Mr Tehan will discuss the Australia-EU FTA with European Commission Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and the Australia-UK FTA with Secretary of State for International Trade The Rt Hon Liz Truss MP.

He will also meet with ministerial counterparts in Germany, France and Brussels to discuss vaccine production and the EU export restriction regime.

Mr Tehan will also co-chair the second Australia-France Trade and Investment Dialogue with Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester.

His first stop will be Geneva, where he will meet with the World Trade Organization Director-General Okonjo-Iweala to discuss WTO reform and updating global trading rules to benefit Australian businesses. He will also meet with World Intellectual Property Organization Director-General Daren Tang to discuss ways to support Australian businesses to protect their intellectual property rights internationally.

“Trade creates jobs, it supports economic growth and our standard of living, it promotes international engagement and collaboration and it’s mutually beneficial,” Mr Tehan said.

“Australia’s network of Free Trade Agreements comprises 15 agreements with 26 countries and now covers 70 per cent of Australia’s two-way trade, up from 26 per cent in 2013. Free Trade Agreements with the EU and UK would give Australian producers preferential access to more than 500 million consumers and that will translate to more jobs, growth, economic and trade opportunities and innovation in Australia.

“Our negotiations will uphold our commitment to rules-based trade and investment liberalisation while protecting our national interest. We are advancing negotiations with the EU and UK as we seek to finalise these agreements consistent with our national interest. I will also be discussing the supply of EU-produced COVID-19 vaccines that Australia has contracted and how we can work with the EU to enhance the global supply of vaccines.”

Mr Tehan will discuss the Australia-EU FTA with European Commission Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and the Australia-UK FTA with Secretary of State for International Trade The Rt Hon Liz Truss MP.

He will also meet with ministerial counterparts in Germany, France and Brussels to discuss vaccine production and the EU export restriction regime.

Mr Tehan will also co-chair the second Australia-France Trade and Investment Dialogue with Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester.

His first stop will be Geneva, where he will meet with the World Trade Organization Director-General Okonjo-Iweala to discuss WTO reform and updating global trading rules to benefit Australian businesses. He will also meet with World Intellectual Property Organization Director-General Daren Tang to discuss ways to support Australian businesses to protect their intellectual property rights internationally.

“Trade creates jobs, it supports economic growth and our standard of living, it promotes international engagement and collaboration and it’s mutually beneficial,” Mr Tehan said.

“Australia’s network of Free Trade Agreements comprises 15 agreements with 26 countries and now covers 70 per cent of Australia’s two-way trade, up from 26 per cent in 2013. Free Trade Agreements with the EU and UK would give Australian producers preferential access to more than 500 million consumers and that will translate to more jobs, growth, economic and trade opportunities and innovation in Australia.

“Our negotiations will uphold our commitment to rules-based trade and investment liberalisation while protecting our national interest. We are advancing negotiations with the EU and UK as we seek to finalise these agreements consistent with our national interest. I will also be discussing the supply of EU-produced COVID-19 vaccines that Australia has contracted and how we can work with the EU to enhance the global supply of vaccines.”

Novaris also provides signal protection for control systems, rail applications, data networks and communication facilities across its two manufacturing facilities in Australia and Malaysia. Diane Tompson, Novaris Managing Director and joint founder with husband Phillip, said she sensed trouble and began to worry in early January, after unexpected supply issues started to occur.

“All our Chinese suppliers of specialised componentry such as printed circuit boards, capacitors, resistors used in the assembly of products in Australia were unable to be shipped – production just ground to a halt,” said Ms Tompson.

“Our fears and concerns were heightened in February, when the Malaysian Government shut down the country and with less than 12 hours’ notice, we were forced to halt production at our factory.

“Employers were told to pay their staff for the entire time workers were at home and unable to work. Our sales manager based in Malaysia returned home to Singapore before the deadline prevented him from entering the country.

“We had no time to ship partially constructed products back to Australia to finish projects for our clients across Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “Added to this, work orders didn’t stop coming in. Demand for products became far greater than we expected. “Requests to supply small signal lines used in switch boards by board builders were also coming in, but we didn’t produce them in Tasmania,” said Ms Tompson.

In Australia, having access to specialist parts was also critical given the array of clients Novaris services such as Queensland Rail and Victoria Rail. The company also manages the rail infrastructure in the Pilbara, Western Australia owned by BHP and Rio Tinto.

Looking for solutions, Novaris made numerous applications to the Malaysian Government asking for special permits to re-open as an essential services company but all were knocked back – until DFAT Kuala Lumpur stepped in. “DFAT KL and the consulate staff were fabulous. After we contacted them for help, DFAT told us to re-apply. After we re-applied, we were advised later that same day permits would be issued. The irony was the staff member who helped us get the permit was originally from Tassie too,” said Ms Tompson.

“Our staff who come from mostly small villages, were elated to be back working and earning an income and we were too. The closure had placed significant financial strain on our resources and we were worried we’d run out of funds,” said Ms Tompson.

Philip Tompson, joint founder and Director of R&D, said through DFAT’s assistance they were allowed to get nine of their 40 workers back into the factory to arrange shipment of stock needed to finish projects in Australia. “Our first priority was ensuring our staff would be safe. We then immediately made all senior staff work from home and salespeople used Zoom and the phone to connect with our distributors and partners; as travel was no longer a luxury we could afford,” said Mr Tompson.

“The greatest change was making our Australian factory more flexible in its manufacturing abilities. We went from a company with clearly defined parameters of small product manufactured in Malaysia and larger devices in Australia, to completely different products being produced in Australia,” he added.

The Hobart-based factory had focused on research and development, factory testing and large manufacturing and had limitations to produce specific and small products which led to the expansion into Malaysia in 2003.

1. Develop a robust export strategy, and stick to it.

2. Consider the positioning of your product or service in a new market.

3. Build an experienced and flexible team.

4. Identify strong local partners.

5. Test, test, and test again.

If sharing your products or services with the world is part of your business vision, then your export strategy should form an integral part of your business plan.

While your strategy doesn’t need to be complicated, it should be comprehensive. At a minimum, your strategy should cover the following:

• Target market

Identify and explore the country or countries that you will target and assess the size of the market.

Be sure you are aware of and understand the government standards that you will need to adhere to.

Assess what capital you require for growth overseas, including costs and expenses.

Identify which market segment your product or service will be positioned in within each country.

Consider the size of your current team and how much you project that headcount will need to grow.

Have a solid understanding of who your competitors are in each country, including their strengths and weaknesses.

Assess and highlight whether your product needs to be adapted for each new market.

Outline how you will distribute your product or service. How will you service your customers?

Highlight the current status of your domestic business.

Your financial status is a fundamental factor in achieving export success.

Regardless of the sector you operate within, it is likely you may require help with finance to support your international growth journey. It is important to understand the different finance solutions available for you.

Having your export strategy in place will be a useful tool in identifying what financial help you may need.

Whether it is to support expansion overseas, fulfilling international orders or to accommodate fast growth due to international opportunities, if your bank is unable to help, it is important to understand where you can acquire alternative sources of finance if needed.

Export Finance Australia, could provide a range of finance options, including unsecured and direct loans, bonds to secure export-related projects, and guarantees to secure bank finance.

If you would like information on whether exporting is right for your business, insights on entering a new market, or steps on how to manage export risks, you can access Export Finance Australia’s free resources here.

Support for you to take on the world

 

If you would like to find out more about Export Finance Australia’s solutions, get in touch by calling 1800 093 724 or visit exportfinance.gov.au.

Join the Export Council of Australia, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and economic and private sector experts to hear why you should be considering India, and get insights on getting into market.

In our free webinar, we will discuss the India-Australia commercial proposition, market entry and the support available to NSW businesses looking to expand into India.

We will also speak to three experienced exporters, who will walk you through ‘how they did it’, as they share their successes and pitfalls exporting to India.

Speakers:

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way they work, with teams embracing cutting-edge technology including augmented reality headsets to continue delivering essential care.

The Icon Group is Australia’s largest dedicated provider of cancer care. In 2019, it became the first Australian healthcare company to deliver cancer treatment in China, establishing a radiation oncology service in Jiangxian, and was due to open new cancer centres in Chongqing and Qingdao by the end of 2020.

When COVID-19 hit China, Icon withdrew its operational training and clinical support teams to ensure their safety. “One of the things I was most concerned about was whether this would impact on our ability to bring world-class care to those regions in China, where highly experienced cancer treatment teams are very difficult to resource,” says Mark Middleton, Icon Group’s Chief Executive Officer. “That’s the whole premise of what we’re doing and why partners want to work with us.”

Icon had to act quickly. The team rapidly rolled out a remote learning model with face-to-face online classrooms and an online self-paced learning platform in dual language. To replace in-person assessments, Icon deployed augmented reality headsets, allowing clinical experts in Australia to watch, guide and assess their China counterparts in real-time.

“I’ve seen some amazing work where Australian nurses are educating on the delivery of chemotherapy in Asia,” says Mark. “We’ve got quality assurance being done on our radiation therapy machines in China under supervision of a medical physicist here in Brisbane. The augmented reality headsets are a really powerful tool.”

Icon’s innovative response has been hugely successful, ensuring teams can continue to deliver training and high-quality care across China and the world. The opening of the new cancer centres remained on track, with Chongqing opening in November and Qingdao in December. Icon received excellent feedback from China-based team members, and the China and Australia teams are more connected than ever before.

“The ability of our team to pivot and deliver essential clinical education and quality assurance tools in a matter of months was simply outstanding,” says Mark. “Innovation has always been at the heart of Icon, and before COVID, we were already using remote capability. However, COVID made us take it a step further.”

Icon is now rolling out these tools and technologies across its network in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand, so teams can continue to support clinicians without travelling.

“I’ve been so proud of the Australian and Chinese teams, who have never lost sight of our vision and just found ways to get it done,” says Mark. “I’m lucky enough to be in a position to support our people, cheer them on and watch them do amazing work.”

“Moving forward, for us it’s about letting go of restraints that we always thought we were bound by, and finding ways to move forward safely and with the same level of quality and focus on outstanding patient care.”

In its Trade Policy Recommendations 2021 paper, the Export Council of Australia discusses these and other key international trade issues.

The ECA encourages the government to focus its ‘diversifying trade’ efforts at small and medium sized exporters. That is where it will get the best return for its investment.

Digitalisation of trade documentary requirements must be accelerated, and supply chain costs must be better managed in order for Australia to remain competitive.

Resilient global supply chains must be viewed as a national security issue, and thus will require strategic partnerships with relevant countries and governments.

As growth in trade in services outpace trade in goods, fueled by advances in technologies, there is room to boost Australian services export performance.

Australia can demonstrate to the world how ‘inclusive’ trade can work, including by building the capabilities of and creating opportunities for Indigenous businesses to export.

The government and business need to explore ways to price the cost of carbon emissions, in line with global efforts, to ensure Australian enterprises are neither penalised nor competitively disadvantaged.

The opportunities are before us. However, we must take appropriate and decisive action. Business and government can work together to realise a competitive and sustainable future.

To download ECA’s Trade Policy Recommendations 2021 paper, click here.

Despite possessing a Halal certification, this exporter found itself unable to sell its beef in Malaysia since the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) did not acknowledge that particular Halal certification.

This has been an ongoing barrier that has barred them from conducting business in Malaysia, costing the business more than $20,000 AUD.

The main barrier that has emerged is that there is not one internationally recognized Halal certification in Australia. In order for this exporter to sell its produce in Malaysia, they must apply for an alternative Halal certification that is recognized by JAKIM. One organisation that meets this criterion is Perth Mosque Incorporated.

This barrier was launched on the Trade Barriers Register by the exporter in 2020. The Export Council of Australia has since provided its support throughout the process, advised by the Australia Malaysia Business Council.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the tool would help Australian businesses grow and reach new customers.

“International trade supports Australian businesses and Australian jobs, that’s why the Morrison Government is helping businesses find new markets and new opportunities for their products,” Mr Tehan said.

“Australia posted a record calendar year trade surplus of $72.7 billion in 2020 and our efforts to encourage trade diversification are already paying off with a number of agriculture products finding new markets in Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Korea.

“These tools will help drive more market diversification and encourage more Australian businesses to engage in international trade, which is good for jobs and the economy.”

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said Austrade’s export services would be available through easy to navigate, self-service tools, insights and advice on demand.

“To grow Australian industry and create new local jobs, we need our businesses to tap into new markets around the world – and export.business.gov.au will bring Austrade’s insights and advice, into one easy to use place,” Minister Andrews said.

Export Council of Australia Chair Dianne Tipping said there was enormous potential for businesses to embrace innovative digital offerings.

“If you’re thinking about going global, but unsure where to start, Austrade’s digital export services can take the guess work out of the research process and fast-track your export journey,” Ms Tipping said.

“For those new to export there’s a quick check-list to understand the market potential for your product, pointing to further information on the opportunities and challenges in your chosen market.”

AUSVEG National Manager for Export Development Michael Coote said Austrade’s digital export services had practical benefits for the agricultural sector.

“This is an important tool for Australian businesses seeking to navigate the complexities of exporting agricultural produce – and a useful platform for both new exporters considering established export markets, and existing exporters looking to enter emerging markets,” Mr Coote said.

“Agri-businesses looking to capitalise on growth and stay one step ahead of a rapidly changing export landscape can more readily access Austrade advice and insights on top-performing markets to inform their trade and diversification strategies to expand and take advantage of the opportunities available through export.”

For further information go to www.export.business.gov.au.