News

The ATT recognises businesses with a secure supply chain and compliant trade practices, and rewards them with a range of exclusive trade facilitation benefits.   In an address at the Symposium’s gala dinner last week, government representatives said the ATT program continues to grow, demonstrating its significant benefits and the competitive edge it provides in […]

The Australian Border Force (ABF) is continuing its operational focus on trade enforcement, seizing ten Chinese-made pianos falsely claiming to be Australian made. The pianos were to be transhipped back to China and would likely have been passed off as “Australian Made”. The instruments arrived into Brisbane in June 2018 and carried a number of […]

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration has advised that the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) program went into effect this week. It requires the submission of advanced air cargo information on shipments arriving in the United States from foreign locations, including Australia. Having been a voluntary process until now, the […]

In The Conversation last week (30th April) two lecturers from Monash University, Giovanni Di Lieto, lecturer of international trade law at Monash Business School, and David Treisman, lecturer in Economics, Bachelor of International Business at Monash Business School, asserted that small businesses need to be able to see how trading internationally will contribute to their […]

Biosecurity officers at Perth Airport recently discovered some unwanted pests when they inspected a parcel of personal effects sent from Thailand. They were alerted by an Australia Post staff member who spotted an ant crawling on the outside of the parcel. What they found inside was a large number of exotic tramp ants (Monomorium salomonis). […]

A consortium of European companies involved in the Customs and Forwarding industry has successfully tested a blockchain system that can eliminate the need for printed shipping documents and save the freight and logistics industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The consortium tested a method where documents are no longer exchanged physically or digitally, but […]

The Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) is considering whether every package imported into Australia should be hit with a new levy, to help cover the costs of screening items at the border. GST already applies for packages worth more than $1,000.00, but the Government’s plan would see shoppers having to shell out the extra charge […]

The Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Value Goods) Bill 2017 was passed into law in June 2017 amending the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law to give effect to the 2016-17 Budget decision to apply GST to low value (under $1,000) goods imported by consumers. Businesses treated as the suppliers of these goods will need […]

Reports that US President Trump planned to impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on aluminium sent Wall Street into a spin this week. Foreign governments are threatening to launch stiff retaliatory measures against the United States if they proceed with the proposal, with Canada, South Korea, Brazil and Mexico expected to bear […]

Australia is set to provide key military hardware to a global defence market with a $3.8 billion backing for exports announced this week by the Prime Minister. There is a broad range of products that Australian exporters could cater for, including troop-carriers, radar equipment, boats and aeroplane parts. The USA will boost its defence spending […]