On 7 September 2016, seven leading trade associations – the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, CLECAT, EuroCommerce, the European Express Association, the Foreign Trade Association, the International Air Transport Association and the World Shipping Council – called on EU institutions to enhance the competitiveness of business and boost trade through more coordinated border management, additional benefits for economic operators and a harmonised implementation of the new Union Customs Code (UCC) among the EU’s Member States. 

The undersigned trade associations reiterate their strong support for the ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

The top five places in the Deloitte 2016 CE TOP500 ranking remained unchanged from last year and 74 Czech businesses made it to the Top 500 list. In a study by Coface, there are 71 Czech businesses among 500 largest CEE companies. Also, Skanska, JLL and Dentons in cooperation with the Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland (ABSL) published CEE Investment Report 2016: Mission to Outperform presenting macroeconomic indicators, analyses strengths and challenges, as well as an overview of the real estate investment market.

Czech productivity based on the relation to work hours has fallen; it is even lower than it was in 2007. Low productivity is not to be accounted for by laziness or lack of skills.