TradeLane

I used to live in the USA. I spent a year in Corvallis, Oregon when I was ten years old. I remember it as one of the happiest times in my life, except for being confused about my national identity. Most of my elementary school classmates thought that I was from North Korea. This is not surprising since the North Korea nuclear issue had been surfacing at that time during George H. W. Bush’s presidency. North Korea is still a frequent topic on the famous American TV show, Conan, to this day.

I’m from Massachusetts. I grew up with snow and ice. However, I guess I have lost my edge since I have been living in Singapore for the past six years. At the moment, I am in Seoul Korea celebrating the opening of Tradewin Korea and it’s cold…! It is about 25°F (-4°C), which my head tells me is really not that cold but my body tells me differently. My boss (Boston based) says I’ve developed ‘thin blood’ living in the tropics…maybe so.

Last April I wrote a blog post, ‘Springtime in Shanghai’, celebrating the opening of Tradewin China. I thought it would be appropriate to do the same now that we are opening Tradewin Korea! 

The ChAFTA will also open doors for investment projects and create new jobs thus boosting the economy.

The jobs, however, seem to be creating serious concerns amongst Australian labor force. The Australian Union, who was campaigning against ChAFTA, is arguing that the easing of labor market restrictions will inevitably jeopardize Aussie jobs and flood the country with unskilled workers. This is of course is a political debate that continues as I type these words; not for a humble trade consultant to comment on!

The long discussed, debated, and awaited China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), which was first proposed in 1999 and since then has been in the works, was finally signed on June 17, 2015 in Canberra.

With China-Australia Free Trade Agreement having been the third in the quick succession of three Free Trade Agreements Australia signed with its major trading partners, Korea, Japan and China in almost one year, Australia's exports and GDP are predicted to grow significantly.

China is under immense pressure to provide both a smooth and secure trade environment considering their role as one of the leading merchandise traders in the world. Cumbersome Custom formalities imposed on imports and exports have caused issues for the entire industry.

Suppose a company is located and registered in a landlocked province like Jiangxi or Sichuan where their inbound ocean freight will first land in coastal areas such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, or Xiamen. Traditionally, the company would be required to clear its imports with customs at the point of entry which means important decisions, physical inspections of goods, and taxes/duties all occur with your business presence and support hundreds of miles away.