Tag: Business and Trade Department

• UK to host 26th annual UK-Taiwan Trade Talks and strengthen the long-standing trade & investment relationship.
• Taiwan is an important trading partner for the UK, with bilateral trade worth £8.6bn in 2022.
• The Taiwan market offers significant potential for UK companies in areas such as off-shore wind and hydrogen.

Minister for International Trade Nigel Huddleston will co-host the 26th annual Trade Talks later this year with Deputy Minister Chern-Chyi Chen. They held an introductory call to discuss it today.

The UK and Taiwan have a long-standing trade relationship with annual ministerial trade talks held since 1991.

At the last Trade Talks held in Taiwan in late 2022, the UK and Taiwan discussed barriers to trade in sectors like fintech, food and drink and pharma, aimed at helping more UK firms export and invest in Taiwan. This year’s Trade Talks will take place in London and aim to help more UK firms export and invest in Taiwan in areas of mutual interest.

Minister Huddleston also spoke to John Deng, Trade Representative / Minister without Portfolio, to endorse the start of official-level talks on an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP), which will be underpinned by non-legally binding Memoranda of Understanding in key areas such as two-way investment, digital trade, and energy & net-zero.

The ETP will build on our ongoing collaboration through annual Trade Talks to tackle barriers to trade and promote UK expertise, deepening our relationship to take advantage of increasing commercial opportunities. Both sides will begin engaging businesses on the ETP in due course.

Like the UK, Taiwan is a champion of free and fair trade underpinned by a rules-based global trading system. The UK is already a major partner in Taiwan’s green transition, with more than 40 British companies already having set up offices in Taiwan.

The British Office holds regular discussions with the Taiwanese authorities focusing on how to enhance trade and investment ties and tackle market access issues and those relating to the wider business environment.

• Government launches new scheme to help buyers purchase UK-built ships.
• Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme expected to create hundreds of UK jobs and contribute hundreds of millions to UK economy.
• Part of £4 billion National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh plan to revitalise UK shipbuilding sector, which contributes £2.8 billion a year to UK economy and supports 42,000 jobs.

A new government scheme to help ship buyers access finance to buy UK-built vessels and upgrade existing ones will boost Britain’s coastal communities.

Through the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme (SCGS) the Government will act as a guarantor for lenders, unlocking credit for maritime firms.

It will help to boost the UK shipbuilding industry and drive growth in areas such as Liverpool, Plymouth, the Solent, Rosyth, Clydebank and Belfast.

Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said:

Shipbuilding is an integral part of the UK’s industrial identity and through this scheme we are backing our great maritime businesses to get ahead of the competition.

With cutting-edge vessels designed and built here in the UK this will be a boost to high-skilled careers and every company involved in the supply chain for shipbuilding, helping us to grow the economy.

The SCGS is expected to create hundreds of new jobs and contribute hundreds of millions of pounds to the economy, according to government estimates based on the demand for commercial shipbuilding in the UK.

The scheme also forms part of the Government’s £4 billion plan to revitalise UK shipbuilding and coastal communities through the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh announced last year.

Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani will formally launch the scheme at an event onboard a Thames Clippers’ boat – built at Wight Shipyard, one of the UK firms which stands to benefit from the new scheme – today (26 July) in London.

The SCGS will guarantee a percentage of the value of loans used to purchase, refit, retrofit or repair vessels, sharing the risk with lenders to encourage offers of finance to UK vessel owners and operators.

Shipbuilding Tsar and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

As I set out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, this scheme will help build confidence in UK shipyards, allowing them to invest in the people and the technology to drive productivity forward in this vital sector of the UK economy.

Shipbuilding is hugely important to the UK, supporting 42,600 jobs nationwide and adding £2.4 billion to the economy every single year. A strong domestic sector helps to support the wider economy’s export ambitions, with 95 percent of UK trade moved by sea.

Maritime UK CEO Chris Shirling-Rooke MBE said:

We applaud the Government for delivering on the pledge it made to industry in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh by launching the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme.

The SCGS is a massive vote of confidence from government, and it will empower the UK’s shipbuilding enterprise to compete fairly on the global stage in doing what it does best: building Great British ships.

The shipbuilding industry is a growing part of the UK’s new green economy. Supporting the purchase, construction and repair of high-value vessels will encourage continued investment in innovative, sustainable, low-carbon maritime technologies.

Background:

• The Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme is one of a number of targeted measures being taken as part of the government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh to encourage ship owners and operators to place new orders and upgrade their existing fleets with the world-leading shipyards that are based up and down the UK.
• Supporting shipbuilding, with its presence from Belfast to Birkenhead, and from Plymouth to Clydebank, builds on the government’s commitments to grow the economy and level up.
• The wider maritime sector employs 113,000 people nationwide and contributes £11 billion to the economy.
• As well as supporting a vast supply chain and sustaining skilled jobs across the UK, the shipbuilding industry delivers world-leading capabilities for the Royal Navy, making a significant contribution to national security.

On 18 July 2023, the United Kingdom and the Republic of India concluded the eleventh round of talks for a UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

As with previous rounds, this was conducted in a hybrid fashion – a number of Indian officials travelled to London for negotiations and others attended virtually.

On 10-11 July, the Honourable Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Piyush Goyal, visited the UK as part of the eleventh round of the UK-India FTA negotiations. He met with Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and Nigel Huddleston MP, the Minister of State for International Trade, where they discussed ways to make progress on the FTA negotiations and wider trade and investment opportunities for the UK and India.

Shri Sunil Barthwal, Commerce Secretary, Government of India also visited the UK during the round. He met with senior UK trade officials and took stock of the progress made in the eleventh round of negotiations.

Technical discussions were held across 9 policy areas over 42 separate sessions. They included detailed draft treaty text discussions in these policy areas.

The twelfth round of negotiations is due to take place in the coming months.

• Minimum Service Levels balance the ability of workers to strike with the rights of the public, who expect essential services they pay for to be there when they need them.
• Government will now launch a public consultation on the reasonable steps unions should take to ensure their members comply with a work notice given by an employer.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Level) Act has today [Thursday 20 July] received Royal Assent in Parliament, ensuring workers maintain the ability to strike whilst giving the public access to the essential services they need.

Government will now proceed with plans to implement minimum service levels for passenger rail services, ambulance services and fire and rescue services.

Minimum service levels will ensure a minimum service operates in specified services during periods of strike action.

This will help protect the safety of the general public and ensure essential services are there when they need them – whether getting the train to work or being able to call an ambulance in times of emergency.

This will follow public consultations on the most appropriate approach for delivering Minimum Service Levels in passenger rail and blue light services. The Government is currently analysing responses and will respond in due course.

A public consultation will also be launched this Summer on the reasonable steps unions must take to comply with a work notice issued by employers under minimum service levels legislation.

This Government firmly believes that the ability to strike is an important part of industrial relations in the UK, rightly protected by law, and understands that an element of disruption is inherent to any strike. But the public expects government to act when their essential services are put at risk.

Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said:

This legislation is an appropriate balance between the ability to strike, and protecting lives and livelihoods.

The UK remains a world leader for workers’ rights and these new laws will not prevent a union from organising industrial action.

Industrial action has had a strong impact on access to emergency services and the UK economy, resulting in over 600,000 rescheduled medical appointments since December 2022 and at least £1.2 billion lost in the period June 2022-23 according to analysis by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR).

Following public consultation and approval by both Houses of Parliament, the Government will be able to set minimum service levels within key sectors, including emergency services, border security, education, passenger rail and the nuclear sector.

Rail Minister Huw Merriman said:

The ability of workers to take strike action is an integral part of industrial relations, however, this should not be at the expense of members of the public.

The passing of this Bill will help give passengers certainty that they will be able to make important journeys on a strike day.

When minimum service levels are in force for a specified service, if the relevant trade union gives notice of strike action, employers can issue a work notice ahead of the strike, to specify the workforce required to maintain necessary and safe levels of service. They must consult with the relevant unions on the number of persons and the work to be specified in the work notice and take their views into account before issuing the work notice.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has formally signed the treaty to accede to CPTPP trade group in New Zealand this morning [Sunday], kickstarting the UK’s membership of a modern and ambitious trade deal spanning 12 economies across Asia, the Pacific, and now Europe.

The Secretary of State is in Auckland to put pen to paper on this mega deal, alongside New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O’Connor, Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng, Japanese Minister for Economic Revitalisation Goto Shigeyuki and Australian Deputy Trade Minister Tim Ayres.

The signature is the formal confirmation of agreement for the UK to join the group, following substantial conclusion of negotiations earlier this year. The Government will now seek to ratify the agreement, which will include parliamentary scrutiny, whilst other CPTPP countries complete their own legislative processes.

The signing comes as a new government report reveals one in every 100 UK workers was employed by a business headquartered in a CPTPP member nation in 2019, equating to over 400,000 jobs across the country.

Membership of the trade group is expected to spark further investment in the UK by CPTPP countries, already worth £182 billion in 2021, by guaranteeing protections for investors.

Ian Stuart, CEO at HSBC UK, said:

The UK’s formal accession to CPTPP marks a significant milestone for UK trade, enabling ambitious British businesses to connect with the world’s most exciting growth markets for start-ups, innovation and technology. At HSBC UK, we are incredibly excited about the opportunities this agreement presents; as the world’s leading global trade bank we will support UK businesses to achieve their full potential and open up a world of opportunity.

Cath White, Head of International at Belvoir Farm said:

The UK’s accession to CPTPP will mean more than 99% of UK goods exported to CPTPP member countries will be eligible for zero tariffs. It will also ease administrative and commercial trade barriers to allow talented and passionate UK producers to tell their story on a worldwide scale. At Belvoir Farm, we export 20% of our turnover to markets across the globe, with one third of exports bound for Indo-Pacific markets, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore. This is a fantastic opportunity to grow British brands, especially this year when the spotlight is on the UK.

Ian Galbraith, Group Strategy Director at Mott MacDonald, said:

Mott MacDonald is strongly supportive of UK accession to CPTPP and proud to have been part of the technical board advising the British negotiating team. The Partnership’s ambitious services and procurement chapters pave the way for greater recognition of professional competence in engineering and architecture, and establish open, fair and transparent competition rules in government procurement, allowing world-leading firms like Mott MacDonald to win and service new contracts across the many countries covered by CPTPP.

Speaking ahead of the signing, Kemi Badenoch said:

I’m delighted to be here in New Zealand to sign a deal that will be a big boost for British businesses and deliver billions of pounds in additional trade, as well as open up huge opportunities and unparalleled access to a market of over 500 million people.

We are using our status as an independent trading nation to join an exciting, growing, forward-looking trade bloc, which will help grow the UK economy and build on the hundreds of thousands of jobs CPTPP-owned businesses already support up and down the country.

The report found CPTPP investment accounted for:

• Over £240 billion in turnover in London, £35 billion in the South East and £18 billion in the East of England
• The creation of 26,000 jobs in 2021 and 2022
• 75% of all employment in CPTPP-owned businesses was outside of London
• One in 50 jobs in the North East
• One in every 25 jobs in the manufacturing sector

The report also found that CPTPP companies punch above their weight economically. While they account for 0.3% of all businesses in the UK, they generate 6.1% of the UK’s total turnover – 20 times higher than the proportion of businesses they represent.

The UK will be the first European member and first new member since CPTPP was created, which would have been impossible had we remained in the EU. With the UK as a member, CPTPP will have a combined GDP of £12 trillion and account for 15% of global GDP.

The Government will now take the steps needed to bring the agreement into force, expected to be next year.

Being part of CPTPP will mean that more than 99 per cent of current UK goods exports to CPTPP countries will be eligible for zero tariffs. Dairy farmers, for example, will benefit from reduced tariffs on cheese and butter exports to Canada, Chile, Japan and Mexico. This builds on the £23.9 million worth of dairy products we exported to these countries in 2022.

The agreement is a gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific which is set to account for the majority of global growth and around half of the world’s middle-class consumers in the decades to come, bringing new opportunities for British businesses and supporting jobs.

Background

• The signing ceremony will take place between 2:30am and 3:30am GMT (1:30-2:30pm New Zealand time) on Sunday 16th July.
• Other ministers from CPTPP countries expected to be in attendance are Chilean Vice-Minister for International Economic Relations Claudia Sanhueza, Malaysian Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Mexican Ambassador Alfredo Perez Bravo, Peruvian Trade Minister Juan Carlos Mathews Salazar, Singaporean Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong and Vietnamese Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien.
• FDI figures refers to the new report ‘The role of Businesses from Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries in the United Kingdom’ which is available on GOV.UK.
• GDP and population data refers to data from 2022 and is taken from IMF World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023 edition.

Additional benefits of UK accession to CPTPP include:

• Boosting services: The UK is the world’s second largest services provider and services accounted for 43% of our trade with CPTPP members last year. Joining the agreement can reduce red tape – UK firms will not be required to establish a local office or be resident to supply a service and will be able to operate on a par with local firms.
• Increased flexibility: Modern ‘rules of origin’ could make British businesses more competitive by allowing them to trade more freely across the trade area. For example, UK car manufacturers could sell car engines tariff-free to a car maker in the grouping who could then sell those cars tariff-free to any other member country, subject to meeting the rules of origin. This is currently not possible under all the bilateral trade agreements the UK has in place with CPTPP members and will help exporters diversify their supply chains and create new export opportunities.
• Pro-investment: Investment between the UK and CPTPP countries is expected to increase as the agreement contains provisions to limit barriers and encourage more inward investment. Inward investment stocks to the UK from CPTPP countries were worth £182 billion in 2021.
• Cutting-edge: Remotely delivered services from the UK to CPTPP were worth £23 billion in 2021. CPTPP sets modern rules for digital trade across all sectors of the economy and will support UK businesses of all sizes to seek new opportunities in CPTPP markets.
• New Markets: Joining means we will have a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia for the first time, giving businesses far more access to an economy worth £330 billion in GDP in 2022. Tariffs of around 80% will be eliminated on UK exports of whisky within 10 years and tariffs of 30% on UK exports of cars will be eliminated within 7 years, helping the UK get a larger share of the market.
• Cheaper consumer prices: Reduced tariffs on imported goods could also lead to cheaper prices for British consumers on high-quality products like fruit juices from Chile and Peru and honey and chocolate from Mexico.