This week’s edition of The Week Ahead in International Trade covers the ongoing migration to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), a stacked calendar of political developments and diplomatic machinations around a key World War II commemoration event.
CDS
The final deadline for exporters to migrate over to the CDS from the old Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system is tomorrow (4 June).
Those who can’t make the move by the deadline can apply for “a limited month-long exception”, but this can only be obtained under limited circumstances and HMRC is advising traders to submit any applications as soon as possible.
This can be done by emailing chiefextension@hmrc.gov.uk.
To explain what this means, the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) is hosting a member-exclusive Lunchtime Learning session, where IOE&IT trade experts and HMRC officials explain what this means and what to do if you’ve missed the deadline. Members can register here.
Elections
This week has a triple-header for political news, with developments across two continents.
Firstly, the European Parliament elections take place this week from 6-9 June, with EU citizens voting in over 27 different countries. The newly elected body will then approve the next European Commission (EC), with current EC president Ursala von der Leyen running for re-election. A shift to the right for the parliament is currently being predicted by the polls.
Secondly, Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer will have the first of their head-to-head debates tomorrow at 9pm. Hosted on ITV, this will be the first of two debates that Starmer and Sunak will have with one another – the second is 26 June – with other debates planned for later on this month.
Finally, India counts its votes after a seven-stage election process. According to exit polls, the world’s largest democracy is likely to see the re-election of PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) with a comfortable majority. Official results are expected to be released tomorrow.
D-Day
6 June will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. As well as being an opportunity to remember a key milestone in the Second World War, it also represents an opportunity for world leaders to meet.
French president Emmanuel Macron, US president Joe Biden, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are among the world leaders expected to be in attendance. Biden is due to give a speech on ‘the importance of defending freedom and democracy’, before later meeting Macron for bilateral talks.
Other dates for the diary:
Monday: Manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data released for EU, UK, Canada, China and other nations
Tuesday: International Energy Agency issues report on COP28 renewable capacity pledges
Wednesday: King Charles III banknotes enter circulation
Thursday: UN General Assembly elects new members of the UN Security Council
Friday: Final deadline for candidates to register for UK general elections
Saturday: World Oceans Day
Sunday: Belgium parliamentary elections