IoD Press Release Trade Strategy will help businesses navigate challenges in exporting landscape

“A trade strategy that is rooted in the context of recent global instability is important. The international trading environment has seen shifts towards greater protectionism, not to mention shocks in the form of trade wars and global conflict. Provisions to bolster trade defence and trade remedies mechanisms are therefore a significant step towards helping businesses to navigate these challenges in the exporting landscape.

“Hinging on the UK’s strengths in services sectors makes sense. Similarly, boosting the UK’s digital trade capabilities, including electronic documentation, will help to ease friction at the border, as red tape remains of the biggest disincentives to small businesses looking to expand overseas. However, the IoD would still urge the government to reimplement the Single Trade Window programme, which was designed to streamline border processes through a unified platform and has the potential to significantly improve the administrative burden on business.

“We strongly welcome the boost to UK Export Finance, as well as the Ricardo Fund in helping to remove some of the regulatory obstacles for UK businesses selling abroad, and trade support and guidance initiatives for small businesses. We know from our own research that businesses feel constrained by the exporting environment and deterred by trade barriers. And, it is the smaller end of the business spectrum that feels border friction to a greater extent than larger firms with bigger resource capacity. With only 10% of the UK business population currently exporting, it is vital that all businesses have the confidence and skillset needed to expand internationally.

“This year has been a big year for trade and, amongst the progress of the EU Reset, the UK’s new trade deals with India and the US, and ongoing geopolitical instability, we look forward to continuing to work with the government to ensure successful implementation of this trade strategy.”