Expert panellists share insights into trade opportunities with UK and Europe, on ECCSL and CBB joint webinar

Tom Ferris

George Riddell

Brendan Vickers

Sri Lanka has an important role to play as Britain shifts its post-Brexit trade strategy to dynamic economies and the Commonwealth, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. This view, expressed by Brendan Vickers from the Commonwealth Secretariat, gave much good food for thought on a Webinar on 8 July, jointly hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL) and the Council for Business with Britain (CBB).

The webinar, the second of two discussing the impact of Brexit on business and trade with Sri Lanka, featured a highly distinguished and knowledgeable panel, made up of Consultant Economist specialising in better regulation, governance, Brexit and transport in Ireland Tom Ferris; EY Director – Trade Strategy George Riddell; EDB Chairman and Chief Executive Suresh De Mel; and Commonwealth Secretariat Adviser/Head – International Trade Policy Brendan Vickers. The discussion was moderated by Capital Maharajah Group Director/Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council Board Member Niro Cooke, giving each panellist time and opportunity to discuss their expert insights.

Talking about the opportunities of the Commonwealth, Vickers mentioned that as the UK reconfigures its trade map, Sri Lanka already stands out as an active member, engaged in various trade initiatives and showing leadership in various charters. He added that Sri Lanka has benefitted from the technical assistance provided by the Commonwealth to diversify trade and develop e-Commerce capabilities and has actively participated in recent Commonwealth SME Trade Summits.  

Riddell advised that so far there appears to have been little change in trade between Sri Lanka and the EU, or between Sri Lanka and the UK, but there have been significant changes to distribution where goods are to be distributed onward between the EU and UK. He also discussed GSP+, highlighting that the UK has introduced a very similar program to that of the EU, but has its own decision-making process on the application, which may differ from the EU. He also mentioned the benefit of diversifying trade.

Ferris, too, spoke about distribution between the UK and Ireland, in the context of the Rules of Origin, and highlighted the unique position of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom and in the European Union and the opportunity this represents. He noted that much work is still ongoing between the UK and the EU over agreements and will do so for some time. He also recommended that Sri Lankan exporters review where their goods are going to and decide on optimal distribution points if they are to be re-exported. 

When asked about impact on trade to date, De Mel explained that there has not been any noticeable impact attributed to Brexit, but that it may be disguised by the effects of COVID. He expressed the view that Sri Lanka needs to expand and diversify its export market, and to do this, Sri Lanka should proactively build new relationships with non-traditional markets, noting that the Commonwealth provides a good opportunity for Sri Lanka to do this. He also spoke about recent successes in growing organic agricultural exports and the opportunity to increase green branding and value addition.

There was an opportunity for questions from the audience and several took the opportunity to ask questions of the expert panel and received insightful answers.

The session was sponsored by Baur & Co. Ltd., and HSBC as Corporate Sponsors and Blue Lotus 360 Ltd., as the digital partner.