Monday 29 July 2013

Exporting to Japan | Tips and Advice

Poetically termed the "Land of the Rising Sun", Japan is one of the economic powerhouses of East Asia and boasts the third largest economy in the world. UK Trade and Investment reports that 450 British companies have operations in Japan and that exports from the UK to Japan amount to £9.6 billion annually.

Three japanese dolls
If you're thinking of exporting to Japan, it may be much more cost effective than you think. As the crow flies, it's approximately 6000 miles between London and Tokyo, and for a 1kg package, it could cost you as little as £29.90 to send your parcel via a TNT Express service if you book through a reseller such as Transglobal Express. And as is often the case, the more you send, the lower the rate per kilogram. 

Sending goods to Japan may seem daunting if you have little experience of exporting or just sending goods internationally for non-commercial reasons, so we've compiled some tips, advice and general information to help you. 

Customs Regulations + Documentation

Japanese FlagSince it is non-EU country, all exports to Japan from the UK will be subject to customs clearance and any related duties and taxes. Most international shipments are delivered DDU (delivered duty unpaid) which means that customs charges are billed to the recipient. Be sure to make your recipient and/ or customers aware of this in advance. To anticipate these charges as best you can, we recommend boning up on Japanese customs regulations and restrictions. A good place to start is the Japan customs website, which also publishes lots of useful trade statistics.

As well as an Air Waybill (this is the label that you attach to your shipments), you will need a Customs Invoice when sending parcels to Japan. This is a document detailing the contents and value of your consignment and any other relevant details. Transglobal Express produces a simple customs invoice for you as part of our online booking service, but you are welcome to use your own proforma if you have one - the more detail the better!

Business Culture

Japanese business activity has changed dramatically since the Meiji era. Until 1853, the international relations policy of "Sakoko" (chained country) was practised, which dictated that any foreigner attempting to enter Japan and any Japanese person attempting to leave the country was subject to the death penalty. This policy was part of a wider isolationism which meant that Japan traded only with China, Korea, the Ryukyu Islands and the Netherlands - so international trade was limited to say the least! It's therefore remarkable that in a relatively short space of time, Japan has grown to become both the fourth largest export economy and fourth largest import economy in the world. 

Nevertheless, some Japanese business practices remain peculiar to the country and so it's advisable to familiarise yourself with these if you are planning on doing business in Japan:  

The concept of Wa or 'harmony' is vital in Japanese culture. In business practice, it means that the avoidance of self assertion and the maintenance of good relationships in spite of differences of opinion. Wa may mean that negative feedback is expressed indirectly, so pay attention to body language, and attempt to be diplomatic yourself. 

Face or Kao is also an important concept in Japanese culture. It's important to ensure potential business partners do not lose face - this includes avoiding direct criticism and confrontation.

Omoiyari refers to a sense of loyalty and empathy that is encouraged in Japanese society and therefore also important to business culture. Building strong relationships based on trust is imperative to doing business in Japan. 







Friday 26 July 2013

Importing goods from outside the UK? Advice on UK imports

Importing goods into the UK from other countries is very similar to exporting from the UK: no matter where you are sending goods to or from, your package will need to be clearly labelled with the Air Waybill of your chosen carrier, and all shipments between the UK and non-EU countries will require a Customs Invoice and be subject to customs clearance. Importing from a non-EU country can be even simpler than exporting to one, because with imports you will be subject to taxes and duties applied by UK Customs Authorities, and it can be easier to familiarise yourself with these and anticipate any applicable charges. 

Follow our top three tips on importing into the UK to ensure your deliveries run smoothly:
Stock image of 'Import Stamp Showing Importing Goods'

1- Use a quality courier service 

Large, international and well-established door-to-door couriers such as DHL and TNT Express have decades of experience with imports and can therefore guarantee you the best possible delivery service along with good customs expertise. Resellers such as Transglobal Express offer DHL and TNT Express Import services at significantly reduced prices, so SMEs can benefit from great import rates without compromising on quality. You can get a quote and compare discounted rates via our website.

2- Maintain good communication with your collection point

Remember, you have less control over imports than exports because you are dependent upon your collection point to ensure that collection runs smoothly and your consignment can start making its way to you. When you book an import service via Transglobal Express, you can select a collection day yourself, but its a good idea to liaise with your collection point to check they will be available. Your collection point will also receive all of the delivery documentation, as it will be him or her who will need to attach the shipping labels to your consignment. Make sure you keep communications channels with your collection point to ensure that they do this on time. As soon as we receive confirmation of collection, your shipment will be fully trackable via our website. 

3- Do your homework!

This applies to exports as well as imports - it's never a bad idea to bone up on the latest regulations and customs restrictions of the two countries between which your goods are moving. The customs website of the respective nations is the best place to start, and the HMRC website is a great resource. Don't forget that, when exporting, most shipments are delivered DDU (delivered duty unpaid), meaning that the receiver is liable for all customs clearance charges and related taxes and levies. With importing, you are the receiver, so you will be liable for all charges. It's a good idea to do some research in advance so you can anticipate charges rather than being liable for hefty customs fees before they are released to you!

Thursday 25 July 2013

Heathrow Expansion will benefit Air Cargo

Several proposals to improve the capacity of UK airports are currently vying for supremacy. Most representatives of the air cargo industry advocate the expansion of Heathrow while the Mayor of London has submitted three different schemes. The Davies Commission, an independent body headed by Sir Howard Davies, has been tasked with determining the best way to meet Britain's future airport needs. 

Visitors welcome to Heathrow T5
Heathrow Airport has submitted three runway location options to the Commission, any of which it says could produce a direct air cargo benefit of £2 billion to £3 billion. It is estimated that a third runway at Heathrow would cost between £14.3 and £17.6 billion and provide between £50 and £156 billion in UK economic benefits after opening in 2025. 


Johnson's proposals comprise a four runway airport  on an artificial island in the Thames Estuary, a similar development on the isle of Grain on the south side of river Kent and an expansion of Stanstead Airport, in the north-east of London. He has made grander claims about his options, saying that they could provide 375,000 new jobs and add £742 billion to the value of goods and services produced in the UK. But Heathrow has retorted that a new Thames Estuary airport would not be operational before 2034 and could cost £70 to £80 billion, over a third of which would come from the tax payer.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson proposes to close the main
air hub at Heathrow
In support of expanding Heathrow rather than either of the London Mayor's options, the airport has claimed that 202 of the UK's top corporations are headquartered within a 25-mile radius of Heathrow, and that expanding the airport would protect 114,000 local jobs and create 70,000 to 150,000 more.


Corin Taylor, senior economic advisor for the UK's institute of Directors, supports the third Heathrow runway proposal. He said, "Expanding Heathrow is the best way to solve Britain's airport capacity conundrum. It is quicker and cheaper than the other options... Britain will miss out on the trade we need with high growth parts of the world unless we urgently expand our hub capacity". 

The Freight Transport Association has stated that Heathrow is "the best case for a London hub airport" expressing its disappointment that the importance of air cargo remains underplayed in the debate.

Source: Air Cargo Week


Wednesday 24 July 2013

Sending documents? Make sure you get the best door-to-door courier rates!

If you're a small or medium-sized business that has used courier services before, you probably already know that you can make great savings on your shipping by booking your courier through a reseller. You're probably aware how it works - that companies such as Transglobal Express can secure the best rates from major couriers such as DHL, UPS and TNT and that they can pass those rates onto you, at up to 70% less than the standard cost. If you've used us or a similar service before, then you'll know that. But did you know you can send documents at significantly reduced rates too?  The rates for our new UPS envelope service are the best on the market. 

Can you answer "Yes" to the following three questions? 
  • Are you sending documents?
  • Do they weight less than 1kg?
  • Will they fit into a branded 335x240mm UPS envelope?
Then you qualify for our document rates!

You can ship any documents: - certificates, bonds, contracts, passports etc. - to over 200 countries and destinations for about half the price of a parcel of the same weight. What's more, because documents are not subject to customs clearance, you can also benefit from swifter transit times. With UPS Express Saver, you can send documents to the USA for as little as £11.95, to China for £13.95 or to the Netherlands for just £11.75 with transit times of just 24 hours between major European gateway cities and as quick as two days to many business areas of North America. If you need guaranteed morning delivery then you can upgrade to our UPS Express Envelope service for a small fee (just 50p to the USA). 

You'll also have access to all the usual benefits of shipping with Transglobal Express: simple online price comparison, booking and tracking, and easy access to our friendly, helpful and knowledgeable customer care team. 

Check our website to get a quote today, or for for information, contact us on 0845 145 1212 Monday-Friday 9:00-5:30pm


DHL Tradeteam wins Bramwell Pub Company logistics contract

DHL Tradeteam, the drinks logistics arm of international shipping and logistics company DHL, has become the strategic logistics partner of the Bramwell Pub Company, a business comprising over 190 pubs across the UK, under the 'Varsity', 'Smith & Jones' and 'Wild Lime Bar and Kitchen' brands. Tradeteam, which recently won the "Best Logistics Company" accolade in the 2013 Drinks Business Awards, plans to work with Bramwell to ensure a more efficient logistics service.

Roger Moxham, Chief Executive of the Bramwell Pub Company said: “We are delighted to be working with Tradeteam, one of the sector leading logistics specialists. Currently, the general managers receive multiple deliveries throughout the week. This appointment sees us take one step towards our goal of streamlining our business to make it more efficient and enabling our licensees to focus on delivering what matters most; compelling customer service and driving sales.”

Gavin Murdoch, Managing Director of Tradeteam added: “This is excellent news. As Bramwell’s primary drinks logistics partners we look forward to working closely together and applying our sector expertise to drive efficiency across Bramwell’s entire operation.”

Tuesday 23 July 2013

UPS releases results for the second quarter


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/UPS_Airlines_%28N288UP%29_McDonnell_Douglas_MD-11F_climbs_just_after_taking_off_at_Sydney_Airport.jpg
Express delivery company UPS has released its financial results for the second quarter. Profits fell by almost 3% compared to the second quarter of 2012 while revenue saw a slight 1.2% year-on-year increase. The freight division of the company performed worst, with a 27% plunge in profit. You can read the full story, including detailed results per division, via our website.


Parcel delivery to Russia: tips and advice

Russia is a vast country, spanning two continents and nine different time zones. At over 17 million square kilometres, it is the biggest nation in the world by area and comprises both the densely populated cities of Moscow and St Petersburg in the West and the more remote areas of Siberia to the East of the Ural mountains. When sending a parcel to Russia, you therefore need to use a carrier with experience and an established network in the country if you want to ensure the smoothest possible delivery.

File:Moscow July 2011-4a.jpgTransglobal Express offers parcel delivery to Russia via DHL, UPS, and TNT, all of whom have been operating in Russia for decades, and all of whom can boast extensive networks throughout the nation. DHL, for example, has over 150 offices and 7 major depots across Russia, and can service over 600 Russian towns and cities.

Booking with Transglobal Express means you will save up to 70% on sending parcels to Russia without having to compromise on quality. We have major contracts with DHL, UPS and TNT, and are able to secure the best rates due to the amount we send with them. We pass these reduced rates onto you.

It's important to note that only commercial shipments to Russia are admissible- customs regulations means that parcels cannot be sent to private addresses - you must send your goods to a recognised business address.
russian social networking sites 300x262 Social Media in RussiaIf you're sending documents, these can be delivered to either a business or a private address. Be warned that Russian Customs authorities only accept paper documents in this category- information stored on CDs or other media will not be classed as a document, and will therefore be subject to parcel regulations and clearance procedures.

Although Russian Customs are renowned for being stringent, you should not let this discourage you from sending parcels to Russia- there are some great business opportunities in the country, and UK-Russia trade is growing at impressive rates, with an average of 21% annual growth since 2001.

As long as you choose a reliable carrier and ensure you inform yourself of the most up-to-date customs regulations in advance of dispatching your goods, you should not encounter any issues at all.

If you book your service through Transglobal Express you will have the added peace of mind of being able to track your parcel every step of its journey, from collection through to delivery. Our customer services staff have years of experience in facilitating delivery to Russia, and are on hand to assist you throughout the process should you need any help.


Monday 22 July 2013

E-commerce precipitated Royal Mail privatisation

Earlier this month, the government confirmed its plans to privatise Royal Mail, following legislation passed in 2011 to pave the way for the sale. Business Secretary Vince Cable announced that a majority stake in the business will be sold through a flotation on the London Stock Exchange, and that 10% of shares in the business would be given to Royal Mail employees. The exact size of the stake to be sold will depend on market conditions at the time of the sale, which will take place before 31st March 2014, and which the UK media have speculated will happen this Autumn.  


The main reason for the sale given by the government, along with Royal Mail managers, is that the organisation requires private capital in order to develop in the way demanded by changes to the mail market. E-commerce has been cited as a primary factor in this: less letters are posted at a time when the demand for parcel delivery is rapidly increasing due to growing numbers of people shopping and doing business online. Royal Mail currently faces competition from private door-to-door couriers such as TNT Express and DHL Express

Unions and other campaigners against the sale warn that privatisation could eventually lead to reduced service levels, and poorer terms and conditions for postal workers. At a time when door-to-door courier services are available at much reduced rates when purchased through resellers such as Transglobal Express, it does seem that maintaining Royal Mail as a commercially viable entity will prove challenging if it plans to guarantee its six day service and set prices regardless of UK destination.

Friday 19 July 2013

Transit times: how long will my parcel take to arrive?

Whether you're sending a parcel, a document or freight, the time it will take for your shipment to arrive at its designated destination will be of great importance to you. Even for shipments that are not vitally time-sensitive, it's important to have an estimated delivery date, so that you can plan ahead. Courier services can be hesitant to guarantee exact delivery times, but at Transglobal Express, we try to give you as much information as possible about transit times to make your shipping experience as pleasant and stress free as we can. 

Choosing Transglobal Express for your parcel delivery service affords you a great amount of flexibility: not only do we offer services from all of the biggest global couriers UPS, FedEx, DHL and TNT, we also offer multiple service options from each of these brands, depending on the time sensitivity of your shipment and your personal budget. 

For time sensitive shipments, an express service is recommended. With UPS Express Saver or DHL Express Worldwide, you can expect next business day delivery from the UK to most European countries and transit times as little as 2 days to many locations in the USA. Express delivery to Australia can be as little as 3 days, and the same goes for many Asian countries.

If your shipment is less time-sensitive, for intra-European deliveries, you can opt for a more economical road-based service. Depending on your chosen destination, deliveries to European countries will take 1-5 business days with DHL Economy Select. For worldwide deliveries, TG International Economy is a great option. With service, your parcels are delivered through the FedEx network and could be anywhere in the world within a week. Services such as these are less expensive and are a great option if you are working to a tighter budget. 

If you know your full collection and delivery address, you can calculate a more accurate transit time estimate via the tools available on our website:  

Thursday 18 July 2013

FedEx Express opens new stations in Germany

FedEx Express has opened four new stations in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German state. The new facilities have compelled the courier company to increase their workforce in the region by 25%, creating 150 more jobs, in addition to the 600 already in the area. 


FedEx Express Couriers Prepare Deliveries


With the addition of the four new stations, FedEx now operates almost 50 facilities across Germany. The stations act as small distribution centres for shipments from regional customers and are sorted on site before being delivered throughout Germany, Europe and worldwide. 

Carl Graham, Managing Director of Operations at FedEx Express Central and Eastern Europe, said the expansion was intended to boost both proximity to customers and service flexibility: “[Germany’s] economic focus on exports in key industries such as chemicals, engineering and automotive means that it has to depend on reliable logistics service providers. We offer companies quick and reliable connections to their international trading partners and, in doing so, promote growth in the region,” he commented.

DHL, one of FedEx’s largest competitors, is headquartered in Bonn and will no doubt be observing the US-based courier’s further expansion into the region with interest.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Deutsche Post DHL enhances online marketing strategy with acquisition of Optivo

In a move which demonstrates the increasing importance of online advertising to international courier companies, German-based mail and logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL has announced plans to take over Optivo, the email marketing provider. DHL Spokesperson Juergen Gerdes commented that DHL have consciously been building an Online Marketing business unit since 2010 with the aim of becoming a "neutral technology service and the first choice for the advertising industry."


Optivo's technology enables companies to send up to an impressive 20 million emails per hour The software integrates social media, text messaging, mobile email web and fax in addition to traditional email, and has built in capacity to monitor the impact of communications. 

DHL revealed that a number of test cross-media marketing campaigns proved email marketing to be vital, and that cross media approaches are much more successful than so-called "mono-media" campaigns. Gerdes commented, "The future of dialogue marketing lies in intelligently integrated campaigns that combine the strengths of both online and offline media. optivo allows us to build another bridge between traditional dialogue solutions and the digital world".

Optivo are also likely to benefit from the move; CEO Ulf Richter commented, "Deutsche Post is an established and major player in the online advertising market and is therefore the ideal partner for positioning our innovative technology on an even wider scale. In addition, we benefit from the company's international presence".

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Australia fights customs corruption

If you send parcels to Australia regularly, you may remember that the discovery of allegedly corrupt customs officers at Sydney airport led to the arrest of four personnel last year. Australian minister for Justice Jason Clare subsequently set up a customs reform board, which published a report outlining recommendations for improvements to the customs service. The report states that, with air cargo traffic shipments expected to rise from 29 million to a massive 95 million a year by 2017, there is an increasing threat of "serious, organised criminals attempting to infiltrate our border agencies and corrupt our officers".
Sydney Customs House
The government have proposed a number of measures in response comprising, changes to employees' terms and conditions, increased partnership working and better use of technology and electronic information. The proposed strategies so far include:
      • fixed periods of employment for customs personnel
      • a tightening up of the policy relating to second jobs
      • working with airlines and forwarders to expedite clearance procedures for trusted and compliant clients
      • full electronic data reporting for all Australian imports and exports
      • direct access to logistics companies' databases for streamlined shipment and customer profiling. 
The announcements by the Australian government coincide with the publication of one of the largest and farthest reaching public opinion surveys into corruption. the According to the survey carried out by Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International, over 50% of people think corruption has worsened in the last two years. Of the 114,000 participants in 107 countries, 27% said they have paid a bribe when accessing public services in the last 12 months. 

Monday 15 July 2013

DPD Germany builds Social Media presence

In a move to encourage more direct engagement with customers, international courier DPD launched new Facebook and Twitter pages for its German branch earlier this month. As well as using the sites as promotional platforms, DPD will also offer customer services via both sites, and have gathered over 1000 Facebook "likes" and 49 Twitter followers so far.

Boris Winkelmann, COO of DPD GeoPost (Deutschland)  explained,  "As part of our B2C strategy we are increasingly aiming at direct communication with consignees and putting them in charge of the delivery of their parcels. With our presence on Facebook and Twitter we are highlighting our efforts to integrate parcel shipping as simply as possible in the everyday lives of consignees." Frank Rickert, Social Media Coordinator at DPD, added, "As a dialogue instrument Facebook offers tremendous potential, which DPD as a service-oriented company intends to use to the full." 

The rise of e-commerce has meant that commercial shipping to private consignees is of increasing importance  to DPD, a trend which reflects the door-to-door courier sector as a whole. Business-to-consumer (B2C) activity necessitates greater flexibility than the B2B model and social media is one way in which DPD, along with many other courier companies, are responding to this need. 

In May, we pointed out the increasing importance of social media to the major global carriers and this trend is showing no signs of letting up. Would you use Facebook or Twitter to book or track your delivery services?


Friday 12 July 2013

European Air Cargo manages a 1% rise in May, in a sluggish month for the industry

IATA have recently released figures reporting on the global air cargo market growth for May: broadly speaking, the market has continued to flatline, following the trend of the last 18 months. Global freight tonne kilometres increased slightly by 0.8% year-on-year, and while capacity increased by 2.1%, load factors fell to 44.9%, the lowest level since post-crisis recovery.

The sluggishness in the market has been attributed to a variety of factors including the decelerated growth in developing economies such as China China and the global decline of business confidence. Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO of IATA, said, “It is getting harder to find optimistic signs for air cargo growth. The Middle East remains a bright spot, and the rate of decline in the Eurozone is easing. But this is offset by the weakening of expansion in Asia-Pacific. It is now clear that the positive global upswing in air cargo at the end of 2012 was an illusion. Air cargo, along with many parts of the world economy, appears to be in suspended animation at the moment”. 

The Middle East region saw the most growth, with a year-on-year increase of 9.7%, Europe was second in line with the much lower figures of 1% growth, followed by Africa at just 0.2%. All other regions, comprising Latin America, North America and Asia Pacific, registered slight declines. 

Thursday 11 July 2013

DHL receives certification for chemical transportation

DHL Global Forwarding, the freight branch of DHL, has received the ISO certification for the standard of its chemical transportation in Germany. Facilities in several German cities including Hamburg and Frankfurt were audited by SQAS (Safety and Quality Assessment System) requirements. 

Zoom
Volker Oesau, CEO of Middle and Southern Europe for the DHL branch commented, "The chemical industry is an important sector for our air and ocean freight business. We are continually analyzing the industry's needs and implementing appropriate solutions. We plan to put further stations of DHL's European network through the SQAS certification process in the upcoming months".

The DHL stations were audited by the independent inspection company SGS AS by means of a standarized questionnaire. Emphasis is placed on the safety of the procedures in place, as well as the environmental compatibility for the transportation and storage of chemicals by logistics service providers. 


Wednesday 3 July 2013

Carbon neutral shipping- what's it all about?

Given the great number of air miles flown every day by logistics and courier companies, the fuel consumed in the process and the mass of packaging materials used to ensure parcels are sufficiently protected in transit, it's fair to say that the industry has the potential to impact the environment much more than most: getting goods from A to B is at the heart of logistics, and this will always require fuel consumption and result in carbon emissions. With this in mind, it's important that courier companies take account of their effect on the environment, and strive reduce it wherever possible.

Carbon neutral shipments form part of DHL's "Go Green" programe
But as well as reducing the environmental impact of their business practice, many major carriers also offer customers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions of the deliveries they contract. DHL, UPS and FedEx all offer what they call carbon-neutral shipping which enable shippers to opt to minimise the effect of their deliveries on the environment by contributing to carbon reduction and conservation projects elsewhere. International Courier DPD were the first to introduce free carbon neutral shipping in five European markets including the UK, in July 2012. Yesterday, a year later, the company announced the extension of this service to an additional ten European countries.

So, does it work? It may seem counter-intuitive to deal with the symptoms rather than the cause of CO2 emissions, but a look at the UPS Carbon Neutral webpage shows a variety of worthwhile projects to which customers can contribute if they opt for the more environmentally friendly shipping option - from wind farms in Turkey to a rainforest rehabilitation project in Burma, from fuel efficient cookstoves in Ghana to biodiversity in California.

A DPD carbon neutral delivery in Prague, Czech Republic
DPD pursue a slightly different route, rather than charging a carbon-neutral fee and using it to contribute to development projects like UPS, the UK carrier uses the term "insetting" rather than "offsetting" - meaning they account for carbon emissions within their own group rather than compensating for them  solely via external projects. Like with UPS, the carbon cost of each shipment is calculated but it is then accounted for via energy conservation in company buildings, use of electric vehicles and reduced fuel consumption, before being offset via conservation initiatives abroad. 






Tuesday 2 July 2013

FedEx to buy-out current service providers in southern Africa

FedExCorp announced last month that the first stage of its acquisition of its current service provider for Southern Africa is under way. On June 20th, FedEx signed an agreement to acquire the businesses operated by Supaswift (Pty) Ltd in five Southern African countries: South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia. The US logistics and courier company is also in discussions to acquire Supaswift's businesses in Botswana and Namibia.



Across all seven countries, Supaswift currently operates 39 facilities and employs some 1,000 staff, all of whom are expected to join the FedEx workforce following completion of the acquisition. Once the deal is complete, the suite of FedEx services - comprising export, import and domestic - will be offered in the region, strengthening FedEx's network in Africa. Most would agree that, of all the major global couriers, DHL currently has the greatest African network. The move by FedEx can be interpreting as a means of expanding its interests into this developing continent.

Indeed, Frederick Smith, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corp said that the acquisition of Supaswift's business "will provide customers with greater access to some of the world’s most rapidly growing economies" and is "an important step in our international growth strategy and further strengthens our FedEx Express portfolio.”

President of FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa, commented, "FedEx Express has been active in Africa since the early 1990s, through a well-established netowrk of Global Service Providers. This acquisition, once completed, will reaffirm our support to customers in this region."

Monday 1 July 2013

Croatia becomes 28th member of European Union

A decade after its initial application for membership, Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union today. According to EU treaties, membership of the European Union is open to any European state which respects and promotes the values outlined in Article 2, namely "respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities". Croatia's accession only two decades after the ethnic wars emanating from the breakup of the former Yugosalvia is a testimony to how far the country has come. 

File:Croatia EU flags.jpg
Flags of the European Union and Croatia at the Ministry of Foreign affairs
and European Integration, Zagreb (Bogdan Giusca: 2007)

According to Europa, the European Union's website, one of the most visible and positive effects of Croatia's accession will be the end of customs controls at internal EU borders. As well as facilitating freedom of movement between Croatia and its EU neighbours Hungary and Slovenia, this also has implications for intra-European trade. 

Wine-producers in Croatia have expressed concerns that the abolition of tariffs will cause cheap European wine to flood into the country and threaten their industry, but it seems that most Croatians agree that the economic benefits of accession outweigh such concerns: ease of access to EU markets is a cause for optimism. 

In an interview the the BBC, Ranko Milik, an uban development consultant, said "There are reasons both pro and contra this decision but I believe that in some way that the EU is the destiny of all countries in Europe." While the streets of the Union may not be paved with gold, most commentators agree that the chief benefits of EU accession for Croatia are economic. 

And it's not only Croatia itself that will benefit from the facilitation of trade enabled by EU membership: "Emerging Europe" - a recently published report produced by the council of British Chambers of Commerce in Europe in association with UK Trade and Investment - outlines the opportunities for British businesses in light of Croatia's accession. There is £1.8 billion in the 2012-14 EU budget set aside for Croatia which aims primarily to promote the keys sectors of energy and infrastructure, ports and marine, business services and tourism and leisure. 

Exporting to Croatia will now be made easier due to the abolition of customs clearance procedures. You can compare prices for exporting to Croatia via the Transglobal Express website.