Member Engagement
BIFA’s Customs Policy Group and the Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC), of which BIFA is a member. Steve then used the remaining time to provide attendees with an update on the other activities in which BIFA is currently engaged; providing news about the work of the trade association’s various policy groups, and encouraging any attendees not already involved to consider seeking membership of one of the groups for their company. Attendees received updates on the agreement that could set the relationship between freight forwarders and airlines for the next generation, as well as the current state of the liner shipping Consortia Block Exemption Regulation review being undertaken by the Competition and Markets Authority. Thorny issues Potential disruptions likely to result in the Customs environment in regards to the BTOM, CDS Exports, Windsor Framework, and Single Trade Window were also addressed, as well as the thorny issues of indirect and direct representation and establishment, which have occupied a good deal of the trade association’s time this year. Emphasising the importance that training has to all of the standards that underpin the activities of BIFA Members, such as AEO accreditation and the voluntary standard on which the government is consulting, Steve advised that BIFA plans to develop more training opportunities in 2024. Space does not permit a full account of the other issues that were covered, so if you want to learn more, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for news about the next BIFA Business Leaders Forum, which is likely to take place in spring 2024. Don’t miss out – contact bifacomms@bifa.org stating Business Leaders Forum to ensure that you are on the mailing list and receive notification about the next event.
Steve Parker takes questions from the floor during the second BIFA Business Leaders Forum
Lively debate at second Business Leaders Forum “ Considerable changes at the border are in the
T here were some very useful discussions at BIFA’s second Business Leaders Forum held in Central London on October 19, and attended by around 50 senior personnel from BIFA Members. During this event, BIFA’s Director General Steve Parker provided attendees with an overview on some of the numerous issues that BIFA feels will have an impact on the work of the freight forwarding and logistics companies in the near and longer term. Border changes Attendees were provided with an overview by Aidan Reilly, Director of Customs Policy and Strategy at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), in which he outlined the considerable changes at the border that are in the pipeline as part of the
government’s stated ambition to develop and implement a Single Trade Window. Aidan thanked BIFA and its Members for the valuable collaboration that they have with HMRC, which has really helped with the department’s work over the last few years. In acknowledging that a lot of that collaboration had previously been reactive to changes in Customs processes, he stressed that HMRC’s recent engagement had been proactive in regards to the delivery of new systems and procedures, and would continue to be so. There was a lively exchange of opinions between Aidan and the floor; he concluded his session by welcoming the challenges that BIFA and others in the industry present to HMRC in its engagement via
pipeline as part of the government’s stated ambition to develop and implement a Single Trade Window.
14 | November 2023
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