Webinar series to facilitate the international exchange of goods

The first in a series of webinars scheduled as part of the partnership between Confindustria Lombardia and the Customs and Monopolies Agency established in March by the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Territorial Directorate I – Lombardy of the ADM.

The webinar, which focused on the preferential origin of goods, the associated means of proof, and the procedures for applying for Authorised and Registered Exporter status (known as REX), also provided an opportunity to outline recent developments regarding the digitalisation of EUR.1 certificates and the impact of Brexit on preferential origin. The high level of interest in the subject was confirmed by over 300 registrations.

The initiative was proposed by the Confindustria Lombardia Market and Internationalisation Committee, which is composed of officials from local associations who provide daily support to SMEs in successfully navigating internationalisation processes.

An internal analysis of the challenges facing businesses reveals that customs matters are not only among the most complex and difficult to manage, but also have a significant impact on the finalisation of major contracts.

The pandemic, with its disruption to the exchange of goods and international supply chains, highlighted how deeply our regional production system is interconnected globally for the supply of goods, across all sectors. Furthermore, it demonstrated how any impediment to exports and imports can place a heavy burden on company operations and the regional economy as a whole, with exports accounting for approximately 45% of the turnover of Lombardy-based businesses.

The Memorandum of Understanding aims to strengthen the existing collaboration with the ADM, particularly at a local level, and extend it to a regional scale, to provide greater scope for explaining and clarifying new processes and tools that have not yet been fully adopted by businesses, but which could simplify operations if understood and utilised correctly.