Robert Keen’s Column
BIFAlink
www.bifa.org
The big issues are not going away
BIFAlink is the official magazine of the British International Freight Association Redfern House, Browells Lane, Feltham TW13 7EP Tel: 020 8844 2266
With the winter months now behind us and 2022 well and truly in full swing, across the freight forwarding and logistics industry we are seeing companies with new plans, new ideas and new agendas, whilst still facing many of the same operational difficulties that have been with us for some time. Much has been made over the past year of the supply chain ‘talent gap’, a pre- existing concern that was exacerbated by COVID-19 restrictions on the international movements of workers and then compounded by a generalised sense of restlessness among workers throughout the economy. BIFA is doing its bit to rectify this state of affairs, through our training department and our involvement in the ongoing development of the International Freight Forwarding
Web site: www.bifa.org E-mail: bifa@bifa.org
(A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England: 391973. VAT Registration: 216476363) Director General Robert Keen r.keen@bifa.org Executive Director Robert Windsor, Policy & Compliance – Surface & Legal
Specialist Apprenticeship, as well as our schools initiative, about which you can read more on page 6. Much has also been written about the current state of the maritime supply chain, which continues to see record disruptions, unpredictability and sky-high freight rates, with freight forwarders being faced with moves by certain shipping lines to cut or restrict their access to services, and even compete head-on with the freight forwarding industry. Many stakeholders, including BIFA, have called for competition authorities to pay special attention to these developments to ensure all involved compete on the same level playing field and that competition is fair. Unfortunately, the response to our recent membership survey seeking your views on the current practices undertaken by container shipping lines, as well as your opinions on the easements and exemptions provided to those lines under competition law, was, to say the least, underwhelming. Especially so in light of the number of complaints the Secretariat has received from Members about the matter over the last few months. If you still feel strongly about the issue, I would urge you to take note of the request for information that has been made by FIATA, which is looking for examples of bad or unfair practices by the shipping lines that it can use to protect our industry and argue its case. FIATA needs samples and proof that it can put together and use in its arguments with the relevant authorities. See further details on page 7. Whilst on the subject of maritime transport issues, I would like to draw your attention to a very informative article on pages 15 and 17 of this issue about abandoned cargoes, an ongoing issue for many Members. As the article states, while the best defence lies in the original contractual arrangement, in some cases learning how to identify risks early is key to helping mitigate the fallout. More delays on the cards? Early April brought rumours that government is considering a further delay to the introduction of import checks on goods arriving from the EU, currently scheduled to be introduced in July 2022. At the time of writing this column, these rumours were being denied. The whole process of Brexit has seen a series of delays to the implementation of new processes and any further delays to the introduction of post-Brexit border checks on imports will simply postpone the inevitable and create even more uncertainty. BIFA will continue to encourage Members and the traders they serve to make sure they are as ready as they possibly can be for the additional formalities involved with moving goods across the UK’s borders. After so many delays with the introduction of import controls from the EU, BIFA Members need a clear commitment to future deadlines and an assurance that all the necessary staff, facilities and processes will be functioning and able to cope. 2022 is certainly shaping up to be another year of big issues for the freight industry and its customers. Massive disruptions to supply chains look unlikely to end any time soon, making an already challenging job that much more difficult for all involved in managing those supply chains. As always, BIFA will be here to deliver advice designed to help Members to handle these big issues. That is why, once again, we will be present at next month’s Multimodal Exhibition and Conference at the heart of the Forwarders Village, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our stand so that we can talk further about those many big issues. I must end my column this month with a clarification relating to the article on page 22 of the April issue of BIFAlink. In that article, certain specific words used in the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions were defined, but a recent change in terminology was overlooked. Following the UK’s exit from the EU the term ‘Representative’ has been replaced by ‘Customs Agent’; therefore throughout the article any reference to Direct or Indirect Representative should be read as Direct or Indirect Customs Agent. The online version of BIFAlink has been updated to reflect this.
r.windsor@bifa.org Executive Director Spencer Stevenson s.stevenson@bifa.org Executive Director Carl Hobbis c.hobbis@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Customs Igor Popovics i.popovics@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor – Air David Stroud d.stroud@bifa.org Editorial Co-ordinator Sharon Hammond s.hammond@bifa.org Communications Manager Natalie Pitts n.pitts@bifa.org Membership Supervisor Sarah Milton s.milton@bifa.org
Published by Park Lane Publishing peter@parklanepublishingltd.com
Contributors Robert Keen, Robert Windsor, David Stroud, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Natalie Pitts, Igor Popovics Note to media: If you wish to use items in this magazine that are older than one month, please contact the editor to ensure that the item in question still reflects the current circumstances. Please be advised that BIFA DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL ADVICE. BIFA is not a law firm and the authors of this publication are not legally qualified and do not have any legal training. The guidance and assistance set out herein are based on BIFA’s own experience with the issues concerned and should not be in any circumstances regarded or relied upon as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that anyone considering further action based on the information contained in this publication should seek the advice of a qualified professional.
May 2022
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