13 January 2022
Equipped for future challenges with an expert and diverse team
Following the FIATA General Assembly on 18 November 2021, the newly elected Chairs of the Airfreight Institute (AFI), Dawit Woubishet, and the FIATA World Congress Committee (FWCC), Krishnan Chelliah, have hit the ground running with early work in the building of their support teams to move forward on identified challenges in 2022. The respective Chairs acknowledged the legacy work of previous Chairs and the subject matter expertise of the support members. In addressing the future work needs, each Chair has sought appropriate representation from each of the four FIATA Regions, and is seeking to maintain the quality and subject expertise of the past in the new delegates to maintain continuity.
The AFI Chair is responsible for appointing the six delegates who represent FIATA on the IATA-FIATA Consultative Council (IFCC). These delegates are supported by an AFI Taskforce dedicated to implementation of the Air Cargo Agency Programme. The new delegation will be able to rely on the experience and knowledge of the previous AFI Chair, Keshav Tanna, and airfreight industry experts FIATA Vice-President Richard Glück (RAMs), RAMS Chair Jorge Heinermann, Paul Cheetham (RAME), David Stroud (REU) and Ben Radstaak (REU). The new delegation will be quickly put into action to meet work requirements as the 83rd session of the IFCC and the 49th session of the Cargo Agency Conference will take place over the next few months.
On the FWCC front, its new Chair, Krishnan Chelliah, has been working since the General Meeting to determine Committee membership with discussions with past and prospective members. In completing the new team, the FWCC sees a very high-level participation with the FIATA President Ivan Petrov, FIATA Secretary General Robert Keen, Immediate Past President Basil Pietersen (RAME), Past President Chris Gillespie (RAMs), and Senior Vice-President Turgut Erkeskin (REU). The FWCC also sees the inclusion of Byungjin Kim (RAP), Neil Taylor (RAMs) and the FIATA DG Stéphane Graber. As part of the continuity of the legacy work of the FWCC, Stanley Lim, with his wealth of experience as past FWCC Chair, will act as a consultant to the FWCC Chair.
In looking to the FWC in Busan, Korea in mid-September 2022, the issue of the impact of the COVID pandemic still remains, however the FWCC and the host association the Korean International Freight Forwarders Association (KIFFA) remain upbeat and positive as to the event.
Call for volunteer participants - Cybersecurity specialists
As part of a joint effort between ABSS, ABLM and ABIT, FIATA is aiming to build up on its existing Cybersecurity best practice guide to produce a comprehensive and up-to-date guidance document on cybersecurity for FIATA members, tailor-made for the freight forwarding and logistics sector and SMEs in particular.
In order to provide the best technical advices to its members, FIATA is looking for technical Cybersecurity experts among its membership who could help to review and update FIATA's best practice guide and eventually participate in an informational webinar on the subject. We are looking for Cybersecurity specialists working in the supply chain industry with extended knowledge and experience in Cyber Security Operations.
If you are a Cybersecurity specialist member of FIATA or know someone who could volunteer to help, please contact us at digital@fiata.org.
Pressures mount to ensure fairer competition in the maritime supply chain
Concerns heighten in the maritime freight industry over shipping line practices and the ability to ensure a level playing field. Recent communications by A.P. Moller–Maersk Group, which purported to restrict access for international freight forwarders in many economies through shifts from contracted arrangement to spot rates, brought 2021 to a bleak close, exacerbated by an ailing world economy and a turbulent maritime supply chain. In response, FIATA kicked off 2022 with a bang through its press release which calls for economies around the world to exercise greater scrutiny in the interests of ensuring free market competition and consumer protection.
The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) continues to make welcome advances in its efforts to investigate these matters, having issued new guidance on the complaints filing process for shippers and trade associations. Recent news on the FMC's investigations into Hapag-Lloyd's detention and demurrage charges forecast that this case could be set to become an industry precedent.
Following the joint press release issued by FIATA and CLECAT in July 2021 calling on OECD countries to include logistics services in the scope of BEPS Pillar 2, the OECD released its Pillar Two model rules in December 2021. FIATA welcomes the model rules, which, in line with the joint press release, do not include income from ancillary services within the definition of international shipping income which itself is excluded from the scope of BEPS Pillar Two.
AGENDA
- 18 January 2022 ¦ FIATA Congress Committee (FCC) meeting
- 23 February 2022 ¦ IATA-FIATA Consultative Council (IFCC) 83rd sessionFIATA Review