This was a major week for the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, which celebrated not only its 90th birthday but also the 2025 edition of the Import Export Show and the International Trade Awards.
But there was news elsewhere too, as the UK’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) spoke on his vision for the international body, and there was movement on UK involvement in the EU’s defence loan guarantee scheme.
The big picture: The Chartered Institute hosted the Import Export Show 2025 in London on Wednesday (19 November), where customs and trade experts delivered practical insights for importers and exporters.
There were keynote addresses from head of trade at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, John Drummond, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s director general of global issues, Melissa Bohannon.
Bohannon noted the UK’s continuing commitment to the WTO and highlighted the rise in global protectionism, while Drummond said there was no sign of ‘slowbalisation’ in international trade.
Panel sessions and breakout rooms throughout the day also looked at what these and other developments mean on the ground for traders.
The Daily Update featured coverage from throughout the day, with a report from the morning session on the day as well as a full run-down yesterday.
We also spoke to some of the winners from the International Trade Awards, which were delivered in the afternoon of the show.
Winner of the 90-Year Honour: Legacy in International Trade Award, Dr Poonam Gupta of PG Paper Company, said: “Awards like this are very important as, in international trade, goodwill is everything”.
You can read more on the awards and get a full list of winners here.
Good week/bad week: There was a kernel of good news for the UK on its possible participation in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (Safe) loan guarantee scheme for the defence sector. After negotiations on the UK joining foundered on the EU’s €6.7bn demand for payment, it has now been reported by the FT that the bloc is willing to cut the price of entry to €2bn – though there has not been movement from the UK side just yet, and defence secretary John Healey has been keen to note the country is “not ready to be willing at any price”.
There were some troubling statistics for UK business this week, as retail sales fell much more than expected in October, dropping 1.1% according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is the first such drop since May. The latest S&P flash UK PMI, meanwhile, showed overall business growth was just about in the green, at 50.5, though chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said it was “disappointing news”, stating that “growth has stalled, job losses have accelerated, and business confidence has deteriorated”.
How’s stat: 90 – that’s the number of years since the Chartered Institute was established in 1935, a birthday which we marked this week. Our director general, Marco Forgione, wrote for the Daily Update to mark the occasion, and to explain why the next decade will be our most important yet.
Quote of the week: “[We want a system] where not everything is always held back by consensus and not everything requires everyone to agree... and it’s not negatively impacting a range of countries.”
Kumar Iyer, the UK’s ambassador to the WTO and UN, speaking to Politico on how he envisions reform of the WTO at a time of pressure from US president Donald Trump.
The week in customs: As we reported in The Day in Trade earlier this week, the WTO, World Customs Organization and the International Chamber of Commerce have together issued a report which finds that authorised economic operator (AEO) status is currently inaccessible to many MSMEs. It calls for greater support from governments for small firms to access the benefits of AEO schemes.
Elsewhere in the headlines: Our Member Spotlight feature this week explores the work of former Chartered Institute education board chairman Tony Symes, who looked back across a career that began in 1949 and which has spanned huge changes in global trade.
Chartered Institute honorary president Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint announced that he would be stepping down at this week’s Annual General Meeting, with a replacement due to be announced in the spring.
Our member-exclusive Customs Corner feature got its latest edition, exploring planned changes to the EU’s de minimis regime for low-value imports as well as new fisheries rules and a new, free-to-use data system for users of the Customs Declaration Service.
True facts: On this day 219 years ago, Napoleon introduced the Continental System, a blockade the French emperor hoped would stop British trade. England responded by introducing its own trade blockade with France and its allies.
