CHAMBER NEWS


Chamber welcomes Brexit progress


The UK and EU have agreed a “large part” of the agreement that will lead to the “orderly withdrawal” of the UK from the Union. Brexit negotiators Michel


Barnier and David Davis said they had agreed terms for a transition period. They called it a “decisive step”, but there are still issues to be resolved, including the Northern Ireland border. The transitional period is set to last from 29 March, 2019, to December 2020, and is intended to smooth the path to a future permanent relationship. Chris Hobson, Director of


Policy at the Chamber, said: “Along with the British Chambers of Commerce, we have been calling for a transitional period so that we don’t suffer the potential consequences of an unruly exit. “This announcement shows


that we can work with our EU counterparts for the mutual benefit of businesses and residents on both sides of the English Channel and we welcome the progress that is being made.”


Export issues on the table


Exporting is easy but Government needs to do more to help small firms expand into new overseas markets, members of the regional business community have told the Rt Hon Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion. Baroness Fairhead had been


invited by the Chamber to meet members of the local business community to discuss what they felt the Government was getting right and where improvements were needed. The Baroness opened the


discussion by pointing out that exports were growing, up between 11% and 12% last year, but that only about nine per cent of UK firms sell overseas and the majority of even the largest companies (60%) didn’t export, something she said needed to improve. In a frank and open discussion,


she heard that for most small businesses exporting was easy – ‘you just set up a website and sell’. Where complications arise is in


getting Government support to reach new markets, avoiding all the bureaucracy around credit and getting UK banks to allow direct trading with Iran. Businesses generally thought


highly of the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the international services offered by the Chamber but said the website operated by the DIT, on which they can advertise goods and services, was not sufficiently promoted and the information from the DIT’s opportunities alerts service was often delivered too late to have any value. David Pearson, the Chamber’s


Director of Partnerships, said: “It was a full and frank discussion arising from our ongoing efforts to make sure business influences Government policy. At the outset, Baroness Fairhead said she didn’t want businesses to hold back from telling her what they felt, and it would be fair to say they didn’t. “I think the idea of the


accreditation scheme, through


‘It was a full and frank discussion arising from our ongoing efforts to make sure business influences Government policy’


which Government would effectively vouchsafe companies looking for new export markets, was one that the Baroness liked and it will be interesting to see if that goes any further. “All in all, I think it was a very


positive meeting and the Baroness was given a lot of food for thought.”


David Pearson


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26 business network April 2018


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