Campaigners, including the BCC, have worked for years to have the Electronic Trade Documents Act passed, and its introduction is a huge milestone.
Campaigners, including the BCC, have worked for years to have the Electronic Trade Documents Act passed, and its introduction is a huge milestone.
The BCC has held its inaugural meeting of its new Business Council alongside Cabinet Minister, the Rt Hon Michael Gove and Shadow Chancellor, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves.
Removing the effects of inflation, goods export volumes grew at a decent pace in July, with a 4.4% month on month increase in sales to the EU. But a key concern is the continued slowdown in momentum in UK services exports growth – which accounts for just under half of our overseas trade.
New research by the BCC has uncovered that the vast majority of businesses are unaware and unprepared for a swathe of fast approaching changes in EU/UK regulations.
The British Chambers of Commerce is calling for urgent action from politicians to stimulate economic growth across the UK. Among the key asks: Better planning for business so that firms are not squeezed out of towns and cities. Introduction of flexibility in the apprenticeship levy to support everyone in the workplace. Strengthened UK-EU co-operation to increase bi-lateral investment levels. Dramatic energy grid upgrades to ensure there is sufficient network capacity to meet modern needs.
Businesses will be pleased with this much needed clarity as they prepare for the challenging shift to a digital trade system
There was a noticeable fall in the momentum of UK services exports in Q2, down by 3.9%, following a period of reasonable growth in 2021 and 2022. Unfortunately, this was also coupled with a further fall in UK goods exports to the EU.
Businesses will breathe a sigh of relief that the Government has decided to take a pragmatic approach to the safety marking of products sold in Great Britain.
This new era begins in the UK, but it can also act as a beacon, leading towards further digitalisation of trade across the world.
It is good news to see this statement of intent to deepen UK trading terms with Turkey. It is our 18th largest bilateral trading partner, worth £23.5bn in total trade in 2022.
