Risk of “unnecessary costs” of failing to keep up with changing government COVID-19 measures

Tue 7 Apr 2020
Posted by: Ana Pintor
Trade News

Importers and exporters need to monitor fast-changing government COVID-19 measures or they risk incurring “unnecessary costs” or “inadvertently contravening regulations”, an export controls specialist has warned.

Roger Arthey, chairman of the IOE&IT-backed ‘Export Control Profession’, told the Daily Update that companies need to monitor changing prohibitions, quarantines, tariff reductions and licensing requirements around the world.

Governments have been “swiftly enacting temporary trade measures aimed at restricting exports of vital medical supplies” to ease the import of vital medical supplies, he said.

The range of goods being increasingly controlled includes pharmaceutical products, respirators, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), hand sanitizers, cleaning products and food products.

“Companies and organisations importing and exporting a wide range of goods and products need to be aware of rapidly changing temporary measures that governments around the world are making in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, to avoid unnecessary costs or to inadvertently contravene regulations.“

                (Roger Arthey, Chairman of the Export Control Profession)

Free webinar on export controls during pandemic

Arthey will be speaking on a free Open to Export webinar on 22 April alongside Claire Harrison from the DIT’s Export Control Joint Unit.

The webinar will cover:

  • EU controls relating to Personal Protective Equipment and how they apply to UK
  • Continuation of export licensing during the pandemic
  • Controls on medical supplies
  • Importance for companies to communicate with their supply chains
  • The response of the IOE&IT and the Export Control Profession board to the crisis

Sign up details can be found here.

COVID-19 export measures

Since the lockdown began in Europe:

The International Trade Centre (ITC) have also started providing a Market Access Map of Covid-19 Temporary Trade Measures, which it is updating daily.