Published: November 18th, 2021
Businesses across the Marches are being urged to play their part in a major new export drive.
The Government has launched an ambitious new ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ plan to help businesses across the UK double exports and sell their world-class products around the globe.
The 12-point export strategy – published by the Department for International Trade – will give businesses the tools they need to become a nation of exporters and reap the benefits of free trade deals.
It includes an Export Support Service that offers a one-stop shop for exporting advice, and the launch of a new UK Tradeshow Programme better-tailored to help businesses, particularly those outside London and the South East, to attend and promote their products around the world.
DIT will also be expanding its Export Academy – launched in October – to roll it out across all of the UK including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The academy will invite owners and managers of SMEs to access masterclasses, roundtables and networking events that help them overcome common challenges first-time exporters face.
The UK exported £600 billion in goods and services last year but only around one in ten GB businesses currently export – with the number of goods exporters falling behind continental competitors like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Unlocking the UK’s exporting potential will help level up the country and boost the UK’s economy, with government commissioned research estimating that exports supported 6.5 million jobs across the UK in 2016, and showing that exporters pay higher wages. Separate analysis shows that goods exporting businesses are on average 21 percent more productive.
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan is calling on businesses to ‘Race to a Trillion’ by seizing huge untapped opportunities on offer in the world’s fast-growing markets.
She said: “This is a defining moment in our national trading story. As we agree ambitious new trade deals around the world, it is more vital than ever that businesses across the UK take advantage of these opportunities and unleash their full exporting potential.
“Our export strategy will help more businesses start exporting and help those who already export to sell more products to more countries. Reaching £1 trillion worth of exports by the end of this decade means more jobs, more opportunities and higher wages helping the UK to level up and build back better.”
This week, DIT is running the inaugural International Trade Week, featuring a series of over 100 events and workshops across the country hosted by expert trade advisers aimed to help businesses to take advantage of the export support available to them.
Minister for Exports, Mike Freer MP, said: “We know businesses are at different points on their exporting journey. Some are already successful exporters but want to sell more products or reach new markets. Others are yet to take the leap and export for the first time.
“Whatever your story, our tailored support, expertise and international network is here and ready to help you maximise your ambitions and sell to the world.”
The strategy – titled ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ – will see government work hand-in-hand with business to help them to succeed in the global marketplace through a first-class export support framework.
It will help replicate higher levels of exporting seen in the South East of England across all parts of the country to deliver on the Prime Minister’s ambition to level up the UK, and transform the country into a high-wage, high-skill, high-productivity economy.
The 12-point strategy includes:
To ask the export support team a question visit gov.uk/ask-export-support-team
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