Category: Customs & Trade

According to most officials, we appear to have a winner in the United States (US) election with the announcement of the success of the Biden/Harris ticket.

This article was first published in October 2020 by Daily Cargo News.

For many years, disputes on trade have led to actual warfare. “Send a gunboat”, was often cited as part of British foreign policy when trade was at risk. Think of the British and French Opium Wars with the Chinese Qing Dynasty which led to the opening of additional European jurisdiction over Chinese ports including Guangzhou and Shanghai and the concession over Hong Kong in favour of the British.

On Tuesday 6 October 2020, the Federal Government released its proposed budget for 2020-21, together with forward estimates of future receipts and expenses. As usual, most of the details had previously been formally announced or “leaked” previously but it is worth paying attention to a few issues. In doing so I have borrowed shamelessly from the exact words from the relevant budget text to ensure accuracy and only added additional commentary when the issue warrants that additional attention.

This article was first published in September 2020 by Daily Cargo News.

It seems counterintuitive but even as Australia struggles out of recession and pandemic, a number of lines have determined that the state of services through Port Botany, Sydney, require the imposition of an additional ‘congestion charge’ for a variety of reasons including the lack of overtime resulting from legally protected industrial action by stevedore employees at Port Botany.

This article was first published in September 2020 by Daily Cargo News.

One of the stories from the COVID–19 pandemic has been the surging numbers of goods being moved through e-commerce. The forced levels of isolation have caused consumers and corporates to resort to purchasing even more goods than ever online seeking urgent delivery.

This article was first published in August 2020 by Daily Cargo News.

The Australian Commonwealth Constitution (the Commonwealth) has an interesting history including its development through a series of Constitutional Conventions between the representative of state governments and other interested parties.

This article was first published in August 2020 by The Daily Cargo News.

In many countries, some participants in the private supply chain are licensed by government to undertake their roles.

This article was first published in August 2020 by AMT Magazine.

During the current pandemic, the focus of many has been on the manufacture of medical equipment required for the treatment of COVID-19 and their urgent movement through the international supply chain.

As an island nation, Australia has always relied heavily on its ports, their wharves and other facilities as well as the associated land–side infrastructure including rail and road access, stevedore operations and empty container parks. Much of the national and international supply chain relies on the efficient operation of the sector.

This article was first published in July 2020 by The Daily Cargo News.

The Indonesia–Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a positive development for the global free trade agenda writes Customs and Trade Partner, Andrew Hudson.

On 24 June, we delivered a webinar to members of the CBFCA (now IFCBAA) which addressed, in part, the terms of the Indonesia Australia – Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (IA – CEPA) which is to commence on 5 July 2020, as well as the outcomes from the Australian Border Force (ABF) Goods Compliance Update from April 2020.

This article was first published in June 2020 by Thompson Reuters.

One of the fundamental roles of governments during the COVID–19 Pandemic has been to assist the movement of goods through the international and domestic supply chain as well as to support those providing services in that supply chain. While there has been an understandable focus on movement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and related equipment and medication needed to assist in treatment of those affected by the Pandemic, that focus has not excluded the adoption of measures to assist trade in other goods adversely affected by the significant reduction in air and sea cargo options.

This article was first published on 12 May 2020 by Daily Cargo News.

I have previously written the effects of COVID-19 in the international supply chain as well as having presented at meetings and webinars. This included a recent webinar with the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia, which was attended by more than 300 members.

One of the major tasks for government’s around the world are to adopt measures which may assist business to recover and thrive as they plan to move out of COVID– 9 restrictions. As much as national governments have committed to generally keep borders open, there remains the need to actively take action to ensure that commitments are met and that new initiatives are adopted to support further enhancements to the trade environment.

During the current pandemic, the focus of many has been on the manufacture of the medical equipment required for the treatment of COVID -19 and their urgent movement through the international supply chain.

Rigby Cooke is pleased to announce that two of our Partners, Andrew Hudson and David McLaughlin have been included in the Best Lawyers in Australia rankings for 2021.

This article was first published on 6 April 2020 by Daily Cargo News.

At last, the UK has finally started its process to depart the European Union (EU). However, there is still some real uncertainty about what will remain at the end of the departure process.

On 1 April 2020, the Australian Federal Government announced a new financial package to support exports of seafood to overseas markets as well as to increase funding of the Export Market Development Grant scheme (EMDG). This is one of a series of financial support packages released as part of Australia’s response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further to our update last week, the government has now moved to impose export controls on COVID-19 goods during the present ‘human biosecurity period’.

In light of the ongoing and increasing impact of COVID 19, here we summarise a few relevant issues in the international supply chain, including at our national border.

Andrew Hudson has recently co-authored a white paper with the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia, alongside Scott Carson and Gerardo D’Angelo, with additional contributions from Adam Butler, Tim Gray and Taras Lubczyk.

I had previously published an article on 28 January 2020 with some early thoughts on the possible impacts of the coronavirus. However, as matters have progressed, I thought that it warranted an update.

This article was first published by AirCargo Magazine.

Well, it finally happened. 1,317 days, two elections and a number of pieces of legislation after the UK referendum voted to leave the European Union (EU), the departure procedures commenced.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

As I write these words (8 January 2020), we are swaying on the precipice of escalation of warfare between the US and Iran. We are also stunned by the ongoing bushfire disaster which is taking the lives of animals and people as well as destroying properties and countryside.

The High Court decision on the tariff classification of ‘Vita gummies’ and ‘Garcinia weight-loss preparation’. 

We have previously written at length on decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), or State or Federal Courts on the classification of goods for customs purposes. The classification of goods is a vital process as many things follow from that classification including rates of customs duty, the need to pay dumping or countervailing duty and whether the goods are prohibited or need permits or licences.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

As I write this article, news of the spread of the ‘coronavirus’ becomes worse on a regular basis. According to today’s media, nearly 60 million people in China’s largest cities are in lockdown, there are 2700 confirmed cases and 80 people have died.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

Only the beginning of the end of tension?

In much the same way that Australia welcomed rain this week, the release of ‘Phase One’ of the US and China Agreement had led to some degree of relief and confidence in the commercial and financial world.

The Australia-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (A-HKFTA) starts today, 17 January 2020. This will include preferential rates of customs duty for certain classifications of goods along with more opportunities for investment and trade in services.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

While much debate surrounds the operation of our anti-dumping legislation in practice, it may be a surprise to some that we did not create the regime unilaterally. Our regime takes its origin from Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT).

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

I have been in the fortunate position of being involved with the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia (CBFCA) for a number of years.

The decision of the Victorian County Court in Technology Swiss Pty Ltd and Ecology SRL v Famous Pacific Shipping Pty Ltd which was delivered on 30 September 2019 and published on 13 November 2019 has already received some attention and commentary within industry.

This article was first published by Air Cargo.

On occasion, life has a habit of appearing to imitate art.

Both Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ and Kafka’s ‘The Castle’ are now widely being considered as contemporary literary representations of the UK’s tortured Brexit process.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

The Australian Trusted Trader Programme (ATTP) is one of the lead offerings of the Australian Border Force (ABF) and represents an example of how industry and government can work closely together to co-develop a program which has largely delivered on its intended outcomes and is actively supported by industry.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

As much of Australia’s focus was taken by the Melbourne Cup carnival, the leaders of 15 of the 16 nations negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) announced the conclusion of ‘text-based’ negotiations with formal signing now expected in 2020.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

I wrote an earlier article on Brexit for this publication and thought it may be a good time to review the situation and whether there was any further clarity on the position.

This article was first published by AirCargo magazine.

Now that the 46th Federal Parliament has resumed and the commencement formalities have been completed, it is a good time to review the status of our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) agenda along with other new initiatives aimed at facilitating trade.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

Even with the current political pressures around global trade and the supply chain, there seems to be little prospect that there will be no reduction in goods being moved through the international supply chain.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

The start of a new financial year is often used by the business community to launch new initiatives into the market. However, in this case, by media release on 1 July 2019, the Australian Border Force (ABF) as a division within the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) provided details of the establishment of a new ‘Customs Group’ within the ABF.

The term seems to have first arisen in the early 1990s with reference to an ‘open distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way’ and was developed to serve as a ‘public transaction ledger’ for the bitcoin cryptocurrency.

This article was published in the July print edition of Daily Cargo News and updated for recent events

In the week leading to the recent Federal election, the Minister for Industry Science and Technology (Minister) released her decisions as to the imposition of interim dumping and countervailing duties on steel pallet racking and PVC covered electrical cabling

In the week leading to the Federal election, the Minister for Industry Science and Technology (Minister) released her decisions as to the imposition of interim dumping and countervailing duties on steel pallet racking and PVC covered electrical cabling.

This article was first published in AirCargo magazine, June 2019.

Those in industry (let alone anyone with an interest in world news) would be painfully aware that global trade is under massive pressure at the moment. Examples of these threats are everywhere and if they come to pass, the consequences will be uniformly bad. Trade and global integration has been a driver of financial and social improvement with the World Bank estimating that more than a billion people have been lifted out of poverty over the last 25 years.

This article is co-authored by Andrew Hudson and Bethany Clark 

During each year we discuss various important decisions handed down by the Tribunals and Courts.

Now that the Australian Federal election has been run and won, attention will turn to the priorities of the Coalition Government once Parliament resumes, whether in relation to the introduction of new initiatives or pursuit of the agenda which had been on hold pending the election outcome.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

I write this article on 12 April 2019, shortly after the announcement of the federal budget and the announcement of the date for the federal election. As expected, this period encompassed the usual claim and counter-claim between the major political parties and the usual cynicism that even after the election, the political landscape may not change significantly.

This article was first published by AirCargo Magazine.

Faced with the prospect of a no deal Brexit on 12 April 2019, the EU and the UK put into place a compromise that is referred to as a ‘flextension’ because it delays Brexit until 31 October 2019, subject to a number of conditions. 

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

Technology has contributed to improvements in trade and is seen as one means to facilitate improvements. For example, many parties are looking to Blockchain as a means to enhance both the speed and safety in the movement of goods. Most contemporary Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) include provisions to facilitate customs procedures and trade as well as chapters on assisting e-commerce. In one excellent example, the FTA Portal by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) comprises up to date information on the terms of our FTAs in a way which makes it easier for parties to understand the FTAs and take advantage of them.

The Federal Budget 2019 was formally released by the Federal Government last night (2 April 2019). However, in an election year, the Federal Government took the unusual path of confirming that the government would not be seeking to pass new legislation implementing that Budget in the remaining Parliamentary sitting days. Instead, the Budget legislation would be left only to pass if the government is re-elected in the next Federal Election which is likely to take place in May 2019.

As many readers would be aware, when the New Zealand Customs Act 2018 (Act) commenced on 10 October 2018, not all of its provisions come into force on the same day.

I had been working with Custom Brokers & Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand (CBAFF) and other members of the Stakeholders Reference Group (Group) established by New Zealand Customs (Customs) in reviewing the proposed terms of the Act including changes to powers to Customs and the enforcement regime in the Act.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

The term “Brexit” has well and truly entered into regular use and represents one of the top topics for news and current affairs at the moment. The world is transfixed by developments in the UK including close attention to the (non) passage of legislation to implement the Exit Agreement brokered by the UK Government with the EU and the associated pressure on the UK Conservative Government. As the day of departure from the EU approaches (29 March 2019), the absence of a clear exit process gives rise to more concerns on how the world will cope if no deal (or a bad deal) is struck.

Australia depends heavily on sea cargo and the efficient movement of goods through the supply chain both for exports and imports. The benefits of the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) and other initiatives aimed at facilitating trade and reducing barriers and costs, can be compromised when access to the infrastructure is limited, delayed or made more expensive, especially where there is little recourse against those practices.

When most goods enter the country, the completion of customs formalities usually includes the payment of customs and excise duty. However in a number of cases, the duties are not paid on import and the goods are moved under “customs control” to “licensed premises” which are secured facilities, whether bonds or warehouses where goods are held pending payment of the duties and release into “home consumption” for wider use, often for retail sale.

For a variety of reasons Australians have wholeheartedly embraced the various means of electronic communication and social media platforms.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

Beware those working in licensed premises – you can be liable for amounts equal to duty owing on goods stolen from those premises.

This article was first published by AirCargo Magazine.

The Australian Productivity Commission (PC) website describes its main role as:

“Providing independent research and advice to government on economic, social and environmental issues affecting the welfare of Australians”

The Australian border is a busy place, not just in terms of the movement of goods and people and not just in terms of the many free trade agreements (FTAs) and other trade developments.

While there has recently been significant commentary on Chain of Responsibility under the Heavy Vehicle National Law and transport of goods by road the most common manner of importing and exporting goods to and from Australia is by sea.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News, January 2019.

It really should come as no surprise that Australia and New Zealand have a shared experience and agenda when it comes to customs and trade matters. After all, both countries started out as far-flung outposts of the British Empire, both started with a similar legal framework and both have some similar trade interests and challenges, as well as similar national security interests.

This article was first published by AirCargo magazine, December 2018.

One of the essential elements of good regulation is the need for clear contemporary supporting legislation and associated regulation.

This article was first published by the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia.

I have been working with the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia (CBFCA) to develop guidance material and host legal forums on the introduction of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11), a free trade agreement that comes into play from 30 December 2018.

Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP 11) to start on 30 December 2018

Good news for all – six countries have ratified the commencement of TPP 11, which is the magic number to allow the agreement to commence (for those countries which have ratified the Agreement)

There has been a significant amendment to the Trade Marks Act 1995 which further entrenches the legality of parallel imports in Australia.

While most of the Australian population (and its media) are fixated on the Royal visit or the AFL player trade, those in the industry have had a similar level of interest in the movement towards Australian domestic ratification of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP-11) (aka the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and its possible commencement date.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News, October 2018.

A Senior trade lawyer says the Trans-Pacific Partnership still will be subject to a transparent review process before being implemented by the government.

Readers will be aware from our previous articles (available here, here and here) that the new Chain of Responsibility (CoR) provisions under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) will come into force on 1 October 2018.

This article was first published in AirCargo magazine, September 2018.

Notwithstanding the issues associated with changes in the Australian Federal Government (including a new prime minister and new ministers for both Foreign Affairs and Trade), the process of approval of new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and parliamentary reviews of FTAs before enabling legislation is introduced to Parliament has continued.

Infringement Notices (INs) were once a relatively minor nuisance in industry, largely associated with speeding or parking fines. However, since the introduction of the Infringement Notice Scheme (INS) to the Customs Act 1901 (Customs Act), INs have taken on much greater significance. That significance may escalate again following a recent media release by the Australian Border Force and the release by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources of its notice of intention to implement its broadly-based INS under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Biosecurity Act).

There have long been allegations that importers and their service providers here and overseas have been engaged (knowingly or innocently) in “circumventing” existing measures otherwise payable on imported goods.

Some readers will recall the final scenes of the original Jaws movie when the captain of the shark hunting vessel (Robert Shaw) finally sees the size of the monster shark and loudly announces “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” (and is then eaten by the shark).

This article was updated on 29 August 2018 and provides an update to our previous coverage on this matter.

Slavery is thought of as something from a past era. However, legislators across the world have passed laws this decade to combat modern slavery, for example, in 2010 California passed the Transparency in Supply Chains Act. In 2015, the UK followed with the Modern Slavery Act.

The idea of facilitating secure and compliant trade underpins many international agreements such as the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and WCO Safe Framework of Standards (SAFE) and is reflected in many “Authorised Economic Operator” programmes such as our own Australian Trusted Trader Programme (ATTP).

Many readers would be aware of the ongoing debate on what constitutes Hollow Structural Sections (HSS) steel or iron which is subject to dumping or countervailing duties. That has included debate on whether the alleged HSS is, in fact, another type of product (scaffolding for example) or whether the HSS is actually only part of a larger structure and should be classified on that basis.

Australia passes espionage, foreign interference, foreign influence and critical infrastructure security laws.

Readers would be aware that as and from 1 July 2017, all Australian air cargo exports to the United States were required to undergo new “piece level” screening to accommodate the requirements of the US Transportation Security Administration.

The Australian Federal Budget for the 2018/2019 year was announced in Parliament on 8 May 2018. Individual summaries for portfolios can be found at the relevant websites for the portfolio agencies.

Those operating premises licensed for the handling and retention of goods ‘under customs control’ face a number of significant challenges:

How to prepare to comply

From 1 July 2018 food businesses must comply with labelling requirements set out by the Australian Government which aim to provide consumers with greater transparency on the origin of their food.

This article was first published by AirCargo Magazine.

The renowned journalist Alistair Cooke famously wrote and broadcast ‘Letter from America’ from the US for a period of 58 years. It was a concise and learned spoken piece, around 15 minutes in length in which Mr Cooke delivered observations on developments in the US over the preceding week to a BBC audience in a manner intended to educate the listener and remove some of the confusion usually associated with the US. 

This article was originally published by Daily Cargo News.

There has been significant commentary on the proposal for the introduction of a processing charge on certain low-value import transactions (LVT) which are transacted through a Self-Assessed Clearance Declaration (SAC).

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

After several months of uncertainty and speculation, President Trump has finally announced his intention for the US to introduce additional tariffs on steel and aluminium imported into the US. To adapt a famous comment from former US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, it’s time to work out what we know we know, what we think we know and what we know we would like to know.

The Export Council of Australia (ECA) has released its 2018 Trade Policy Recommendations. The release comes with a clear message that there are not enough small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exporting and that this is an issue that those in government and industry need to address.

This article was first published on the 20 February 2018 in Air Cargo Asia-Pacific Magazine. and has been updated on 22 February 2018 to reflect the release of the CPTPP text.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was an ambitious 12 nation free trade agreement (FTA) which was entered into some time ago but had never been formally implemented even though its entry into force had been approved by New Zealand and Australia.

Many of you would be aware of the tradition from Papal elections where white smoke from the Vatican indicates the election of a new Pope.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

On 17 January 2018 a series of media stories announced that Australia had initiated the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ‘disputes’ process against Canada in relation to measures maintained by the Canadian Government and a number of Canadian provinces governing the retail sale of wine.

Rigby Cooke Lawyers’ Partner, Andrew Hudson has been recognised as one of Australia’s top five ‘true leaders in the field’ by independent research resource, Who’s Who Legal, in their global Trade & Customs list, 2017.

This article was first published by Air Cargo Asia-Pacific Magazine.

Even as the world’s attention is drawn to events including the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the announcement of a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Japan, there also is growing acceptance of the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally.

The annual Australian International Business Survey (AIBS) has been released. This survey is the product of a collaboration between the University of Technology Sydney, Efic, Austrade and the Export Council of Australia (ECA). It is one of the country’s largest and most in-depth surveys of internationally-active Australian businesses.

Those within the customs and international trade industry have been following ongoing narration on the imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on low-value transactions (LVT) closely.

This article was first published by DCN.

Much of the focus in the supply chain revolves around the physical logistics of moving goods to their final destination and the regulation of that movement.

A decision of the NSW District Court delivered on 16 October 2017 has created massive levels of concern in the freight forwarding industry as it led to an order for significant damages against a freight forwarding company based on bills of lading (BL) which it had issued but were used for purposes other than originally intended.

This article was first published by Air Cargo Asia-Pacific Magazine.

To misquote someone, the free trade agenda is a ‘many-splendored thing’.

To adapt one of the literary world’s great quotes it would appear that ‘the news of the death of the TPP had been greatly exaggerated.’

This update was first published by CBFCA Australia.

On 12 October 2017, the Australian Border Force (ABF) released the September 2017 edition of the ABF Goods Compliance Update (Update).

This article first published in the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) Exporters Guide 2017 – 2018.

Sadly, the importance of complying with the requirements of the agencies at the border (which govern the export and import of goods) is often last on a long list of considerations of an exporter – if it appears at all.

In February 2017 the AAT handed down its decision in Zaps Transport (Aust) Pty Ltd, Domenic Zappia and John Zappia ats the Comptroller – General of Customs (Zaps Case). Readers are referred to a previous discussion of this case available here.

This article was first published by Daily Cargo News.

A previously reported, the Bill to impose GST on low value imported goods (LVTs) has recently passed through our Federal Parliament. However, by no means have all the issues associated with the Bill been resolved with certainty.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (and future Minister for Home Affairs) along with the Acting Commissioner of the ABF used their opening addresses at the DIBP Industry Summit this morning (31 July 2017) to address the ongoing role of the DIBP and ABF in facilitating the legitimate trade in goods and movement of people.

This article was first published by New Zealand Trade and Enterpriseon 3 July 2017..

Australia is introducing new goods and services tax (GST) legislation relating to ‘low value’ imported goods and services.

This article first published in Air Cargo Asia Pacific magazine: Issue 247, March 2017.

For many years, Australian consumers buying goods online from overseas have not been obliged to pay either customs duty or GST on ‘low value transaction’ (LVT) imports where the value of the consignment being purchased was less than $1,000.