Last week I used my blog to highlight the plight of Ukraine and signpost the webinar we hosted for British businesses with the support of the Department for International Trade (DIT) on ‘How to comply with trade sanctions against Russia’.
The webinar was a great success, providing invaluable help, guidance and support to the 1400 businesses who attended.
Watch the webinar
They heard from our expert panel on the details of the sanctions regime and how to remain compliant. The information from the webinar is still very relevant and I would urge anyone wishing to find out more to head over to our YouTube channel to watch the full session.
Roundtables
Following the webinar, we were asked by DIT to convene two roundtable meetings for Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, the Secretary of State for International Trade. She wanted to hear from UK business leaders impacted by the sanctions and the disruption being caused by the horrendous invasion of Ukraine.
Business leaders took the opportunity to provide the Secretary of State with practical examples of their challenges. Issues raised included shipments of goods stuck in transit, securing payments owed on from goods already sent and the experiences of companies with operations in Russia.
Powerful voice
We thank the Secretary of State for her time – this was a vital engagement opportunity for the IOE&IT and our members.
The IOE&IT is a powerful voice for UK traders. We have experts ready to provide advice and guidance. We also provide a unique conduit to ensure that international trade issues and the voice of business is heard by government.
We know that the global trading environment is difficult right now and that sanctions can seem like a compliance quagmire. However the IOE&IT is committed to helping traders and we are providing practical advice and helping interpret the rapidly changing regulatory and legal environment in these uncertain times.
Staying compliant
Sanctions are still being issued and are regularly updated: we recommend that all businesses trading with Russia check the relevant government website to stay on top of these.
We have also set out eight practical steps that companies can take to make sure that they were trading compliantly:
- Know your customer
- Know your product
- Know your product’s destination
- Know your supplier
- Revisit your licences
- Revisit your contracts
- Run an internal compliance programme
- Communicate with your agents
Support
Ultimately, we want to help exporters do the right thing. The IOE&IT is committed to continuing to hold advice and guidance events like last week’s webinar, our helpline is available for Business members who have complex queries and we can provide consultancy services for business to help them stay compliant.
The situation in Ukraine, though, is first and foremost a humanitarian crisis, the effects of which are being endured by the people of Ukraine and increasingly the innocent people of Russia.
Crowdfunding
IOE&IT has started a crowdfunding project in association with the Disaster Emergency Committee who are helping with the current Ukrainian crisis.
We would appreciate it if you could donate to our fund raising here.
If you’re not a member of the IOE&IT already I would urge you to consider joining our community of over 7000 companies, suppliers and individuals who already benefit from our expert knowledge and training. You can find out more about our membership packages here.