The UK now has what is being tipped the “world’s first” hub dedicated to accelerating the digitalisation of trade, with the launch today of the Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI). The centre will be based in the UK’s Teesside region. Co-ordinated by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UK as an impartial convener, .
As the UK government prepares to roll out its new freeports policy to “turbo-charge” post-Brexit trade, a report released today by the International Trade Committee questions the real impact of the special trade zones on British exports.
The Conservative government made a commitment to establishing freeports – areas that are inside the geographic boundary of a country, but are legally considered outside the country for customs purposes – in its 2019 election manifesto, as part of wider plans for post-Brexit Britain.
During his budget speech last month, Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, announced eight freeport locations in England, saying that they would “encourage free trade and reinforce [the UK’s] position as an outward-looking, trading nation, open to the world”.
British exporters need the UK to sign more trade deals if they are to trade their way back to profitability following the double whammy of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new data from HSBC.
In a recent survey of 1,000 UK businesses, conducted by polling firm YouGov in January for HSBC UK, 62% say that free trade agreements will be important to growing profits in the future, while just over a third say that they would want a trade deal to be in place before they would consider a new overseas market.
“The end of the transition period coupled with the third national lockdown has presented a challenging start to the year for businesses who are desperate to start executing strategies to recover,” says Ian Tandy, head of international trade for HSBC UK. “The message from businesses is that government needs to continue to deliver trade deals with new markets to help firms reach their growth targets through 2021 and beyond.”
British manufacturers say that adapting to a new trading relationship with the EU poses the greatest risk to their 2021 business plans, despite the two parties agreeing a last-gasp trade deal in late December.
According to a major industry survey carried out by PwC and Make UK, a trade body representing the manufacturing sector, businesses “will again be faced with a myriad of challenges” this year after months of adapting to Covid-19 containment measures.
However, with a vaccine on the horizon and adjustments to working practices and supply chains already largely in place, manufacturers’ greatest concerns are around potential customs delays, increased regulatory costs and pressure on input costs due to Brexit.