£700bn market: UK’s digital trade talks with Singapore underpin Britain’s role as a global tech exporter July 1, 2021 The UK and Singapore launched negotiations this week on a new ambitious digital trade agreement that could remove barriers and provide access to digital trade. Government statistics show this digital trading relationship was worth £3.2bn in 2019, out of Britain’s total tech exports of nearly £63bn globally. As the value of the entire digital global [...]
UK to EU exports rise to near pre-Brexit levels as trade deficit drops June 30, 2021 After a catastrophic start to the year, UK exports to the EU have risen to near 2019 levels, before the UK exited the European Union. In April 2021, EU exports were down around two per cent from the same time two years ago, according to ONS stats, marking a considerably better performance than in January, [...]
To succeed in 2021’s complex world of trade, businesses need to go beyond the basics June 29, 2021 | City Talk As businesses grapple with the effect of COVID-19 on global supply chains and issues of geopolitical instability, and with global sustainability and emerging technologies weighing on the minds of business decision makers, international trade is more complex than ever before. New research from EY shows that this fact is not lost on businesses, with the [...]
UK begins Singapore digital trade talks June 28, 2021 The UK will today start trade talks for a digital trade agreement that could remove barriers to trade and enable UK exporters to expand into high-tech markets around the world. International trade secretary Liz Truss is due to begin virtual negotiations with Singapore today for a Digital Economy Agreement (DEA). The UK is the second largest [...]
Confidence among UK business leaders highest since Brexit vote June 24, 2021 UK bosses’ confidence in the economy was buoyed by vaccine optimism to its highest level since just after the Brexit referendum, a new survey has shown. The confidence tracker from the Institute of Directors (IoD), a body for business leaders, has been in positive territory for around 12 months. A positive score means more company [...]
Dominic Raab meets with Cambodian officials to discuss trade and COP26 June 23, 2021 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has met with his Cambodian counterpart today, as the UK leans towards trade pursuits in the Asia-Pacific region. In the first meeting with a British foreign secretary since 1953, Raab will speak with Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn in Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. Raab landed in Hanoi, Vietnam earlier in [...]
UK starts Asia-Pacific trade negotiations June 22, 2021 Dominic Raab will today start trade talks about joining a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region, which would grant the UK access to some of the biggest economies in the world. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is made up of 11 nations including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, [...]
UK remains an attractive M&A destination, climbing slightly despite Brexit June 17, 2021 Britain has remained an attractive destination for inbound investment despite leaving the European Union, according to the latest global rankings for M&A attractiveness. The UK climbed two places to the fifth most attractive place in the world for M&A activity in 2020, in the latest global Mergers and Acquisitions Attractiveness Index Score (MAAIS) by City [...]
Big in Japan: More British chicken will head to the ‘land of the rising sun’ June 16, 2021 The UK has bagged a £65m market access deal with Japan which will see more British chicken served on Japanese tables over the next five years. The agreement, which is estimated to be worth up to £13m per year, will see UK farmers ship poultry to the world’s third-largest economy. International trade minister Ranil Jayawardena [...]
€229m drop in April: Imports from Britain to Ireland continue downward slope June 15, 2021 Irish imports from Great Britain in April decreased 20 per cent from a year ago. Imports have continually fallen since Brexit, according to a Bloomberg report. Ireland’s statistics office today reported imports from Britain fell by €229m compared with April 2020. The greatest decreases were in the imports of “Food and live animals” and “Chemicals and related products”. Goods [...]