Visit of the Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the CCI Brabant wallon

On Tuesday 24 September, CCI Brabant wallon had the pleasure of receiving the visit of H.E. Mr Zacharie Richard Akplogan, Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the Benelux, accompanied by Mr Tchokodo, Head of the Embassy’s Trade Mission, for a meeting to analyse cooperation paths and development opportunities for our two countries.

This meeting is a reminder of the excellent relations that Belgium and Benin have maintained for many years and is part of a series of events such as the economic mission taking place next November.

For more information, visit the website of CCI Brabant wallon.

Don’t miss your chance to meet customs attachés!

Regional contact days with Belgian customs attachés for India, Russia, China and Indonesia

Would you like to talk about your plans or  specific problems with one or several customs experts? Several dates are available in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia.

More information about these events are available in French or in Dutch.

Incoterms 2020®: plan your training session!

The Incoterms® rules are the language of international trade that are used every day by millions of enterprises of all sizes from around the world. On 1 January 2020, the latest edition of the Incoterms rules, Incoterms 2020, will come into effect. You can already pre-order your copy of the of the Incoterms 2020 rules on this page.

As to enable users of the Incoterms to adapt, prepare and train their businesses for 1 January 2020, Belgian chambers of commerce will provide you with training days in the following months:

Is the Single market open for business? Let us know!

Eurochambres survey on single market barriers and solutions: your contribution matters!

In the European law text books, the Single Market was created 25 years ago. Unfortunately, the daily reality of entrepreneurs like you is such that doing business in another country of the European Union can still prove tricky.

Whether it is because of legislation, implementation issues or burdensome procedures to be completed, it is clear that we haven’t reached the full potential of the Single Market. This was confirmed in a survey of EUROCHAMBRES in which 70% of respondents said that the Single Market is not sufficiently integrated.

A new mandate of the European Commission will start in November under the leadership of Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen. With this survey it is your chance to have your say on what should be the priorities of the Commission for the next five years.

The survey gives you the opportunity to give your opinion on pre-identified obstacles and solutions to these obstacles. Our European association, EUROCHAMBRES, is gathering all the responses and will hand over a report to the European Commission, the national parliaments and the relevant legislators.

The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. It can be accessed via this link.

The deadline to complete the survey is 02 October. You can access it through the open link and save and resume your work later.  We look forward to reading your responses!

ICC adds Head of EU Affairs in Brussels

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) grows its Brussels presence to strengthen engagement with the European Union (EU).

ICC, the world’s largest business organisation, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Tom Vöge as Head of EU Affairs.

His career spans 18 years in intergovernmental organisations, management and strategy consulting, and academia and research institutes. A senior public policy and government affairs professional, Tom is an internationally recognised expert in the areas of sustainability, trade facilitation and industry, covering regulations, governance, and technology innovation.

Commenting on Mr Vöge’s appointment, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said: “In this time of rapidly shifting politics impacting everything from trade to climate change, we believe strongly that our global agenda could benefit from greater engagement with the  EU and other stakeholders in Brussels.”

Read more here.

Tom Vöge, ICC’s Head of EU Affairs