UK Trade Strategy Aims to Protect Firms from Rising Threats to Global Trade

The UK Government has unveiled a new plan to boost opportunities for UK businesses to export internationally, while protecting domestic firms from global threats to free trade. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed the recent trio of UK trade deals as a restoration of the country's identity in a "volatile world". The strategy aims to confront the threat of protectionism and upgrade the UK's trade defence toolkit, with measures including clamping down on unfair trading practices and improving access to finance for UK firms.

Key Takeaways:

• The UK has reached new trade agreements with the US, India, and the EU since Donald Trump's tariff announcements in April.
• The Government's Trade Strategy aims to boost opportunities for UK businesses, particularly in the service sector, to export internationally.
• The strategy vows to protect domestic firms from global threats to free trade, including protectionism and unfair trading practices.
• The Government will introduce new laws to expand its power to respond to unfair trade practices and defend under-threat sectors such as steel.
• Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds stressed that leaders will not "sit by idly while cheap imports threaten to undercut UK industry".

Statistics:

• The UK has reached new trade agreements with four countries: the US, India, the EU, and another unspecified country (Source: The Government's Trade Strategy).
• The UK's service sector accounts for approximately 80% of the country's GDP (Source: The World Bank).
• The US has hiked charges on most US imports in a bid to boost home-grown production and support US businesses (Source: The White House).
• The UK's steel industry is facing threats from global overcapacity, mainly coming from China (Source: Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds).

Sources:

• The Government's Trade Strategy
• Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds
• Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
• The White House