The APL England losing shipping containers overboard during wild seas. Image Credit: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Forty shipping containers have fallen overboard into the sea off the NSW coast, after wild weather caused a cargo ship to become unstable on Sunday morning. The vessel APL England was sailing from China to Melbourne in […]
This week the Department of Agriculture Water and Environment (DAWE) issued notice 72-2020: Decision to not proceed with the Onshore Biosecurity Levy. The Australian Government has dumped its intended biosecurity levy, which was slated to raise $100 million-a-year from incoming vessels and cargo, after two years of stiff industry resistance. The government first backed the […]
Last October we reported on the progress of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) (see article here). Indonesia presents significant trade and investment opportunities for Australian farmers and businesses. With a population of over 260 million, some estimates see Indonesia as becoming the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2030. From 05 July 2020, Australian exporters […]
Australians are being warned not to import and self-prescribe the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for COVID-19, following a surge in detections by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers screening medical supplies crossing the border. Dozens of consignments, totalling more than 6,000 tablets, have been intercepted at the border since January. All have been […]
The Government has introduced a Temporary By-Law: Item 57 to Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995, providing a Free rate of customs duty for the period of 01 February 2020 to 31 July 2020 for hygiene or medical products imported to treat, diagnose or prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes the […]
Testing Kits In recent days, the Australian Border Force (ABF) has intercepted hundreds of COVID-19 testing kits at the border amid concerns they could pose a serious risk to the public. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has taken measures to facilitate the legal importation, manufacture and supply of test kits to ensure Australia has laboratory […]
Those of us involved in importing and exporting are sitting up to take notice of two news stories in particular over the past 24 hours: Virgin Australia placing itself into voluntary administration, and the drop of oil prices to the lowest point in history. Freight and logistics, aircraft maintenance and repair, flight training and simulation, […]
The still-evolving coronavirus outbreak has already disrupted trade and economic performance both regionally and globally, with a major negative impact stemming from the fact that many of the world’s supply lines start with China. China accounts for almost one-fifth of world manufacturing and Chinese intermediary products are predominant in the electronics, car, machinery and textile […]
The Australian Border Force (ABF) and Australian Federal police (AFP) have a message for organised crime networks seeking to exploit a global crisis: This is not a time to think our borders are a soft target. They will continue enforcing the law and put people before the courts, for the safety of all Australians. Over […]
As the much of the rest of the world locks down over the novel coronavirus pandemic, particularly the United States, China is cautiously opening back up. Today there are mixed messages in the media, some citing resurgences in certain locations in China, with others questioning the transparency of their reporting in the first place. Notwithstanding […]
