Welcome to the December edition of the Essex Chambers of Commerce International Trade Newsletter. In the last newsletter of the year, we navigate and explore the latest developments and insights from the evolving world of international trade.
Before that let’s take a look at what our team has achieved in the last 12 months and look ahead to an exciting 2025!
2024 – Wrapped
What a year 2024 has been for our International Trade department!
We started off the year with an exciting new learning opportunity with the introduction of our Trade Expert Academy. An endorsed certification educational program, the Academy gives participants the chance to master the art of exporting and importing. Comprising of 15 insightful modules on a variety of topics that can be taken individually or customised to suit your learning needs. The engagement has been great, and we’re delighted to be continuing our Academy in New Year.
In May, we held our first ever Essex Global Summit in the stunning surroundings of Hylands House. It was fantastic to bring together an unprecedented level of international trade expertise for an insightful conference with engaging speakers and workshops.
This Summer, we also welcomed back our International Trade Officer, Emily Habermel-Pearce, from maternity leave. Having been with the Chambers since 2016, it was great to have Emily back to complete our team once more.
Yes, it’s been a packed year for our department. Let’s look at some of our 2024 stats:
- Total number of training & events – 47
- Total number of attendees – 407
- Total number of documents processed – 5,535
- Our commitment to supporting Essex with its International Trade needs – limitless
The team are looking forward to a well-deserved rest over the Festive period, but we’ll be back, in our new home at the Launchpad Southend, to assist and support you however we can.
2025 Training & Events
The British Chambers of Commerce recently published the results of a major survey of UK businesses which showed that Customs procedures continue to be the main export hurdle for companies. The results also showed that awareness of incoming trade changes is low among firms who are actively doing business internationally.
The worrying lack of awareness for the upcoming changes includes:
- 65% of respondents unaware of the Border Target Operating Model.
- 53% of respondents were unaware of the plans for the UK to join the Asia Pacific trade block CPTPP.
- 52% of firms have no knowledge of safety and security certificates now needed for imports from the EU.
The world of international trade fluctuates constantly. It is imperative anyone operating in this sphere always be knowledgeable and compliant. One way this can be achieved is through our Trade Expert training programmes.
These courses are completely adaptable to your needs. Whether you’d like a one-off refresher on a particular subject or to complete multiple courses to become certified or accredited, we have the course for you.
If you would like to expand your existing knowledge or learn something new in 2025, head to our website to see what we have coming up including:
Trading Expert Academy
🌐 International Customs – Tuesday 14 January
📒 Import & Export Diagnostics, Creating a Procedure Manual – Tuesday 21 January
Trade Expert Training
🛫 Export Procedures & Documentation Training – Wednesday 22 January
🛬 Import Procedures & Documentation Training – Tuesday 28 January
Thank you for choosing our International Trade Newsletter as your trusted source for trade intelligence this year. We hope you have found each edition insightful and helpful for your trade needs.
We wish you all a happy and healthy 2025, from everyone at the Essex Chambers International Trade Department.