Business News
More than 600 delegates from countries including the United States, Canada, Russia, Nigeria, Cambodia, India and South Africa tuned in for the Chamber’s inaugural online global conference. The Global Trade Conference – beamed live from Chamber House in Edgbaston - examined business in a post- Covid-19 environment. Chamberlink’s reporting team of John Lamb, Dan Harrison and Jessica Brookes provide a comprehensive account of events.
UK and US seek a ‘gold standard’ deal
The UK and United States are working towards the ‘gold standard of trade deals’ that will allow more small and medium-sized businesses to trade across the Atlantic, according to the American ambassador. Robert ‘Woody’ Johnson, the US
ambassador to the UK, claims businesses and customers in both countries are currently missing out as a result of bureaucracy and red tape that are restricting trade opportunities. Mr Johnson told the Global Trade
Conference: “Great businesses are losing out on customers and customers are losing out on great products. That’s what we want to change.
‘We are trading currently on WTO rules and we can do so much better’
“We already trade $270bn annually and
have invested more than $1tn in each other’s economies. “We have a million Brits working in the US
for American companies and we have a million Americans working in the US for British companies. Isn’t that good enough? Well, the answer is a big ‘no’. “We are trading currently on WTO rules and
we can do so much better. That’s something that the US and UK Governments are working on right now. “Although trade between the US and Britain
is huge, there are barriers and tariffs currently in the way and holding up a lot of these companies. “It’s not just the tariffs – it’s all the
bureaucracy and red tape involved in doing business. “I can’t make any specific promises to
specific companies about what the deal will cover. But I can tell you what they’re aiming to do – and that is to remove tariffs and red tape that hold companies back. “They want to make it easier and cheaper
and more profitable for all our businesses to trade across the Atlantic – especially our small and medium sized companies which struggle most with the export process as it stands now. “These small companies account for 90 per
cent of all US-UK trade. So if we can help them, we can give another huge boost to our economies by helping the companies which
12 CHAMBERLINK August/September 2020
Moving forward: Woody Johnson
are already doing business in America, but at a high cost, and by helping companies which have never been able to sell their products in America or Britain before.” Mr Johnson also praised the “imagination,
spirit and resilience” of people and companies in the UK in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. Turning his attention to Birmingham, he described the city as a window into the future due to its forward-thinking businesses. He said: “Birmingham helped shape the
industrial revolution and it is going to shape the next one. “Your city in many ways is a window into
the future. It is constantly changing and adapting so your coat of arms, ‘Forward’ is a great motto to live by.” Addressing the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month, which sparked protests and widespread media coverage around the world, Mr Johnson said: “This is a painful reminder there is much more to do to fight racism. “This is a time for dialogue, education and
action and we will make important changes now because the American people don’t stop moving forward either.”
From Brum to the world: The conference was beamed live from Chamber House
Companies must
look to innovation The pandemic will force companies around the world to “reimagine” their operations and take risks around innovation, according to a leading economist. Joe Brusuelas (pictured), chief economist at
RSM, says the business world has been engaging globally in an “enormous experiment” since the outbreak of Covid-19. Mr Brusuelas, who
addressed the Chamber’s online Global Trade Conference from his Texas home, believes many firms in major cities will reassess their commercial real estate costs in the wake of the pandemic. The economic expert delivered a joint
presentation alongside his UK-based colleague Simon Hart, who is RSM’s lead international partner. Mr Brusuelas said: “We’re engaging globally in
this enormous experiment. We’re learning at a distance - what can be done from home or from anywhere in the world. We’re going get through this. We’ll come out of it on the other side - but things are going to be different. We’re going to be accelerating technological experiments. “You need to begin to take risks around
internal innovation - the reimaging of your company. For example, here in Austin, Texas we have a food culture. Those restaurants turned themselves into grocery stores to survive the worst portions of the lockdown. They innovate.” The duo said the economic freefall created by
Covid-19 has been arrested and the global economy – led by China, the US and the EU – will emerge from recession in the final three months of 2020. RSM’s economic update was followed by an
innovation session featuring best-selling ice cream brand Halo Top. From his Michigan base, Halo Top chief
executive Doug Bouton discussed the low-calorie ice cream firm’s success in “disrupting” the market by placing consumer needs at the heart of its innovation strategy. He said: “Innovation starts with the need.
What is the bona fide need in the category in terms of consumers? And if we create a product to fill a bona fide need, can we do it profitably? If we can’t then there’s no point in doing it.”
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