The Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade's UK public affairs lead Grace Thompson looks back on a busy year for the country's politics and the charity's advocacy.
Anyone working in public affairs took a deep breath this time last year. It was fairly clear, looking ahead at the start of the year, that there would be a new administration in place halfway through the year.
The responsibility for ensuring the transition is smooth lies not only with a new government, but also with those engaging with government. Without that concerted effort, key areas of priority in advocacy would be at risk of falling through the cracks.
It's why many membership bodies, including the Chartered Institute, set out their policy priorities for an incoming government. Our Policies for Progress paper was the first, but not the last, policy paper of 2024.
Shortly after the publication of this paper in February, I was heading up to the Scottish Labour Business Forum in Glasgow and spoke to the now Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds MP, about the work of the E-Commerce Trade Commission.
E-Commerce Trade Commission
The UK’s first E-Commerce Trade Commission, convened by the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, was created to encourage and support businesses to trade and export online. The E-Commerce Trade Commission seeks to address existing trade barriers, simplify pathways to trade and incentivise small businesses, in particular, to participate in international e-commerce.
The Commission had a very busy year, with regional evidence sessions for small businesses taking place all over the UK. We also held an inaugural ‘E-Commerce Week’ in March, with informative webinars - and events - to support small businesses looking to grow through e-commerce trade. Then-exports minister Lord Offord also imbibed ‘a hot chocolate with a coconut twist’ at Whittard’s as he highlighted the importance of e-commerce exporting during a site visit.
In autumn this year, the Commission was delighted to publish its first policy paper alongside the Social Market Foundation. The paper put forward key recommendations for supporting small businesses which want to export abroad via e-commerce – through the three opportunity areas of emerging technologies, female-led businesses and emerging markets. It was a delight to draw out some of these key recommendations, alongside fellow board members from Shopify and Amazon, at the exciting E-Commerce Expo, as I steered a fireside chat on ‘Embracing AI and Emerging Tech’.
Parliamentary events
Opportunities for small businesses have also permeated our parliamentary event priorities this year, whether looking at place-based economic potential with our Trade Potential of Teesside event or a parliamentary cybersecurity event focusing on Advocating Gender Inclusive Policies in AI Adoption and Cybersecurity. We were thrilled that the Chartered Institute’s local MP for Peterborough, Andrew Pakes, hosted the event as his first parliamentary roundtable as an MP.
One of the most exciting parliamentary events of the year, however, was the celebration of our Chartered status. In September, we gathered together a renowned collection of members and partners in the House of Lords to mark the honour of becoming the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade.
Parliament is always one of my favourite places to be, and it’s been an exciting year of engaging with parliamentarians more broadly. This year saw us instigate our ‘Discovering Trade Envoys’ programme to help businesses learn more about the potential of markets around the world, and better understand the role of the prime minister’s trade envoys.
We also very recently supported the launch of the new International Trade & Investment APPG, alongside co-secretariat NorthPoint Strategy. A significant programme of work begins next year under the leadership of chair Mike Reader and co-chair Lord Ben Houchen.
Outside of Parliament, political engagement doesn’t cease. Our panel session events at political party conferences this autumn were also a great opportunity to look at the UK’s place in the international trade landscape, as well as to consider key priorities for the government’s Industrial Strategy. Our exclusive business dinners remained a firm favourite too, with our business dinner at the Labour Party conference seeing a speech and Q&A with Gareth Thomas, Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports.
Member voices
With a lot of change taking place this year, both from a political and a broader policy development point of view, we have worked tirelessly to help our members’ voices be heard, consulting them ahead of a range of formal responses to government departments on policy areas - from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to freeports, industrial strategy to spending priorities.
We have also worked very closely with partners, including the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), to support members in understanding both new regulations and new opportunities. A dedicated Border Target Operating Model resource toolkit was implemented to help provide clarity on incoming rules. Additionally, during International Trade Week, we held a webinar with DBT experts on ‘How to export to and import from CPTPP countries’, anticipating the UK’s formal accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 15 December 2024.
During the same week, we were also happy to host an exclusive piece on our website from Gareth Thomas, laying out ways in which the government is seeking to back small business exporters, in particular.
To 2025
The above is just a snapshot of the work we do in the UK Public Affairs team to ensure that we are putting forward strong policy suggestions to relevant stakeholders and ensuring that the voices of our members are heard as effectively as possible. We are excited to continue this journey into 2025, and my next piece will look at what the year could bring to the world of international trade policy.
If you have any thoughts or questions, please contact: publicaffairs@export.org.uk.
