This article was written by Gareth Thomas MP, the minister for services, small businesses and exports.
This government has made no secret about its primary mission – it is to go for growth at every opportunity. Because we know that economic growth is the surest path to prosperity, higher living standards and public services which deliver for taxpayers.
Securing international investment and removing barriers to trade and exports are at the centre of delivering this economic growth.
We know that businesses who export more grow more. In fact, exporting businesses grow at almost twice the rate of those who don’t. And trade is very much the engine of growth for the wider UK economy.
The UK is fourth in the world for goods and services exports. This is worth roughly £855bn in the latest figures, and for services exports on their own, we’re the biggest exporter anywhere on earth bar the US.
To succeed further, we’re continuing to negotiate new free trade agreements with, for example, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Switzerland and India.
And we’re acceding to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – an expansive free-trade agreement covering four continents and more than 500 million people in a region comprised of economies worth £12 trillion.
But we can’t ignore our closest neighbours across the Channel in Europe. The EU is not just our closest trading partner, but remains our largest by quite some margin.
That’s why we’ve hit the reset button. This government is pursuing a more mature, level-headed relationship which is good for trade, good for investment, good for business.
This reset – with its ambition to achieve simpler, smoother trade – is just as important for our smallest start-ups and SMEs as it is for our biggest firms.
We’re not shying away from setting out the challenges businesses face in exporting as a result of post-EU exit trade barriers.
Another key market for British exporters is the US. We enjoy a longstanding and thriving economic relationship with them, supporting millions of jobs through our partnerships and investments worth over a trillion dollars.
As we always have done in the past, we will continue to work closely with our friends in the US to strengthen the economic partnership between our two countries.
Our ambition in government is to tackle any unnecessary barriers to trade and unlock new exporting opportunities for businesses in member-states.
It’s why, at this year’s International Trade Week, the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT’s) UK Export Academy is launching a brand-new programme called Unlock Europe.
This is specifically designed to help businesses – especially SMEs – look afresh at trading with our closest neighbours.
To that end, it will feature eight weekly sessions covering the main problems businesses have told us they’re encountering – including everything from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to understanding VAT when products are shipped to member-states.
We are also launching a new Export Support Directory. It’s an innovative digital platform designed to transform the way UK businesses engage with specialist advice provided by the department’s international markets teams. These are the experts on the ground who have the key insight into each nation, and they’ll provide support for businesses in markets around the world.
This directory will connect British businesses with vetted commercial suppliers who can help with tax advice, human resources, accounting, legal expertise, and market research.
This is a significant milestone in the government’s mission to boost SME exports, with a brand-new, secure, efficient, and user-friendly platform to build confidence and deliver results.
The UK wants to partner with business. This work, alongside the stability afforded by our new Industrial Strategy, demonstrates how the UK is firmly open for business.
This International Trade Week affords us another opportunity to spread that message and boost exports to help grow businesses and lift the economy.
Because when exporters succeed, the UK succeeds too.