Tag: Business and Trade Department

International Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston has today kicked off a multi-state visit to Peru and Colombia to meet counterparts and push forward action to resolve trade barriers.

The Minister will also announce new measures to ease regulation for British pharmaceutical companies in Colombia. Cutting red tape for some of the UK’s most innovative companies will unlock a multi-million-pound market while additionally helping the country access essential products such as medicines and medical devices.

The visits come as new figures show the UK has resolved around £1.3 billion worth of trade barriers that have been preventing UK businesses from exporting their goods and services to the Latin America and the Caribbean region in the last financial year.

The region represents 8% of the global population and its economy was estimated at £4.7 trillion in 2022. It is projected to rise to over £8 trillion in 2035, contributing to 5.2% of global GDP. It poses an exciting opportunity for UK businesses to build on our £40 billion trading relationship as its economies continue to open up and grow.

Speaking ahead of the visit, International Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston said:

Latin America presents incredible opportunities for British businesses, and we aim to put them at the front of the queue by making it easier to sell and establish a presence in countries like Colombia and Peru.

Through our trade dialogues, CPTPP membership and unlocking even more trade barriers, we are creating fresh possibilities for UK companies to export their top-notch goods and services around the world.

Minister Huddleston is expected to use his visit to advance discussions on trade barriers across a range of sectors, including:

• Increased flexibility for the emerging green hydrogen market in Colombia, allowing world-leading UK hydrogen companies to be at the forefront of hydrogen deployment in Colombia.
• Stopping companies from being taxed twice via a Double Taxation Agreement, improving conditions for UK businesses and increasing Peru’s investment potential, with a potential worth of around £55 million
• Exploring options to remove Peru’s discriminatory tax treatment of imported spirits, such as Scotch Whisky, compared to locally produced ones, potentially worth around £55 million.

The Minister will also meet with potential investors and private sector representatives in Peru to explore new investment and trade opportunities that have opened since the UK signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) this summer.

Earlier this year, Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch made the removal of trade barriers one of her top priorities, aiming to resolve 100 priority trade barriers around the world and unlock export opportunities worth around £20 billion for UK businesses.

Removing trade barriers is a proven catalyst for increased exports economic growth and more jobs and being an independent trading nation has given us greater autonomy to tackle barriers facing UK businesses.

Scotch Whisky Association International Director Ian McKendrick said:

The SWA works around the world to ensure the Scotch Whisky industry can compete on a level playing field with other alcoholic products. We value the work of the Department of Business and Trade to fight tax discrimination, and the support the Minister is giving to our efforts in Peru.

Scotch Whisky has faced tax discrimination in Peru versus domestically produced spirits for almost two decades, in contravention of WTO rules. This discrimination creates the conditions for counterfeit alcohol and smuggling in a black market which costs the Peruvian government more than $70m annually. Addressing this is a priority for the Scotch Whisky industry, where Peru and other South American markets have the potential to further increase the industry’s global export footprint.

Background

• Through our UK-Andean free trade agreements and now through our CPTPP membership we are seeking to unblock even more trade barriers and create fresh possibilities for UK companies to export their top-notch goods and services around the world.
• UK-Peru bilateral trade was recorded at £3.4 billion in 2022 in current prices.
• UK-Colombia bilateral trade was recorded at £1.8 billion in 2022 in current prices.
• New DBT figures show the UK has resolved around £1.3 billion worth of trade barriers in LATAC in the last financial year. A subset of 24 out of 34 resolved barriers identified in DBT’s annual report and accounts have undergone a valuation assessment, of which the aggregated value is estimated to be around £1.3 billion. The remaining 10 barriers have not undergone a valuation assessment.
• The data on resolved barriers are extracted from the Digital Market Access Service (DMAS). It is the internal government database of trade barriers facing UK businesses that enables closer collaboration across government in Whitehall and at overseas Posts to analyse and progress action to try and resolve them where feasible. For further information on DMAS, please find online: New service to open overseas markets for UK businesses – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• DMAS is not a comprehensive repository of all market access issues facing UK exporters, and reporting rates vary widely across countries and regions. As such, aggregate figures should be interpreted as an indicative estimate based on a selective sample.
• Aggregate figures on the valuation of resolved barriers are based on DBT analysis of specific market access barriers using the methodologies set out in the DBT statistical publication. To calculate the aggregate figures, the mid-point for each valuation range is added to provide a central estimate. Further details on the methodology for the aggregate valuation figures are published in a DBT analytical working paper.
• GDP data is in current prices sourced from the IMF World Economic Outlook and converted from US dollars to UK pounds using the Bank of England average spot exchange rate for 2022.

• £89 million in joint government and industry funding to help the UK lead the way on cutting edge net zero tech, creating jobs and helping to grow the economy.
• 20 projects across four competitions include developers of revolutionary new offroad vehicles, net zero tractors and groundbreaking new EV battery systems.
• Funding from one competition alone could create or safeguard over 4,700 UK jobs and save nearly 65 million tonnes of CO2 being emitted over next decade.

£89 million of funding has been awarded to 20 cutting edge net zero tech projects including hydrogen-powered offroad vehicles, a new lithium scale-up plant and revolutionary new EV battery systems, reinforcing the UK as a world leader in zero emissions vehicle technology.

The landmark funding package includes four collaborative R&D projects, five scale-up projects to assess if businesses in the automotive sector are ready for growth, and seven feasibility studies to prepare projects to develop large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK.

The funding has been awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), in support of ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the UK. £45.2 million of this investment comes from Government, backed by a further £42.7 million from the automotive industry.

Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said:

Together with industry, we’re providing a huge £89 million of funding to drive 20 groundbreaking net zero tech projects which will help grow the economy and create UK jobs in the industries of the future.

From net zero tractors to cutting-edge battery projects, we’re taking decisive action to back the UK’s innovators and ensure we remain at the forefront of zero emission vehicle technology.

From luxury cars to workhorse excavators, the latest in collaborative R&D support via the APC – worth over £67 million – will accelerate the development of zero emission technology in the UK, safeguarding and creating jobs and supporting investment in cutting edge R&D.

Winners of the latest collaborative R&D competition funding include Aston Martin, who are accelerating the development of a luxury battery electric vehicle platform and Perkins, who will develop a net-zero, hydrogen-hybrid integrated power system for offroad vehicles.

The projects are estimated to create or safeguard more than 4,700 jobs in total and save nearly 65 million tonnes of CO2 being emitted over the next decade as a result of the work undertaken by these four R&D projects alone.

APC Chief Executive Ian Constance said:

This latest round of funding coincides with the APC’s 10th anniversary. We have seen over £1.4 billion of investment into automotive projects since the APC was set up, and I am proud of the impact that we have made here in the UK.

This latest announcement includes a diverse set of OEMs and suppliers that demonstrate the strength of UK automotive. They will further add to our portfolio of innovative projects and continue to drive the UK to deliver on its net zero ambition.

£11.3 million has also been awarded to 12 UK-based projects funded through the second instalment of the SuRV (Scale-up Readiness Validation) competition and the fourth round of the APC’s Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) feasibility studies competition.

The ATF’s Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) projects will support scale-up projects to assess if businesses in the UK automotive supply chain are ready for growth and expansion.

Projects include Green Lithium who plan to build a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside, and Ilika Technologies who are working to accelerate the scale-up of Ilika’s solid state battery technology.

The ATF Feasibility Studies will produce decision-ready business cases, in preparation for projects which will develop large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK.

The seven projects include Cornish Lithium, who are establishing a lithium processing plant in the UK to produce anode material for EV batteries, and Aberdeen Minerals Limited for the study of innovative mineral processing routes.

The support delivered through the APC is unlocking further private investment and supports the government’s ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero-emissions vehicles in the UK.

Today’s announcement comes on top of funding also being invested by the Government through the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to develop a high-value end-to-end electrified automotive supply chain in the UK.

This includes unlocking private investment in gigafactories, battery material supply chains, motors, power electronics, and fuel cell systems. The ATF is being delivered by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the APC.

Also announced today are the winners of the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) Production Readiness Competition, sponsored by the APC and supported by Innovate UK, provides grant funding to UK SMEs leading the way in sustainable, cutting-edge technology design.

A total of £1.1 million in grant funding has been awarded to four projects, including a zero emission Ariel Nomad – a low volume performance offroad vehicle – featuring a highly optimised EV powertrain, and also a UK-made electric scooter from Swifty Scooters, which is optimised for superior rider safety and ensures a long product lifespan.

After engagement with industry, DBT is building on programmes like the Advanced Propulsion Centre and taking decisive action to ensure future investment in zero emission vehicle manufacturing.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

A full breakdown of the winning projects is included below.

APC Collaborative R&D (APC23) projects led by:

Aston Martin: Accelerate the development of a luxury battery electric vehicle platform, enabling a route to net zero, including vehicle lightweighting, a digital toolchain and electrification training.

Yasa: Makers of the world’s lightest in-wheel electric motor and acquired by Mercedes in 2021, is focused on creating an innovative combined electric propulsion & handling system, which aims to revolutionise existing EV (Electric Vehicle) systems.

Gestamp’s Autotech Engineering R&D UK: Leads a consortium on a project to create new design methodologies, processes, and materials for reduced embodied carbon footprint in product designs.

Perkins: The historic British engine maker, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, will develop a net-zero, hydrogen-hybrid, integrated power system for off-highway vehicles.

Automotive Transformation Fund Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV2) projects:

Helix: Hx-SuRV2: Validating Helix’s readiness for the scale-up of high power-density and scalable electric motor platforms focusing on ‘high-premium’ automotive applications.

Green Lithium Refining: Green Lithium plans to build a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside. The plant will support the commissioning and training of a skilled workforce for its full-scale plant in Teesside, which will produce enough refined lithium to enable the downstream production of over 1 million electric vehicles.

Advanced Electric Machines: Project SIMPLE aims to establish an efficient, scalable UK-based manufacturing process for sustainably produced traction motor systems in electric passenger vehicles.

Geothermal Engineering: Geothermal Engineering Limited will use this award to install Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) at the UK’s first deep geothermal power plant at the United Downs Industrial Park in Cornwall.

Ilika Technologies: Ilika Technologies, UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) and MPAC are partnering in project SiSTEM to accelerate the scale-up of Ilika’s solid state battery technology.

Automotive Transformation Fund Feasibility Study projects (FS4) projects:

Gaussion: Magneto-enhancement technology for solid-state batteries.

Talga Anode UK: Assessing the feasibility of production of anode materials from recycled graphite and a graphite-silicon composite anode material using in-situ silicates from Talga’s Swedish graphite ore.

Altilium: Partnering with Lunaz to develop an innovative and sustainable solution for the safe transportation and discharging of end-of-life EV batteries.

Strip Tinning: This project will study the feasibility of investing in very high-volume manufacturing of their Cell Contacting and Management System. The CCMS is a safety-critical component of the power electronics system of Battery Electric Vehicles.

Greenroc Mining: Establishing a graphite processing plant in the UK to produce anode material for EV batteries from graphite concentrate from the Amitsoq Graphite Project in southern Greenland.

Cornish Lithium: Focusing on commercial extraction of lithium and other battery metals in Cornwall, notably the Trelavour hard-rock lithium mica deposit near St Austell. Funding to understand the available lithium in the ground and how much can be produced & a life cycle assessment will quantify environmental impacts.

Aberdeen Minerals:Study of innovative mineral processing routes to accelerate the low-carbon production of cathode raw materials from Northeast Scotland.

Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) Production Readiness Competition winners:

Ariel Electric with partners Rockfort Engineering and BAMD: Developing a zero emission Nomad, ZELV3, featuring a highly optimised EV powertrain and a lightweight aerodynamic body that improves vehicle efficiency.

Maeving with project partners Alexander Technologies and Muon Tech: Developing a new, higher energy density, removable battery system, with improved thermal performance, for lightweight electric motorcycle. The project will move their battery production from a Far Eastern to a UK based supplier, supporting their ambition to make Britain a leading manufacturer of electric motorcycles.

CALLUM with partners Nyobolt and Codem: Developing a lightweight, rapid-charge, electric all-terrain vehicle (ATV), which will better the performance attributes of ICE ATVs that currently dominate the market.

Swifty Scooters with partners Chasestead and PMBL: Developing a UK made electric scooter optimised for superior rider safety and ensures a long product lifespan by way of premium build quality and enabling fix and repair within both the scooter design and battery design.

About the Advanced Propulsion Centre

The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) collaborates with UK government, the automotive industry and academia to accelerate the industrialisation of technologies, supporting the transition to deliver net-zero emission vehicles.

Since its foundation in 2013, APC, through government, has funded 261 low-carbon projects involving 480 partners, working with companies of all sizes, and will have helped to create or safeguard over 58,000 jobs in the UK. The technologies developed in these projects are projected to save over 400 million tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of removing the lifetime emissions from 16.1 million cars.

With its deep sector expertise and cutting-edge knowledge of new propulsion technologies, APC’s role in building and advising project consortia helps projects start more quickly and deliver increased value. In the longer term, its work to drive innovation and encourage collaboration is building the foundations for a successful and sustainable UK automotive industry.

In 2019 the UK government committed the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to accelerate the development of a net-zero vehicle supply chain, enabling UK-based manufacturers to serve global markets. ATF investments are awarded through the APC to support strategically important UK capital and R&D investments that will enable companies involved in batteries, motors and drives, power electronics, fuel cells, and associated supply chains to anchor their future.

For more information go to apcuk.co.uk or follow us @theapcuk on X and Advanced Propulsion Centre UK on LinkedIn.

• Paying small businesses on time could boost the economy by £2.5 billion annually
• Measures form part of wider government review on Cash Flow and Prompt Payment

The government has today announced tougher measures to tackle the issue of late payments to small businesses. These new measures will be included in the upcoming Prompt Payment & Cash Flow Review, due to be published shortly and will improve delivery and enforcement of policies, enabling more small businesses to get paid on time.

Late payment of invoices and long payment terms are key issues that businesses, especially SMEs, highlight as a barrier to their growth. Owners and managers are forced to spend disproportionate time chasing payments; resulting cash flow problems cause even good, viable firms to struggle.

In 2022, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) were owed on average an estimated £22,000 in late payments. Improving payment culture in the UK will support smaller businesses, many of which do not have the resources to accommodate long or late payments from their business customers and could boost the economy by £2.5 billion annually.

That is why the Government is extending and improving the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations and conducted the Prompt Payment and Cash Flow Review.

New measures to be announced in the review will include:

• Extending the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017. Following consultation, Government will take forward legislation to extend payment performance reporting obligations. We will include new metrics for reporting, including a value metric, so businesses and commentators can see the value of invoices, including invoices paid late, and a disputed invoices metric. We will also introduce reporting on retention payments for businesses in the construction sector.
• Providing greater advice to small businesses on negotiating payment terms that better suit them, and on how going digital can help them get paid quicker and manage their cash flow.
• Broadening the powers of the Small Business Commissioner: Introducing broader responsibilities, enabling the Commissioner to undertake investigations and publish reports where necessary on the basis of anonymous information and intelligence. This will require primary legislation, so will be subject to the legislative timetable.

The stronger measures will benefit UK businesses by fostering a stronger payment culture and providing businesses with more predictable and reliable cash flow, allowing businesses to spend and invest with greater certainty.

It will reduce the time spent by businesses chasing payments, freeing up more time for other activities that will help them to grow. Tackling late and long payments provides an opportunity to increase investment and productivity across the economy.

This will improve payment culture in the UK to support smaller businesses, many of whom do not have the resources to accommodate long or late payments from their business customers.

Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch said:

SMEs make up 99 per cent of firms in the UK and are the lifeblood of our economy. I know that late payments are a massive barrier to growth and I am determined to fix that.

The measures we’re announcing will take a big step towards making sure SMEs get their payments on time, helping firms to grow and prosper.

Small Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said:

Small businesses form a crucial part of large companies’ supply chains. Without them, they couldn’t do business. It’s only right that they should be paid promptly for their services.

SMEs that are paid on time can do more business, scale up and make more profits, delivering growth for the economy.

Background

• The Government will work with partners (such as business representative organisations) and other existing initiatives (Growth hubs, Help to Grow) to help deliver an improved payment culture which will include guides on negotiating payment terms.
• The powers of the Small Business Commissioner will be broadened, enabling it to undertake investigations and publish reports where necessary on the basis of anonymous information and intelligence.
• There will be closer integration of the Small Business Commissioner with other late payment functions.
• We will strengthen the Prompt Payment Code so that business signatories must reaffirm their commitment every two years to stay on it.
• We will extend the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations, taking forward legislation to extend payment performance reporting obligations. This will include new metrics for reporting, including a value metric, so businesses and commentators can see the value of invoices, including invoices paid late, and a disputed invoices metric.
• There will be an effective and proportionate compliance regime to help ensure that businesses required by law to report their payment data, do so.
• We will promote the benefits of digital payment technologies and of embedding prompt payments as part of firms’ ESG (environmental, social, governance) programmes, if they have them.

• The Department for Business and Trade launches new expert UK Battery Strategy Taskforce.
• The Taskforce is made up of industry and academic experts from across the battery eco-system.
• The UK Battery Strategy is due to be published in the coming months.

Today (Monday 2 October) the UK Battery Strategy Taskforce had its inaugural meeting.  The group brings together industry experts and academics from across the battery ecosystem to support development of the UK’s first battery strategy.

The Government plans to publish the UK’s battery strategy in the coming months, setting out a joined-up government-industry approach to deliver a battery ecosystem that unleashes economic prosperity, delivers on our net zero ambitions and ensures our access to technologies and applications that are vital to our security.

Membership list:

• Dame Professor Clare Grey, University of Cambridge (co-chair)
• Professor Julia Sutcliffe, Department for Business and Trade Chief Scientific Advisor (co-chair)
• Jacqui Murray, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland
• Craig Wilson, WAE Technologies
• Carol Rose Burke, Unipart Manufacturing
• David Bailey, Birmingham University
• Merlin Hyman OBE, Regen
• Nicholas Beatty, Zenobe
• Simon Moores, Benchmark Minerals
• Robin Brundle, Technology Minerals
• Kunal Sinha, Glencore Recycling
• Gavin Graveson, Veolia
• Mike Hawes, SMMT
• Professor David Greenwood, WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult
• Jeff Pratt, Envision, AESC
• Anna Wise, Nyobolt
• Professor Patrick Grant, Oxford University