PM announces new Trade Envoys to boost combined £54 billion of trade

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed new Trade Envoys to Canada, Republic of Korea and Turkey.
• The three countries already represent a combined £54 billion of bilateral trade with UK.
• Trade Envoys promote UK trade, drive green economic growth, and encourage inward investment to help level up every part of the UK.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed new Trade Envoys to boost British business in key markets including Canada, South Korea and Turkey.

The new Trade Envoys - the Rt. Hon. Maria Miller, Rt. Hon. John Whittingdale and Rt. Hon. John Hutton - will use their skills and experience to help UK businesses find new export and investment opportunities and promote UK trade in their allocated market. 

Trade Envoys will build on the UK’s strong relations with key trading countries and work with the Department for International Trade’s global network to break down barriers to doing business, with total trade with Canada, the Republic of Korea and Turkey representing more than £54bn of UK bilateral trade.

They will also promote the major opportunities green trade presents, including the creation of high-value jobs in the UK’s low-carbon economy and fuelling technological innovations that can be exported worldwide. The new appointments will extend the total number of Trade Envoys to 40 parliamentarians, covering 80 markets.

UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:

These new Trade Envoys will play vital role in promoting Global Britain across the world, driving economic growth, and encouraging inward investment across the whole of the UK.

From the UK’s accession to CPTPP, to our ambitions for an enhanced trade deal with South Korea and green trade agenda, there is huge potential for our new Trade Envoys to strengthen and grow our trading relationships between the UK and Canada, South Korea and Turkey.

Trade Envoys are parliamentarians appointed by the Prime Minister, drawn from both Houses and across the political spectrum.

Coming from a range of parliamentary backgrounds, the latest round of Trade Envoys will bring experience in the creative industries to their new roles, with both Maria Miller MP and John Whittingdale MP serving as previous Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

The full list of new appointments is below:

• The Rt. Hon. Member for Basingstoke, Maria Miller, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Canada
• The Rt. Hon. Member for Maldon, John Whittingdale, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to South Korea
• The Rt. Hon. Lord Hutton of Furness, John Hutton, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Turkey

Background:

• Trade Envoy roles are unpaid and voluntary.
• The UK’s green economy is projected to grow by 11% per year from 2015 to 2030, and by 2050 1.4 million people could be directly employed in low carbon good and services sectors – a seven-fold increase from 2018.