Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has knocked down barriers to markets worth more than £2.2 billion to UK businesses in her first 200 days in the job – equivalent to over £11 million every day.
British exporters regularly encounter obstacles of all kinds – including bureaucracy, red tape, and bans – which stop them from selling abroad. The Department for Business and Trade has a global network of specialists working to get rid of them by engaging governments around the world to find and resolve the issues.
Earlier this year, Badenoch made the removal of these trade barriers one of her top five priorities, committing to lifting 100 of the most significant hurdles.
Those successfully targeted in the last 200 days include:
- Removing a ban on importing luxury products including toys, diamonds and colour TVs to Nepal.
- Reducing registration requirements for pharmaceutical products to Vietnam.
- Relaxing the foreign ownership cap on renewable energy projects in the Philippines, allowing UK companies to invest in the development of solar, hydro, tidal and wind energy.
- Ensuring the recognition of British education qualifications for UK teachers to teach in Thailand.
- Lifting the ban on certain pork products to South Korea, including bacon, ham and pork sausages.
- Allowing the export of pet food to Chile.
- Allowing teachers from West Java, Indonesia to complete maritime training programmes in the UK, after acceptance of UK maritime qualification standards benefitting the City of Glasgow College.
- Supporting companies to access financial products in Mauritius and supporting further development of the local financial market.
- Review of regulations such as the price threshold for the sale of refurbished mobile phones to Turkey.
- Allowing certification companies to access the Brazilian market and speeding up approval processes in the automotive sector.
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said:
I have made it a priority to knock down the barriers holding back British businesses and that prevent them from selling more of their goods and services around the world, creating new jobs, and paying higher wages.
As an independent trading nation Britain can now get to grips with these blockages. So I’m very proud that since becoming Trade Secretary we’ve been able to unlock billions for the UK economy, and I look forward to smashing even more barriers to ensure our businesses thrive.
Alongside new trade deals, the UK is taking a targeted approach to getting rid of trade barriers that are most detrimental to British exports and investment. Removing these barriers can help to increase trade, inject billions into the UK economy, and build closer trading relationships with the largest and fastest growing economies in the world.
British businesses have welcomed the removal of barriers to trading overseas. The Renewables Consulting Group, a specialised expert services firm focused solely on the global renewable energy industry, and Environmental Resources Management (ERM) welcomed the lifting of the ban on foreign investment in renewable energy in the Philippines, saying it had already generated interest from potential investors which could boost the country’s transition to clean energy sources like wind and solar.
Raimond Dasalla, Associate and Philippines Co-Lead added: “The is great news for the Philippines. Lifting the restrictions will enable knowledge transfer on emerging renewable energy technologies, help create jobs and ultimately unlock the country’s sustainable economic development.”
Vegeco Ltd, a specialist vegan company supplying quality ethical, eco-friendly and vegan products, with a specialism in pet food and goods, welcomed the new opportunity to export pet food to Chile.
Darrell de Vries, Director of Vegeco Ltd said: “As the pet food market becomes more and more saturated in the UK, Vegeco is continually looking for new ground. Often it’s not an easy path if no one has walked it before, so knowing that barriers to access the Chilean market are being removed, is half the battle won. Vegeco is excited about the potential of the market for our product range.”
The Department for Business and Trade has also led the way in lifting the ban on British beef and lamb in Japan, securing approval for UK pork exports to Taiwan, ensuring the export of pet supplements to India, and agreeing a new certification system with China to allow the export of cruelty-free cosmetics for the first time.
