The UK government has announced a new Trade Strategy this morning (26 June), which it says will give businesses “greater access to global markets more quickly”, while acknowledging that the country was operating in a “new geopolitical reality”.
The new strategy comes just days after the publication of its broader Industrial Strategy on Monday (23 June).
“Today’s Trade Strategy is a promise to British business: helping firms sell more, grow faster, and compete globally,” said prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The key details
Key measures announced today include a new £5bn ‘Ricardo Fund’ to tackle the regulatory complexity faced by businesses overseas and a £20bn expansion of UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) capacity to £80bn.
UKEF will also run a new ‘Small Export Builder’ scheme to “give smaller firms better access to export protection insurance”, alongside “improvements” in how it helps “overseas buyers finance repeat orders from trusted UK suppliers”.
Regarding the increasing attention being given to security, the government has vowed to “bolster our trade defence toolkit and make our trade remedies system more agile, assertive and accountable”.
It said it would also build on various clean energy and green sector partnerships with markets such as Norway, Japan and South Korea, and it also said it would join the ‘Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement’ at the World Trade Organization (WTO) – a temporary alternative to the WTO’s beleaguered appellate body.
The strategy also covers trade in services, including a pledge to secure more mutual recognition of qualifications.
‘Practical steps’ welcomed
Marco Forgione, the director general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said the new strategy reflected what many people “in the export community have long been calling for: practical steps that make exporting more accessible for businesses of all sizes”.
In particular, he welcomed the expansion of UKEF’s financial capacity, the new Small Exports Builder scheme and the Ricardo Fund’s aim to “simplify regulatory hurdles”.
The Ricardo Fund will also “shape global standards and remove obstacles for UK businesses selling abroad”, according to the government.
Forgione said the Chartered Institute was “proud to have helped shape this strategy through ongoing dialogue with government”, adding that the body will “stand ready to support its delivery”.
You can read more of his analysis here and the Chartered Institute’s team of trade policy experts will be sharing member-exclusive, in-depth analysis tomorrow (27 June).
‘New reality’
Business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said the new strategy comes at an important moment, given the “new geopolitical reality” the country is operating in.
“Our Trade Strategy will sharpen our trade defence so we can ensure British businesses are protected from harm, while also relentlessly pursuing every opportunity to sell to more markets under better terms than before,” he said.
Speaking to the FT ahead of the launch, trade minister, Douglas Alexander, said that “our strategic response to this new world can’t be based on nostalgia or post imperial delusion, let alone any ideological or dogmatic attachment to one trading bloc or another”.
The new strategy follows the ‘Strategic Defence Review 2025’, which was announced on 2 June. It is also accompanied by the announcement of a new call for evidence on measures to protect the UK’s steel industry, with current safeguards due to expire.
“We will promote what we can and protect what we must,” said Alexander.
“We will expand and sharpen our range of trade defence tools in our toolbox to be able to respond to unfair competition.”
"We need swift and decisive action to build a trade defence regime that is fit for purpose and in place before current safeguards expire in 2026,” UK Steel director general, Gareth Stace, told Sky News.
Trade deals
In today’s announcement, the government has continued to draw attention to its recent ‘hat trick’ of trade deals with India, the US and the EU.
It also says that it will continue to build market access around the world, including through negotiations with South Korea, Switzerland, China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), among others.
However, Alexander noted that while free trade agreements had a role, the government could not “afford to be a one-club golfer” regards trade policy.
He defended the negotiations with the Gulf GCC, saying “we’re seeking legally binding chapters” on environmental and worker’s rights.
He also said that the UK would pursue ties with China in an independent manner, as a “sovereign actor on trade policy”, amid speculation that the US could try to influence the UK away from Beijing.
