For Importers

The UK’s trade deficit with China has more than tripled after a year of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supply chain crisis appears to be subsiding, according to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) most recent World Trade Report.

A new report by Euler Hermes has found that the UK economy is “trapped by policy choices” going into the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022.

Though you may be familiar with the terms demurrage and detention in the context of the container business, this article will be focusing on the process of laytime and demurrage in those cases where the vessel is chartered to move oil, chemicals, or dry bulk.

The Department for International Trade has recently published its Global Trade Outlook report. TFG summarised of the key points from the report, outlining what could be in store for global trade between now and 2050.

Your morning coffee briefing from TFG. Korea contributes CHF 290,000 to help developing countries participate in global trade, commodity dependence increased over the last decade, supply chains crisis will leave lasting change on globalisation, food price inflation increases pressure on poorer countries and Brexit trade barriers added £600m in costs to UK importers this year.

The impact of the March 2021 incident of the container ship M.V. Ever Given with around 18,300 containers onboard running aground in the Suez Canal has generated international attention and its consequences will continue to unravel for years to come.

COVID-19 puts international trade to a halt following the closure of the Ningbo-Zhoushan port in China and causing a global microchip shortage. There are other unanticipated issues to account for, such as the Suez Canal blockage.

World trade of goods has declined some 12% in the last year, representing a loss of $22 trillion USD of trade. Is it all doom and gloom for trade, or will we see a resurgence?

The ICC has published its 2019 and 2020 interim findings from its Trade Register on the performance of short-term trade and supply chain finance assets.

Documentary credits are one of the oldest, most sophisticated, and safest payment instruments used in international trade.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) is launching a new guarantee scheme that will help importers of UK goods and services obtain easier access to financing up to £30 million.

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), colloquially termed ‘blockchain’ has been touted to disrupt trade and supply chain, as well it’s financing, for over 5 years. Following on from TFG, WTO and ICC’s ‘Periodic Table’ enlisting 39 projects in global trade utilising DLT, we’ve relaunched our table, indicating that the industry has considerably matured and evolved in less than 12 months.

Contour has, today, announced its partnership with CargoX, a blockchain platform for transferring documents and data including a certified electronic bill of lading solution.

TFG’s Deepesh Patel caught up with FCI’s Chairman, Mr. Patrick de Villepin, and FCI Vice Chairman, Mrs. Daniela Bonzanini, on the critical role of Receivables finance industry in the recovery of global trade growth during this challenging period.