24 . Glasgow Business August 2014
Glasgow can play a leading role in campaign to double UK overseas trade to £1 trillion
OUR EXPORT FACTOR
F
rom Singapore to South Africa, from Uruguay to the USA, products with the emblem ‘Made in Glasgow’ still resonate in many overseas markets.
Exporting is Scotland’s future lifeblood and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is working hard to encourage members of all sizes and sectors to increase their exporting muscle. Lord Livingston of Parkhead, the Glasgow-
born former Chief Executive of BT Group, is heading up the campaign to increase exporting from the UK. Te initiative is seeking to double annual exports to £1 trillion and increase the number of UK exporters by 100,000 by 2020. Glasgow has the ability to play a leading part. “In May, Lord Livingston was up in
Glasgow with Alastair Carmichael, the Scotish Secretary in the UK Government, promoting this international trade agenda,” said Stuart Patrick, Glasgow Chamber’s Chief Executive. “He laid out some of the issues that they had in trying to grow export business in 40 emerging market countries around the world. We were able to give our perspective.” Glasgow Chamber raised the issue that
UK Trade & Investment’s funding is being channelled through the British Chambers of Commerce to help them grow, yet this is not
“These markets are of potentially great significance for us if we can find the right mechanism for linking into it”
filtering through to the Scotish Chambers. Te British Chambers of Commerce Accredited Network is the leading private sector provider of export support and Glasgow Chamber is working in partnership with UKT&I on the Overseas Business Networks initiative. Tis taps into Chambers of Commerce around the globe. “Tese markets are of potentially great
significance for us if we can find the right mechanism for linking into it. Tere is slight sensitivity around this because it is UKT&I funding and clearly under devolved authority. Tis should have been Scotish Development International funding to the Scotish Chambers. But we are not seeing the link happen at the Scotish level,” said Stuart. He remains perplexed to why this is the case, adding: “We have been trying, with
Lord Livingston’s help, to ask if we can have the necessary resources to do this directly.” While the British Chambers are holding
an International Trade conference at the Brewery in London, on 9 October, there is an opportunity to get exporting insights nearer to home. Glasgow Chamber is holding its second international trade event on Tursday 23 October 2014 at the Tistle Hotel in Glasgow. Tis event will focus on the ‘how’ of trading internationally and will provide practical support, information and advice to businesses currently trading internationally and offer encouragement to those businesses that have not yet taken that first step. “We are also launching an international
trade commission. Tis sounds very grand but it is more modest and involves five governing directors of Glasgow Chamber giving an assessment of what we and our membership are doing in the sphere of international trade, and where we can drive forward growth. Tis will be about guiding us on how we might best move on this in the Glasgow region,” said Stuart. Te commission, with Lord Livingston
invited to its launch, is keen to reposition Glasgow Chamber back into its territory as the leading institution for exporting.
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