March 2021

BFPA News Contact the BFPA at Tel: +44 (0)1608 647900 • Email: enquiries@bfpa.co.uk • Web: www.bfpa.co.uk Following discussions with the Department for International Trade (DIT), BFPA has been invited to sit on the DIT Technical Barriers to Trade Thematic Working Group (TBT Working Group). The DIT have acknowledged that in negotiating the new trade deals around the world the officials and Ministers actually sitting at the negotiating table need to take account of the views Chris Buxton, BFPA CEO comments: “I am very pleased to say that BFPA has managed to secure a seat on this Working Group. We are in very good company with a selection of major organisations being represented including other Government departments such as the MHRA, Defra, DfT and BEIS.” The first target countries currently occupying the negotiation teams are: Japan, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. He adds: “I have already contacted our members for input and received responses from our fluid power members which will feed into the discussions with Government.” Please contact chrisbuxton@bfpa.co.uk for more details. BFPA Training Courses Dates for BFPA’s Online Training Courses in April are: 12 April BFPA Working Safely with Hose and Connectors online course: 9.30am – 12.30pm 12 April BFPA Hose Integrity, Inspection and Management online course: 1.30pm – 4.30pm 13 April BFPA Thread Awareness online course: 9.30am – 12.30pm 13 April BFPA Small Bore Tube Integrity online course: 1.30pm – 4.30pm Group online sessions are available and can be run exclusively for individual companies so please do contact us for details. Our BFPA online training programme aims to provide an alternative route to access our training courses for both our members and the fluid power industry as a whole, during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. It is hoped that face to face courses will resume in April 2021 but please check our website for details or for further information on course availability or to discuss dates and costs please email karen@bfpa.co.uk or visit www.bfpa.co.uk/training UPDATES Lobbying – BFPA joins new Technical Barriers to Trade Thematic Working Group All BFPA members benefit from free access to a unique Business Support Service, operated in association with specialist provider Quest. The four services covered are: The HR Service The Health & Safety Service The Legal Service The Tax Service Members are provided with a dedicated Telephone Advice line and access to a unique internet-based library which houses over 400 employment documents including advice related to Covid. BFPA Business Support Service New for 2021, BFPA is running a series of online free sales webinars for members which have so far proved to be very popular. These are operated in association with specialist training company Sandler Training. New sales webinars for members Spotlight on three BFPA membership benefits in 2021 of the industries that they represent. i.e. in our case – BFPA members. The TBT WG is therefore a vehicle for negotiators to bounce their ideas off industry and to provide industry with an opportunity to input their views – direct to the negotiating teams. The Terms of Reference actually say; “To make sure that Trade Policy is set on the basis of the views expressed by industry.” For more information on any of the three example BFPA membership benefits below and for other reasons why you should consider joining the BFPA if you operate in the fluid power sector in the UK, please contact us at the BFPA enquiries@bfpa.co.uk or visit our website www.bfpa.co.uk or call us on 01608 647900 .