Trevelyan sets out strategy to help level up the UK ahead of "5-star" year for UK trade

• Anne-Marie Trevelyan gives keynote speech at Margaret Thatcher Conference on Trade.
• Sets out UK trade strategy that will seize the economic opportunities of a changing global economy and boost jobs across the UK.
• UK’s 2022 approach will target countries and blocs worth £140 billion in bilateral trade last year, with plans to boost trade and opportunities via future deals.

The UK will seize the immense opportunities created by seismic shifts in the global economy and play to our country’s strengths in order to bring jobs and prosperity to every part of the UK, the International Trade Secretary will say today.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan will set out the UK’s trade strategy in the opening keynote speech at the Margaret Thatcher Conference on Trade, hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank at The Guildhall today (Monday 22 November).

She will point to the strengths of the UK economy – as the world’s second largest services exporter, fifth biggest exporter of digital tech services, and a global leader in finance, green tech, life sciences and creative industries.

The Trade Secretary will say: “Our task is to capitalise on these amazing strengths – setting the frameworks for Great British business to thrive from Washington DC to Wellington. 

“This in turn will create jobs, opportunities, and prosperity across every part of our United Kingdom, while championing the cause of free markets, free enterprise, and free trade.”

Seizing the opportunities of the changing global economy

The speech will point to significant global economic trends that underpin a UK trade strategy that is pivoting towards the Indo-Pacific and latching the UK’s economy onto some of the world’s fastest growing markets:

• The global centre of economic gravity will continue shifting east, with the seven largest emerging economies projected to surpass the economic size of G7 during the 2030s.
• Between 2019 and 2050, more than half of global growth is expected to come from the Indo-Pacific.
• India is projected to be the world's third largest economy by 2050.
• There could be almost 2 billion more middle class consumers on the planet by 2050, and around three quarters of this increase will be in the Indo-Pacific region.

The International Trade Secretary will say: “These are trends we cannot afford to ignore”, and her Department’s approach is “rooted in a recognition of the seismic shifts happening in the global economy – focusing not on the next quarter or year, but the decades to come.”

She will continue: “A long-term vision for trade means adapting to this changing reality – and reaching out to seize opportunities in the emerging, high-value markets where demand for our world-class goods and services is high.

“This means focusing our efforts on those parts of the world that can supercharge UK trade in industries of the future like digital, services and tech. 

“Not retrenching and retreating into protectionism, but reaching out to trade with the world’s fastest-growing markets. While ensuring Britain’s status as a global exporter, centre for foreign investment, and champion of international trade.”

So far DIT has agreed trade deals with 70 countries plus the EU – trade worth £766 billion last year.

2022 will build on this success and looks set to be a ‘5-star year for UK trade’, with the UK launching trade talks with India, Mexico, Canada, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, while also on track to secure accession to CPTPP by the end of the year.

UK trade with the 18 countries included in these groups was worth around £140 billion in 2020, with future deals offering opportunities to boost this figure in the years to come.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership alone is one of the world’s largest free trade blocs, boasted a combined GDP of more than £8 trillion in 2020, and is home to 500 million people including some of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies across Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

Trade support for businesses

The Trade Secretary will recognise any strategy must work hand-in-hand with UK businesses and support big companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs to all take full advantage of the deals we are negotiating.

Today’s speech follow’s the publication of DIT’s export strategy last week, driven by the aim to export a trillion pounds’ worth of goods and services by 2030. The 12-point plan set out a package of support that will help UK companies sell their first-class products to the world.

It also comes a month after the UK hosted a Global Investment Summit that secured almost £10 billion in green projects that will reduce emissions, create thousands of jobs, and help level up the entire country.

The Trade Sec will close: “With the energy, innovation, and engagement of businesses, communities and this ambitious strategy we will unleash our nation’s brilliant potential and write a new chapter in our proud trading history.”