A new ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ campaign, aiming to double UK exports and sell their products around the globe, has been launched.
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.
The UK exported £600 billion in goods and services last year, but only around one in 10 businesses currently export – with the number of goods exporters falling behind continental competitors like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
It comes as this week the Department for International Trade (DIT) has been running the inaugural International Trade Week this month, which featured a series of over 100 events and workshops across the country.
The 12-point export strategy – published by DIT – includes an Export Support Service and the launch of a new UK Tradeshow Programme.
The Export Academy – launched in October – to roll it out across all of the UK including Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will also expand and will invite owners and managers of SMEs to overcome common challenges facing first-time exporters face.
According to the DIT, the initiative will unlock the UK’s exporting potential with government-led research estimating that exports currently support 6.5 million jobs across the UK, and showing that exporters pay higher wages and are on average 21 per cent more productive.
Ms Trevelyan said: “This is a defining moment in our national trading story. 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.
The 12-point strategy includes:
- Championing the UK’s priority sectors through a marketing campaign that will promote the best of British goods and services in our towns and cities.
- The Export Support Service provides a single point of contact for exporters to Europe.
- UK Export Academy expansion to offer SMEs in all parts of the UK the chance to learn how to navigate the technicalities of exporting.
- UK Export Finance, the Government export credit agency, will expand its service with new products and a wider delivery network.
- Export Champions will ensure businesses can build and learn from exporting successes through business-to-business networking and peer-to-peer learning.
- Internationalisation Fund, open to SMEs in England, will aim to grow international sales and has facilitated £4 million of support to SMEs attending Trade Fairs.
Welcoming the initiative, Federation of Small Businesses National Chair, Mike Cherry said: “As the voice of the UK’s small business community, FSB has been pleased to help develop today’s Export Strategy. For too long small firms have been faced with difficulty getting onto the exporting ladder, so we’re pleased to see many of these fundamental issues tackled head-on in this export plan.”
For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our expert international trade team today.