Latest advice for importers under the rules of the new Chinese FTA: If goods originating in China are shipped via Hong Kong they will not qualify for Chinese origin under the new ChFTA. FTA’s state that goods must remain under Customs control in transit, but Hong Kong is a free port (unlike Singapore, which has […]
News
Trans Pacific Agreement Signed
The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is closer following six days of crucial negotiations in Atlanta between 12 Pacific Rim nations: Australia, NZ, Canada, USA, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam. This list represents 40 per cent of the world’s economy. It has been signed, but not yet passed by the US government. […]
New Technology & Techniques Snare Smugglers
Thirteen people have been charged following Polaris Joint Waterfront Taskforce investigations into the importation of large amounts of illicit cigarettes and tobacco, using corrupt industry employees in the maritime and logistics supply chain. The arrests were part of a long-term investigation into Sydney’s waterfront. A quantity of cocaine has also been seized during the course […]
Update on Protected Industrial Action at Ports & Airports
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) is asking its members, who are employees of the Department of Immigration & Border Protection (DIBP) and Department of Agriculture (DOA), to participate in the strike action at all work sites at varying times. It occurs as employees of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection vote on […]
Australian Border Force Prepares for Strike Action
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s (DIBP’s) 13,500 workers are currently voting on a pay proposal of 3.4 per cent over three years, one of the lowest on offer in the public service, with Customs officers who have transferred to the Border Force to be hit hardest by the loss of allowances and entitlements. […]
Consultation Starts on New Biosecurity Regulations
The release of the draft Biosecurity Import Risk Analyses (BIRA) Regulation 2015 gives interested stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback on how biosecurity import risk control will be conducted when the new Act takes effect in June 2016. Comments about controlling quarantine risks are invited from interested parties, including importers, carriers and agents. The regulation […]
Stink bug season kick-starts new biosecurity barrier
Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, said measures applied earlier this year were successful and similar requirements would be in place again for the next risk season. The measures will affect high risk cargo, including vehicles, vessels and machinery, shipped from the USA between September 2015 and 30 April 2016. The bugs emit a foul stench […]
Opposition not supporting Chinese FTA
Former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke has come out in strong support of the free trade agreement, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed the agreement will not be re-negotiated. But fellow committee member and Labor backbencher, Kelvin Thompson, has refused to support the China deal in its current form. “Nowhere in the agreement does […]
PM Says Free Trade is the Key to our Future
This past week, while some politicians sided with the CFMEU in denouncing the China FTA, including Clive Palmer who attracted publicity with his suggestion that deaths might result from admitting unqualified overseas workers, the PM contributed a more positive view in his Courier Mail article: “It will secure the jobs of generations of Australians to […]
China’s RenMinBi Devaluation – Will it Affect Your Business?
The sudden devaluation of the RMB is a result of the fact that the Chinese economy is slowing. Western economists, some of whom believe the RMB is 10% over-valued, are now waiting to see if China will continue to push its currency down further. The Chinese People’s Bank says the repricing is just a one-off […]
