The latest news and analysis about trade, imports, exports, tariffs and sourcing.
EU, UK extend Brexit trade talks in effort to avoid a “no deal”
The United Kingdom and the European Union had decided to wait until Sunday, Dec. 13 to find a compromise on a trade agreement that would go into effect on Jan. 1. But, the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the negotiators will now continue to work into this ...
The U.K. reaches trade accord with Vietnam, but deal with EU unlikely
The U.K. has finalized a free trade agreement with Vietnam, which is scheduled to become effective from Jan. 1.
TechVision looks to expand one-stop components shop
TechVision, an Italian holding company owning companies producing metal components and providing surface finishing services for eyewear, aims to roughly triple its size in the next three to four years, as the eyewear sector recovers from the hit it has taken from the Covid-19 pandemic and management keeps an eye ...
Synsam builds new plant as it moves production to Sweden
Synsam plans to move eyeglass production from Asia to Sweden next year. The project involves the construction from scratch of a new factory that the company claims will focus on sustainable production.
Selfridges launches Project Earth
Selfridges has launched Project Earth, an initiative which explores “more sustainable ways to shop” by setting new sourcing standards and creating repair, resale and rental businesses.
German optics industry calls for stripped-down free trade deal between U.K., EU
Spectaris, the German industry association for optics, photonics, analysis and medical technology based in Berlin, called for a “stripped-down” free trade agreement between the U.K. and the European Union to avoid the parties failing to strike a deal, which would lead to a so-called hard Brexit.
Germany remains the biggest importer in Europe
According to the latest report on European trade flows published by Spectaris, the German ophthalmic optics industry association, Germany was once again the European Union’s biggest importer of ophthalmic optics products in 2018, reaching a level of €1.43 billion. France remained in second place with an import value of €1.38 ...
Italy’s eyewear exports rise by 7.4%
Italy’s eyewear exports rose by 7.4 percent in value during the first half of 2019, with sales of prescription frames up by 10.3 percent and sunglasses up by 5.7 percent. They benefited in particular from the weakness of the euro against the dollar and new commercial initiatives by some companies ...
Russia imports more contact lenses
In 2018, Russia imported contact lenses worth $141.2 million, 4 percent more than in the previous year, according to the Russian Federal Customs Service (FCS). The country also exported contact lenses valued at $2.97 million, but it gave no information on the previous year’s export score.