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We have been informed by the Egyptian-British Chamber of COmmerce that Egypt’s Minister of Supply has issued a decree obliging all food companies to print a price label on all their products in clear.

Here are the highlights, in brief:

–       The decision, which was published in the state’s official gazette on Tuesday 24th of October 2017, includes companies that produce food products locally as well as those that package imported products. –       The decree also prohibits dealing with un-priced products anywhere down the line; whether in retail, packing or distribution. –       The supply ministry has given a deadline of 31 December for dealers to sell any unlabelled products, which should also have set prices prior to the end of the deadline. –       The decree also imposes penalties on those who violate the law with one to five years in prison and a fine between EGP 300 and EGP 1,000, in accordance with Article 9 of the compulsory pricing and profit regulation law. However, updates or amendments of the decree may come out soon, we will keep you up to date.

Commenting on the inflation statistics for October 2017, published today by the ONS, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said:

“Inflation was surprisingly unchanged in October, as falling fuel and furniture prices helped to a keep a lid on overall UK price growth.

“It remains probable that even if inflation drifts above 3% in the coming months, it will only remain in letter-writing territory for a limited period, with slowing price growth at the factory gate suggesting that supply chain price pressures are easing. The impact of the decline in the value of sterling following the EU referendum will slip out of the calculation by the end of the year, easing the increase in UK price growth.

“With UK economic conditions expected to remain subdued for a prolonged period, it is vital that the Autumn Budget pulls out all the stops to support business growth, at a time of significant uncertainty and change, including cutting up-front business costs.”

All over Norfolk, women are changing lives and many of them are running highly successful businesses. 

The EDP have today launched their ‘Norfolk and Suffolk Inspired’ campaign which will showcase the 30 most influential and inspiring women across both counties.  They need to hear from you about the women you think deserve to receive acknowledgement for their achievements.

This could be a woman, who has done something amazing in the world of business, or something as simple as a job promotion, a charitable deed, a kind word or action that made all the difference.  It could be your boss or a colleague, a friend or relative, your sports instructor or your hairdresser – the EDP want to hear about how the women in our region are helping to keep it ticking.”

Nominate your choice of inspirational woman now

Wouldn’t be great if Norfolk could be one of the areas which were given the trial for the new motorway speed limit to 80 mph announced by Roads minister Mike Penning this week.

We are making progress on getting the A11 dual carriageway, the advance work on farm access roads is underway, archaeological works need to be undertaken but the main works will start early 2013 with an expected duration of 20 months so completion by the end of 2014. We may have to wait a little longer to get a motorway

The government is to take forward its proposal for increasing the motorway speed limit to 80mph by trialling the new limit on selected managed motorways.

Roads minister Mike Penning said this week that his department “is carrying out work to assess the potential economic, safety and environmental impacts of trialling 80mph speed limits on motorways where variable limits are currently in place”.

He said it hadn’t yet been decided which stretches of managed motorway would be included in any proposed trial.

“We plan to bring forward detailed proposals and start consultation during the next few months,” he said.

Ministers are also believed to be pressing the police to use a lower enforcement threshold than the current guideline of 10% +2mph that equates to 90mph, which is the reason why motorists aren’t presently stopped for driving a little over 70mph

It was last September, when Philip Hammond was transport secretary, that the government announced it would be consulting on an increase in the speed limit, but it has yet to happen. Mr Penning has said that any proposals would come with an impact assessment that would include research about road safety as well as emission.

Norfolk Chamber will keep you posted on this and all other infrastructure stories which affect Norfolk businesses.

OpenTrial is an Ethical Enterprise. We make money so that we can sustainably achieve a cause; and that cause is the just treatment of citizens by legal systems worldwide.

Most criminal justice systems in developing countries are dysfunctional because of corruption, violence and political influence. This blights the lives of individuals and families, and even blights entire societies. It should come as no surprise, then, that so many people want to escape this curse in order to achieve a better life in countries where the rule of law prevails.

But today this root cause of so much suffering, instability and conflict can be tackled. Criminal justice systems have criminal elements within them because they are not transparent and, therefore, not accountable.  The good news is that the internet, even in the developing world, offers antidotes.

The old rule-of-law industry’s top-down approach is not effective such that, worldwide, the rule of law is in decline. OpenTrial’s approach, however, is bottom-up. We work to legally empower societies by informing, monitoring, reporting, identifying and correcting flaws in legal systems, and we harness modern technology to do this.

We are very much aware that judges, prosecutors and police cannot be held accountable where people in society are unaware of what they have a right to expect from these officials. So we start by informing people about their fair trial and pre-trial detention rights, as well as their right to competent police protection, free of corruption. These rights are often enshrined in a country’s constitution and/or its legislation. Unfortunately, because of legalese, an official language that is not native and even illiteracy, the ordinary citizen will have no comprehension or even awareness of these. Conventional, analogue methods can go some way in correcting this; but smartphone apps, websites, social media and even video games can go much further.

Interactive smartphone apps and websites are particularly powerful because they allow for abuse in criminal justice systems to be reported. An aggregation of reports, once the incoming data is analysed, can be used to identify flaws, such as a police officer who uses violence to extract bribes, so that the ‘problem’ can be corrected, and without endangering any one person doing the reporting. Online databases, which not only make this data public, but also detail the codes of conduct, salaries, wealth audits, education/training of legal system officials, as well as their institutional budgets, performance indicators, independent international reports, etc., can also play a big role in advancing accountability.

Norfolk, with its daily, scheduled flights to Schiphol, Amsterdam and its strong digital community, is as good a place as any to locate and develop this global business.

You can find more about us online by visiting: www.opentrial.org

A new report warns that failure to ensure the UK has a viable customs system up and running in time for Brexit could have a huge impact on the country’s reputation.

To avoid that possibility, MPs on the Public Accounts Committee have made a number of recommendations, mostly aimed at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

In Brexit and the Future of Customs (available at publications.parliament.uk), they recommend that HMRC should ensure that traders are informed of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) timeline and progress by January 2018.

HMRC should also promote the benefits of obtaining trusted trader status and aim to increase the number of registered traders.

Brexit could see the number of customs declarations which HMRC must process each year hit 255 million and a failed customs system could therefore lead to huge disruption for businesses, the report notes.

MPs cite the possibility of long queues at Dover and food being left to rot in trucks at the border as two examples of the impact.

It is therefore critical, they say, that HMRC should ensure that both the CDS system and the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system contingency option are capable of managing 255 million declarations.

The system must also be flexible enough to meet the wider challenges of an integrated customs and trade system for the UK, including managing changes to tariffs and international trade quotas.

The Committee accepts that lack of funding is impeding HMRC from upgrading CHIEF and recommends that the Treasury provides the £7.3 million required.

Describing the situation as deeply worrying, Meg Hillier MP said that providing this “relatively small” sum would provide some peace of mind to traders, many of whom are still operating with limited information and in great uncertainty.

For more information on export documentation please contact us on 01603 729712 or email export@norfolkchamber.co.uk