The UK’s international trade bodies have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to prioritise trade finance access and digital trade adoption.
Burnham has this week brought back former trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds to lead a newly merged Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
Emma Bennett, interim secretary general of ICC United Kingdom (ICC UK), said the appointment was a chance to put business and international trade “at the heart of the UK’s growth agenda”.
“ICC United Kingdom and our members stand ready to work with the new government on practical reforms that make it easier for businesses of every size to trade internationally,” she told GTR.
“That means expanding access to trade finance through secure, reusable Know Your Customer (KYC) information, accelerating the adoption of electronic trade documents, and helping more businesses export, enter new markets and make the most of the UK’s trade agreements.”
ICC UK has set out three key priority measures it wants the government to act on, from enabling regulated financial institutions to securely share and reuse verified KYC information to unlock SME trade finance, to bolstering commercial adoption of electronic trade documents and introducing targeted measures to help firms use the UK’s existing free trade agreements.
“Open, rules-based trade remains one of the foundations of long-term prosperity. By reducing friction, embracing digital trade and giving more businesses the confidence to compete internationally, the UK can strengthen its own economy while contributing to a more connected, resilient and prosperous global trading system,” Bennett added.
A paper published earlier this month by the International Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation, an industry-led initiative in partnership with the ICC UK, urged governments to take on a more comprehensive approach to digital trade reforms.
The UK government is currently exploring ways of accelerating trade digitalisation after an extensive research effort involving multiple parties across trade finance. Recommendations include making digital processes mandatory, establishing a central identity registry and ensuring trade agreements facilitate a move away from paper.
Meanwhile, the head of the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade has warned the new department – which folded the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology into an expanded business and trade brief – must not let trade policy take a back seat given its now larger remit.
“They inherit an increasingly complex global trading environment,” said Marco Forgione, the trade group’s director general, pointing to expected new US tariffs, an attempted reset in relations with the EU, the conflict in Ukraine, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing supply chain disruption.
“In this context it’s essential that trade doesn’t become sidelined in this new larger department.”
Meanwhile, the British Chambers of Commerce welcomed Burnham’s pledge of a 10-year plan to support business stability. But director general Shevaun Haviland said the government must give companies “breathing space” from cost pressures, including energy prices and business taxes.
Forgione also added that any 10-year plan for Britain “must be grounded in continued ambition and action for increasing trade growth”.
At the Farnborough International Airshow today, Reynolds set out a £600mn package for the UK aerospace sector, including £500mn for research and development and a new £100mn Aerospace Supply Chain Fund delivered with the British Business Bank, working alongside Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace, Safran and industry body ADS.
The proposed fund will help UK aerospace suppliers access the growth capital they need to expand and “compete for new opportunities in a growing global market”, the government said.
At the same event earlier this week, the UK’s export credit agency also announced a £750mn agreement with GE Aerospace to support airline engine maintenance at regional UK sites.
The new framework will give airline customers “faster, more predictable access to financing for engine maintenance”, carried out at GE Aerospace’s maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities in Wales and Scotland, according to UK Export Finance.
