technologies and innovation
- Initiating recommendations to overcome threats and challenges
- Facilitating closed door G2G, B2B, B2G meetings

Sponsored by American Express, Going Global is the leading exhibition dedicated to providing businesses with absolutely everything they need to expand internationally and trade overseas. Jam-packed with industry-leading experts, content-rich seminars, unlimited networking opportunities, interactive masterclasses & over 150 of the world’s most innovative exhibitors, Going Global Live 2019 is set to be the biggest and best edition so far.

The fact that ongoing global events continue to raise concerns across the business world was the lead topic at GTR’s Commodities 2019 conference in Geneva, where the GTPA argued the case for caution in the face of uncertainty and disruption.

Whether observing events from a macro perspective or more granularly from a country or industry-based perspective, the disruption and uncertainty we are experiencing in the global economic and political environment is making it increasingly difficult for businesses to plan and invest for the future.

The GTPA works with women entrepreneurs to build capacity and provide access to global networks. As part of our ongoing mentoring support we recently visited two of our women entrepreneurs in Nepal to understand their export development and gain greater understanding of the challenges for future growth. The GTPA was delighted to be joined by Annette Ssemuwemba, Deputy Executive Director from the EIF Programme.

On the occasion of the WTO Public Forum, please join us for a Business Community Reception in support of global trade.

ICC has launched Incoterms® 2020, the newest edition of the renowned trade terms for the sale of goods, providing certainty and clarity to business and traders everywhere.

The Incoterms® rules define important responsibilities of buyers and sellers for the delivery of goods under sales contracts. They are the authoritative rules for determining how costs and risks are allocated to the parties. Incoterms rules are regularly incorporated into contracts for the sale of goods worldwide and have become part of the daily language of trade.

The GTPA will be represented by CEO, Ms Lisa McAuley in Nepal as part of a multi-faceted trip focused on supporting women entrepreneurs to trade globally as well as a session by the WTO on Gender Responsive Trade Policies: The Time is Now.

As part of the first day of the mission the GTPA along with EIF and the WTO will spend the day meeting with women entrepreneurs in Nepal as well as industry bodies specifically working to support women entrepreneurs including the Federation of Woman Entrepreneurs' Association of Nepal (FWEAN) and the SAARC Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs council (SCWEC) Nepal Chapter.

Lisa McAuley, CEO of the GTPA will join the panel session on Doing well by ‘doing good’: Promoting sustainability and the circular economy. Sustainability and ongoing efforts to highlight the importance of the circular economy – an economic system engineered to minimise waste and maximise resources – continue to be some of the hottest topics in the current climate.

GTPA Director, Collins Rex, has been appointed Lead Facilitator at the Australian Government’s two-day workshop at APEC’s SME Week in Concepcion, Chile.

The GTPA is delighted to be presenting a side event at APEC’s SME Week in Concepcion, Chile, on 4 September. This event, entitled “Powering MSMEs and women entrepreneurs to grow internationally via online channels”, is focussed on eCommerce and digital technologies as tools to empower women entrepreneurs to take a leap into the world of international trade.

The GTPA is honoured to have been invited to participate in APEC’s “CTI Public – Private Dialogue (PPD) on Promoting Transparency through the Improvement of information submitted in the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Notifications”, which is being held in Puerto Varas, Chile, on 22 and 23 August.

The informal café session was moderated by Dayna Simpson from Monash University and we were joined by Anne Quarshie from LUT University of Technology (Finland) and Zhaohui Wu from Oregon State University as part of the 79th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management to host a session on Emerging sustainability standards - How SCM scholars can get involved. As part of the informal discussion with Supply Chain Management professionals we discussed the development of ISO standards relevant to transparency and chain-of-custody, and how sustainable SCM can be incorporated in these standards.

The GTPA is delighted to announce that it will be hosting a formal session as part of the 79th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management to discuss the development of the Seven Summits Trade Challenge to be formally launched later this year.

To succeed in today’s competitive business environment, exceptional individuals must rise out above the crowd.

The Seven Summits Trade Challenge (SSTC) provides trade and supply chain professionals with formal recognition of their career achievements, as well as giving them a structured pathway to build on their trade skills and expertise to reach new heights in the dynamic and ever-changing world of global commerce.

GTR Asia 2019 (formerly known as Asia Trade & Treasury Week) will return to Singapore September 3-4, 2019. Recognised as the world’s largest international gathering for the trade, commodity, fintech and treasury community, GTR’s annual event in Singapore last year welcomed a record-breaking total of over 1,100 industry participants from local and international banks to multinational corporations and SMEs, independent financiers, commodity brokers and traders, insurers and risk managers, lawyers, consultants, ECAs and multilaterals and more!

2019’s event is set to be even bigger and better! Participants will have the chance to hear over 100 of the world’s leading trade, treasury and fintech experts reflecting on developments in the Asian market and more globally, whilst also having the chance to network and discuss trade priorities with over 500 different companies.

Australia and Peru signed the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA) in February 2018. A fellow signatory to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement, Peru has been one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America over the last decade. PAFTA will build on the benefits of the CPTPP, enabling Australian exporters to diversify beyond traditional export markets and strengthening our economic relationship with Latin America.

Our recent session as part of the Aid for Trade Global Review emphasized the importance of women entrepreneurs in international trade. The title of the session "Women who rock the international trade" had its origins in a social media campaign that coincided with the international day of women to celebrate the contribution of women to the world of international trade. The campaign particularly focussed on the unsung heroes, the women who daily make a contribution, but out of the spotlight. The focus of the discussion was how women can capitalise on their huge potential to contribute to the world economy. Discussion centred around gender equality in trade, sustainable initiatives to encourage women to trade globally, and the constraints faced by women. The participants also discussed the need to integrate gender aspect into trade policy. The session was organised by GTPA and EIF.

Widely regarded as one of the premier gatherings for the global commodity financing sector, GTR Commodities 2019 will provide an unrivalled forum for networking and discussion on the key issues impacting on the global commodities market, from financing trends to geopolitical factors, sector profiles, risk management strategies, sustainability issues and the role of technology.

Attendees will benefit from critical market insight and idea sharing through a series of informative discussions, debates, case studies and breakouts, whilst the unchallenged networking opportunities available at every GTR event will provide access to over 100 companies engaged in commodity finance business, including trading companies, multinationals, financial institutions and service providers.

GTPA will be represented by Niels Strazdins, Head of Global Trade Policy and Europe Director, participating in a debate session: Is global turbulence here to stay?

As we prepare for World Trade Symposium 2019, taking place this year in New York City in November, it’s imperative to consider the existential threat to freer, open and rules-based trade that stems from short-sighted political exploitation. More importantly, what we can do to change the nature of the dialogue and to better tell the story of international trade.

There is no doubt that the recent rise of protectionism and economic nationalism is damaging global trade, and by extension, economic growth, development and inclusion. The current situation is being driven by a number of factors, including the fact that the benefits of international trade have not been distributed widely enough.

Talofa everyone!

Thank you for the Australian Government for the opportunity to share our story.

I’m Lisa Vaai, Creative Director of Eveni Carruthers in Samoa, a business started by my great grandfather in 1929. We are Samoan owned, with a fourth generation management team and just over 50 employees. This year we are celebrating 90 years of doing business in Samoa. We have evolved from copra and cocoa export trading to general merchandise to now an apparel business centered around brands reflecting cultural and traditional motifs from the Pacific.

GTPA announce the development of a new tool to empower MSMEs to engage in online ecommerce.

“Today’s MSME is tomorrow’s Microsoft or Alibaba! Every MSME, irrespective of their location or their industry sector needs to be recognised, valued and fostered so that their true potential to achieve greatness can be realised.”- Collins Rex, Asia/Africa Director- GTPA

Exporting online presents exciting opportunities for businesses thinking of expanding into new markets. Online sales are the world’s fasting growing retail channel, globally valued at USD 16.2 trillion.

Opinion of: Lisa McAuley, CEO of the Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA)

Standards are the key to consistency in business. They set out the processes, procedures and frameworks to ensure that products, services, processes and people meet a qualified set of expectations. Standards streamline and systematise complexity to provide a level of trust in the best means to achieving an outcome, a capability, a competency or an output.

Standards do far more than just help you comply with the relevant rules and regulations. They play a crucial role in facilitating international trade, supporting businesses into export markets by lowering barriers to trade.

Trade has an essential role to play in creating a more resilient system – one that can resist or adapt to environmental and economic shocks. It can do so by facilitating the exchange of goods, services and technology—including environmentally sound technologies—required for adaptation, mitigation and disaster preparedness and response. In this way trade contributes to the achievement of the Paris Agreement, SDGs and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Developing countries face the challenge of “double exposure” to both economic shocks and environmental challenges such as climate change and natural hazards, which are becoming more frequent and severe. Investments in low emission, climate resilient agriculture, renewable energy generation, and climate smart infrastructure, for example, could help reduce vulnerability to extreme weather events and build economic resilience.

The Global Trade Professionals Alliance is developing 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.