Marian Sudbury A SENSE OF AGREEMENT
Free trade agreements are central to the UK’s international trade future and it is important that Lancashire’s SMEs understand how they work.
That was the message to the conference from Marian Sudbury, director of UK regions at the DiT.
She said: “We are creating a framework that can benefit Lancashire businesses. They will only reap those benefits if they understand how that works.”
Marian said there was an acknowledgement that SMEs don’t make use of trade agreements and don’t reap the benefit of them. She added: “We want to change that.”
She said it was important that businesses understood the positives that trade agreements deliver if used.
Businesses looking to trade internationally also needed to be aware of the different taxes, VAT and regulations other countries operate.
She described the UK’s agreement with the EU as “very broad” and said it significantly reduces barriers to trade while freeing the UK to set its own rules domestically and internationally.
Marian said that since leaving the EU the UK had negotiated 64 different trade agreements, including with Japan. It was now working on other deals with countries including Australia and New Zealand and was looking to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership.
She said the DiT had been given additional Treasury money to bolster its activity in the North of England and had appointed additional trade advisors.
Marian said businesses looking to export benefited from talking to other people on the same journey and by writing a plan.
She told the conference: “It makes a difference. Businesses that take the time to write a plan continue to export
and do more exporting than businesses that don’t.”
The conference also heard of the work being done by the DiT around the world to specifically promote and support the Northern Powerhouse and its businesses, helping to open up new markets to them.
In what was described as a “fantastic opportunity” delegates were told this is the first time that the UK’s regions have had a presence in the DiT’s overseas network.
Carolina Silva, business manager for the Northern Powerhouse: Latin America and the Caribbean, joined the gathering from Rio de Janeiro.
Businesses that
take the time to write a plan continue to export and do more exporting than businesses that don’t
Her colleague Hannah Webb spoke from her office in Boston, to describe the work she is doing in the US to support Northern Powerhouse companies.
Carolina said there were opportunities for businesses in the clean energy sector to build on the strong relationships that exist between the UK and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Hannah said that “differentiation” was the key for Lancashire businesses looking to establish a foothold across the Atlantic.
She said: “Everyone is going to immediately ask why? Why you’re the best and why you are different.”
She added that it was also important for businesses to find the right partners.
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
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