The UKTBC hosted a panel of the establishment of a new, independent Board of Trade.

This site visit will take place on 27th November 2023, and will see the UKTBC team visit FreshLinc in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

This site visit will take place on 21st November 2023, and will see the UKTBC team visit the Cemex cement plant in Rugby.

This session will cover the EU’s CBAM and domestic Net Zero policy goals

This session covered beneficial regulatory alignment with the EU and a reciprocal youth mobility visa scheme.

In this session, the UK Trade and Business Commission met to hear from experts who can outline what the UK Government can do to support the growth of Financial Services and FinTech industries.

This session of the UK Trade and Business Commission analysed the EU Retained Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. As part of the session, the Commission interrogated the legislation and its implications - both in terms of business and trade and in terms of the UK’s constitution.

The UK Trade and Business Commission has taken evidence on several occasions on how staff shortages in the wake of Brexit are impacting different sectors of our economy. Ahead of summer recess, the Commission held this live evidence session to further understand these impacts and other aspects of the post-Brexit landscape.

Following reports that the UK Governments was planning to unilaterally revise parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, this live panel saw the Commission’s Co-convener Hilary Benn MP, Irish politician Neale Richmond and former Conservative MP David Gauke discuss the diplomatic and economic implications for the UK if it takes unilateral action.

Co-Convenors of the UK Trade and Business Commission Hilary Benn MP and Peter Norris led a delegation to Kent on Monday 16th May.

The Commission’s first annual report was published on the 11th March 2022 and it proposed 21 concrete interventions, aimed at improving cooperation and trade between the UK and its closest neighbours.

Led by Peter Norris and Hilary Benn, the UK Trade and Business Commission’s delegation landed early on the morning of Thursday 3rd March 2021.

The UK is a major manufacturing power in the world, with particular strengths in cars, engineering products and aerospace among others. That these no longer employ such large numbers predominantly reflects higher productivity, and has been seen in all developed countries.

The session looked at the trading situation under the NI Protocol at the time of the meeting, the benefits and disadvantages, and the proposals for change from the UK and EU. We then examined the implications of further future courses of action, including the use of Article 16.

Globally the main barriers to trade are no longer tariffs but differing regulations between countries. Exporters have to meet the varying requirements in different countries, which is likely to mean extra costs. However, countries may choose to vary regulations for many good domestic reasons, such as responding to consumer pressures or reduce the cost of domestic production. Finding a balance is difficult for all countries. For the UK, having just left the EU regulatory bloc, it presents a particular challenge.

A modern economy with international businesses, whether selling goods or services, is reliant on data as much as on people. Within this, digital trade has gained increased importance, whether in terms of electronic delivery of international services, or the innovations in various areas from financial services to cars with increasingly sophisticated computers.

Questions relating to trade in animal products attract far greater attention than their economic value would suggest. Concerns about human and animal health, the ability of countries to produce their own safe and cost-effective food, and fair competition among others mean Import checks are typically more onerous and tariffs higher. In the case of UK trade relations this has meant concern about reduced exports to the EU or increased imports of lower quality from the US, a potential shortage of vets, and interest in whether a UK-EU veterinary agreement could help.