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The Department for International Trade in Jordan is looking to support British companies working in:

• garments and textiles
• chemical (paints, fertilisers etc)
• manufacturing/engineering/electrical

As well as other sectors – please see here.Companies working in these sectors can benefit from relaxed rules of origin in Jordan, as well as low-cost setup opportunities.

In July 2016 the EU and Jordan agreed to simplify the rules of origin that Jordanian exporters use in their trade with the EU under the Association Agreement. This is intended to make it easier for Jordan to export to the EU, encourage investment and create jobs for Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

For exporters to be able to use these alternative rules of origin, production must:

• take place in one of 18 designated industrial areas and development zones in Jordan
• use a minimum proportion of Syrian refugee labour in the production facilities (initially 15% and increasing to 25% in year three)

If you are intersted in this opportunity and would like more details,please contact Jan Wimaladharma at DIT in Amman.

A survey by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) has shown that British companies are confident about trade with China in the aftermath of the UK leaving the EU.

Over half (56%) of the 266 respondents said that Brexit would create either “many more” or “more” business opportunities with China generally, while 44% stated that a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and China would generate more opportunities for their own companies.

A significant majority (88%) of respondents think that it is either “very important” or “important” to achieve an FTA, and almost three-quarters (73%) believe it is possible to do so in under five years.

Ensuring a simpler approach to dispute resolution, simplified UK and Chinese visa rules and the strengthening of intellectual property rights should be among the main aims of negotiations on such an agreement, respondents suggested.

Removing tariffs, standardising and digitising trade documents, and reinforcing protection for foreign investors in joint ventures (JVs) were also seen as key issues.

Reduced tariffs were seen as being positive for their particular sectors by an overwhelming majority (95%) of those surveyed.

Based on the survey results, the CBBC has made a number of recommendations to further support UK-China trade and investment in the coming years. They include establishing a China-specific taskforce within the UK Government to assess the parameters of an FTA.

The taskforce should, it said, include key members of the UK business community with expertise on UK-China trade and investment.

Other industry taskforces should also be created, comprising leading UK companies who can make recommendations in their specific sectors. The CBBC wants to see working groups set up with relevant Chinese stakeholders from both government and business.

Further details of the CBBC survey can be found atwww.cbbc.org.

Public comments are now being invited on Norfolk County Council’s draft vision to develop the former RAF Coltishall site which envisages the creation of hundreds of jobs, new housing for local people and new tourism opportunities.

The County Council is launching a public consultation today (Wednesday 24 July) to gather views on its new ‘Development Vision’ for the former airbase which outlines strategies for a number of key themes such as employment, enterprise & investment, accessibility, heritage and green infrastructure.

The consultation asks for feedback on the proposed plans by September – and invites people to make suggestions on what further opportunities should be considered.

The Vision includes concept maps and illustrations of what the site might look like if plans come to fruition over a number of years and details how the site’s important site’s rich heritage could be brought back to life.

George Nobbs, Norfolk County Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “This is one of the most exciting development projects that the County Council has ever taken on. RAF Coltishall, as it used to be known, is held in great affection by those who served there, by local residents and by the people of Norfolk as a whole. That’s why I and my colleagues are determined to treat the site with the utmost respect.

“This is not a collection of industrial units or a site for intensive development. Our aim is to make it a living breathing part of the local community that everyone involved can be very proud of. RAF Coltishall deserves no less.”

Possible opportunities to generate income which include reusing a number of the existing buildings for commercial use, returning some of the land for agriculture, creation of a large scale solar farm and areas for camping and caravanning with links potential links to the Bure Valley Railway. Providing new locations for business, some housing and the possibility of removing surplus hard standing areas for aggregate are also included.

The Council anticipates that the main runway would be retained and is clear that commercial aviation will not feature in its future plans. Proposed plans to extract some aggregate would be mainly from the Cold War runway extensions and a number of options are being explored such as the route the aggregate lorries could take to minimise disruption to surrounding villages, if planning permission is granted.

There are a number of accessibility proposals which the County Council intends to implement immediately which include making Lamas Road an access only HGV restriction through Badersfield and having a similar access weight restriction on The Faistead. There are other enhancements to access the Authority wishes to deliver which includes opening up Piggery Lane on the site to link it to community woodland trails (and possibly the road network beyond) as well as moving the main entrance to the base slightly to the east.

In response to views already submitted since Norfolk County Council bought the site some alternative regeneration options for different parts of the site have been included and the Authority welcomes feedback to further help shape its plans.

Some of the new ideas open for discussion include:

• An interpretation of the settlement of Batley Green, Scottow, which was lost when the RAF moved onto the land

• Potential for the main airfield area to be used for large scale open air events

• Private flying club, and/or Aero Homes

• Sustainable holiday park

At last night’s (Tuesday 23 July) Community Liaison Reference Group meeting (CLRG), members of the group had an early opportunity to view and feedback on the County Council’s ideas and earlier in the day members of the County Council’s Environment, Transport and Development Scrutiny Panel were also updated by officers.

Residents have until Tuesday 17 September to fill in the consultation online. The feedback received will be used to help form the finalised ‘Development Vision’ which will be adopted this autumn following further consideration by County Councillors. It is hoped that the public consultation will also be supported by a number of public exhibitions held in villages close to the former base. In addition, the Development Vision will be on display for viewing only from today until 17 September. The boards will be available to see in the site’s Guardhouse (near the entrance) Monday to Saturday between 10am and 2pm.

Click here for more information and to access the Development Vision and consultation and online survey for RAF Coltishall.

Without the Scotch whisky industry’s exporting success, Britain’s trade deficit would be 11% higher. Members of Parliament, industry representatives and the media were told as a recent Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) reception in London.

The Scotch whisky industry is now the single biggest net contributor to the UK’s balance of trade in goods.

Hosting the event, Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell said: “The Scotch whisky industry is a truly global exporter which generates billions of pounds for our economy and supports thousands of jobs in Scotland and across the UK.”

Every second of the day, he continued, 34 bottles of Scotch are shipped overseas and sold to 175 countries around the world.

There is a bright future ahead for Scotland’s whisky producers, Mr Mundell concluded, stressing that the UK Government would be backing them all the way.

In response, SWA acting Chief Executive Julie Hesketh-Laird thanked the Scottish Secretary for hosting the Association’s annual celebration of Scotch whisky and recognising the industry’s importance to the entire UK economy.

She noted that the Association had met Scotland Office representatives regularly throughout the year to discuss issues of mutual interest, such as overseas trade.

“Brexit is clearly top of the agenda,” Ms Hesketh-Laird continued, “and we will be having further discussions with the UK Government on what we see as industry priorities as the UK leaves the EU.”

(Based on November 2016 data releases)

This month’s headlines:

• Q3 UK GDP growth unrevised with business investment supporting growth in the quarter
• OBR downgrades its economic and fiscal outlook for the UK
• UK job market strengthens

UK growth was unrevised in Q3 at 0.5%. Despite the slow down, growth in Q3 marked the fifteenth successive quarter of growth. In annual terms GDP was up by 2.3% in A3. UK economic output is currently 8.1% above its Q1 pre-recession peak. Overall the latest GDP figures confirm that the UK economy is growth in line with the long-term historic average.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has predicted slower growth for the UK in 2017. It has downgraded its forecast from 2.2% to 1.7%. The OBR expects 2.0% growth in 2016.

In the 3 months to September, UK employment rose by 49,000 compared with the previous quarter. The number of people unemployed fell by 37,000 over the same period. In Norfolk the recent October figure showed a slight rise in unemployment claimants from 6540 in September to 6830 in October. This is an average rise in claimants across Norfolk of 1.3%. Some of this rise can be attributed to seasonal work coming to an end.

For full details of this month’s economic review click here.

Andrew Thomson, Chair Elect of East Coast College Governors, Rob Evans, Chair Great Yarmouth College and Tina Ellis, Chair Lowestoft College are asking for feedback on the proposed merger between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Colleges. They have jointly issued the below open letter: Dear Stakeholders We are excited to announce that the proposed merger of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Colleges is progressing well. Following the public consultation conducted in January and February 2016 the Corporation’s Governing Body were able to decide to proceed with the legal steps required to dissolve. We are now delighted to announce that the Corporation of Great Yarmouth College of Suffolk Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 0ED is conducting its statutory consultation in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, on the proposal to dissolve the College as a legal entity and to merge together with Lowestoft College. Thereby forming a new, two campus institution that will operate under the name ‘East Coast College’ (subject to consultation and Department of Education consent to the proposed name change). Please see the attached consultation document. Why is the dissolution proposed? Between January and July 2015 Great Yarmouth College and Lowestoft College and (along with three other colleges) were voluntary participants in a pioneering Area Review, the first of its kind in England.

Led by the Further Education Commissioner, Dr David Collins and Peter Mucklow, the Sixth Form College Commissioner, and involving representatives of national funding agencies and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, this initiative made a comprehensive review of post 16 provision in North and East Norfolk, and North Suffolk.

One of the review’s expert conclusions was that, ‘a soft collaboration will not deliver the level of change and savings needed and that full partnership (either hard federation or merger) between the colleges is the only route to achieving the critical mass of students and economies of scale required to make costs savings and to build and sustain excellent provision so as to ensure improvement of the offer to students and employers on employability and skills’. The Corporations believes that there are some, key benefits which will result from the merger as follows:

• together, combining the complementary strengths of the two organisations, we can offer a wider, richer range of academic, technical and professional opportunities to 16-18 school leavers, adults, higher education students and the business community;
• the merged colleges will be able to enhance the training, bespoke courses and apprenticeships offered to employers, and build a stronger partnership with industry;
• the merged colleges can create an organisation with a combined annual turnover of around £25 million, which will enable further investment in learner resources and facilities, and ensure the continuity of good local provision; and
• the merged colleges will be able to develop an organisation with a greater capacity to engage regionally, nationally and internationally with partners, bringing greater benefits to all the colleges’ students and local communities

Date of the proposed dissolution The planned dissolution date is 31st March 2017. (Subject to consultation and legal requirements.) Name Change On that same day it is planned that the two colleges will merge and that the name of the college will change to ‘East Coast College’ (subject to consultation and Department of Education consent to the proposed name change). New Board We will also be establishing a new East Coast College Corporation and will be looking for new Governors to join us. If you wish to receive further information on this please contact Wendy Stanger, details below. Further Details Please see https://www.lowestoft.ac.uk/east-coast-college Providing your views We are appealing to you personally, as a key stakeholder, to submit your views on the proposed dissolution and name change proposals by 9th January 2017. Please submit your feedback in writing to ‘Public Consultation, Attn. Wendy Stanger Head of Governance, Great Yarmouth College Suffolk Road Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR31 0ED’ via email to eccconsultation@gyc.ac.uk Or via our brief survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8QGKK2B What happens next? Great Yarmouth College Corporation is legally required to take account of views and representations made under this consultation. The Corporation Governing Body will consider all responses before they make any final decision to dissolve and merge. A summary of the consultation and outcomes will be published by the Corporation by 9th February 2017. Yours sincerely Andrew Thomson CHAIR ELECT OF EAST COAST COLLEGE GOVERNORS Rob Evans Chair Great Yarmouth College Tina Ellis Chair Lowestoft College

The Norfolk Chamber are sponsors of the EDP Business awards ‘Small Business’ section.

Caroline Williams, CEO, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

As the final deadline for entriesapproaches, I would encourage allsmall businesses to take time out toenter the Small Business of the YearAward. “Winning this award will demonstrateto a wider audience what youalready know – that you are a greatcompany. It is also a great staff motivatorto collate all your good points aspart of the process and even betterwhen you win.” Click on image to view full article

Since July 2014, the EU and 16 other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been negotiating on an agreement to remove barriers to trade in green goods that are crucial for environmental protection and climate change mitigation.

These would include products such as carbon dioxide scrubbers, recycling machinery, heat pumps, thermostats and wind turbines.

The negotiators are building on a list of 54 products on which the member countries of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have agreed to reduce their tariffs to 5% or less.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Commissioner said: “Making trade in environmentally friendly technologies cheaper is a key step on the way towards reaching the targets set in the Paris agreement on climate.”

However, a joint statement with the US Trade Representative, released after the Geneva meeting indicated that agreement has still not been reached.

While recognising that many participants engaged constructively, and brought new contributions to the table, the statement concludes that “participants will now return to capitals to consider next steps”.

Commissioner Malmström and Ambassador Froman said: “We believe a high standard EGA would enhance global access to clean technologies; advance environmental protection; and benefit workers, businesses, and consumers.”