Board of Trade should be independent body, government told
Over 80 leading academics, industry bosses, former Ambassadors, trade bodies and trade experts, have written to Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, calling for the Board of Trade to be made independent of Government
The letter, coordinated by the UK Trade and Business Commission, comes as the government undertakes a ‘revamp’ of the Board of Trade membership
Signatories include, Paul Drechsler CBE, Chair of the International Chambers of Commerce UK, former ambassadors to the USA Lord Darroch and Sir Peter Westmacott, together with Sir Vince Cable, former President of the Board of Trade
Over 80 leading academics, industry bosses, trade advisors and trade bodies have written to Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch MP, urging the Government to make the Board of Trade independent.
The letter comes amid speculation that the Government is organising a rare ‘revamp’ of the Board of Trade to include advisers from the music and fashion industries, but with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade continuing to serve as President.
News about the move has brought leading figures from across academia, economics and business, together with trade bodies and former diplomats to ensure the ‘revamp’ is used to give the Board of Trade a meaningful role when it comes to scrutinising new trade deals and assessing the UK’s trading performance.
In the letter, signatories call for the Board of Trade to “be responsible for a range of tasks including analysing the UK’s trading performance, conducting impact assessments of new trade deals, and overseeing the implementation of existing agreements to identify areas where they can be improved”.
Trade as a percentage of UK GDP fell by 11% in the first year following the implementation of the Government’s Brexit deal with evidence suggesting that it was a critical factor in increasing costs and bureaucracy for British businesses when trading with the UK’s largest trading partners in the EU.
The Government’s only two meaningfully new trade deals since the UK’s departure from the EU have also proven controversial, with the UK agreeing to terms that disproportionately benefit Australia and New Zealand exporters to the detriment of British farmers.
The letter urges Badenoch to set up the Board of Trade as an independent agency like the Office for Budget responsibility “with its own staff and governance structure” citing how “it is vital that [the government] take this opportunity to reform the Board of Trade to reflect the importance of the UK’s new trading arrangements to the UK economy”.
Signatories to the letter include over 20 leading academics from across 11 UK universities alongside national trade bodies the RSPCA, NHS Confederation, the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, British Poultry Council and the International Chambers Of Commerce UK.
The letter has also been signed by leading business figures Peter Norris, Chair of the Virgin Group, former CEO of Siemens UK Juergen Maier CBE and Vice President of the German British Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Bob Bischof.
The calls were also supported by former diplomats Lord Kim Darroch and Sir Peter Westmacott, and former President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sir Vince Cable.
Other signatories include Sir James G M Wates CBE, director of Wates Group Ltd, Jenny Tooth OBE, executive chair of the UK Business Angels Association, Dame Rosemary Squire, and Ben Ramanauskas, Former Adviser to Badenoch’s predecessor as Secretary of State for International Trade and later Prime Minister, Liz Truss.
In May, the cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission recommended that a new arms-length and independent UK Board of Trade be established to act as an ‘OBR for trade’ to provide evidence based analysis of UK trade policy and performance.
Sir Vince Cable, former President of the Board of Trade and former Secretary of State for Business, Industry and Skills said,
“Voters rightly expect that Government policy, and indeed parliamentary scrutiny of it, should be evidenced based. An independent Board of Trade, with the power to publish assessments on the impact of proposed trade policy, is critical in any liberal democracy seeking to protect domestic industry and boost economic growth.”
Paul Drechsler, Chairman of the International Chambers of Commerce UK said,
“With this proposed shake-up of the Board of Trade, Government has a real opportunity to engage business and industry at the policymaking table in a meaningful way.
"Working together with those on the front line of global trade, and giving them the independence to issue guidance on the pros and cons of proposed deals, would be a win-win for the UK.
"Those of us who have signed this letter, hope the Secretary of State will grasp this opportunity and implement our recommendations in full ”
The letter and signatories in full
The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch
Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Department for Business and Trade
Old Admiralty Place
Admiralty Place
London
SW1A 2DY
12 September 2023
Dear Secretary of State,
We are aware of reports of an upcoming revamp of the Board of Trade, noting the recent news of a decision to include new representatives on the Board.
An upgrade of the Board of Trade is long overdue, but with the UK’s trading arrangements increasingly central to the UK’s economic outlook, it is vital that you take this opportunity to reform the Board of Trade to reflect the importance of the UK’s new trading arrangements to the UK economy.
As detailed in our recent report, based on evidence from 234 expert trading witnesses ‘Trading our Way to Prosperity, a Blueprint for Policymakers’, the Board of Trade should be set up as an independent agency, modelled on the highly regarded Swedish Board of Trade.
Like the OBR, the UK Board of Trade should be fully independent of government, with its own staff and governance structure.
This new Board of Trade should be responsible for a range of tasks including analysing the UK’s trading performance, conducting impact assessments of new trade deals, and overseeing the implementation of existing agreements to identify areas where they can be improved. The agency should also monitor how UK nations and regions are affected by international trade agreements and conduct horizon scans to identify emerging issues of importance to UK traders and consumers.
As the Department for Business and Trade looks to revamp the Board of Trade, I urge you to ensure that any such revamp takes account of the need for broad representation, independence, frequent and proactive analysis and expertise.
Best wishes,
Professor L. Alan Winters
Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Professor of Economics, University of Sussex
Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy
Peter Norris, Co-convenor, UK Trade and Business Commission, Chair, Virgin Group, Commission, UK Trade and Business Commission
Ben Ramanauskas, Research Fellow in Economics and Former Adviser to the Secretary of State for International Trade
Juergen Maier CBE, Vice Chair Northern Powerhouse Partnership and former CEO of Siemens UK
David Bowles, Head of Public Affairs RSPCA
Professor Clair Gammage, Head of Law School, University of Exeter
Sir Vince Cable, Former President of the Board of Trade
Jenny Tooth OBE, Executive Chair, UK Business Angels Association
Professor Nigel Driffield, Professor of International Business, Warwick University
Dr Emily Jones, Associate Professor, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
Sir James G M Wates CBE, Director Wates Group Ltd.
Dr Philippa Whitford MP, Member of Parliament, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Deborah Annetts, CEO, Independent Society of Musicians, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Naomi McCarthy, Independent Society of Musicians
Sir Peter Westmacott, Senior Adviser, Chatham House
Ms Paule Constable RDI, Lighting Designer
Thomas Sampson, Associate Professor, London School of Economics
Richard Griffiths, Chief Executive, British Poultry Council
Professor Holger Hestermeyer, Professor of International and EU law
Claire Hanna MP, Member of Parliament, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Jonny Peters, Senior Policy Advisor, E3G
Professor Michael Gasiorek, co-Director Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy, University of of Sussex
Dame Rosemary Squire, Joint CEO, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Paul Drechsler CBE, Chairman ICCUK
Tim Cotterill, Chair/James Lister and Sons
Hywel Williams MP, Member of Parliament for Arfon, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Professor Tony Venables, Professor of Economics
Jonathan Ashford, Managing Director
Dr Sean Rickard, Professional Economist
John Horner, Chairman - British Fashion Model Agents Association
Layla Moran MP, Lib Dem MP and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Professor Graeme Atherton, Academic
Kim Darroch, Former Diplomat, Consultant
Paul Blomfield MP, MP for Sheffield Central, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Alexander Horne, Former special adviser to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee and Visiting Professor, Durham University.
Lawrence Gould, Brand Consultant
Andy Macdonald, CEO Lisou Ltd
Professor Giovanni Facchini, Deputy Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy
Dr Stephen Farry MP, Alliance Party, Commissioner, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Douglas Florence MA (Hons) Cantab MIET, Senior Machinery Safety Consultant
Andrew Dixon, ARC InterCapital Ltd, CEO
Richard Thomson MP, SNP Westminster Spokesperson - Business and Trade
M Parker, Composer
Dr Ingo Borchert, Reader in Economics
Johannes von Stumm PPRSS, PPOAS, Director
Oliver Harman, Economist, University of Oxford
Alison Williams, DPO and Head of Data Privacy & Governance, Dunnhumby, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Barry Crompton, Managing Director
Chris Moore, CEO Nordic Group
Professor Richard Kellner, University of Nottingham
Liz Webster, Chair, Save British Farming
Hugh Andrew, Managing Director, Birlinn Ltd
Javier Ruiz Diaz, Policy Advisor
Professor Billy Melo Araujo, Queen's University Belfast - Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy
Bob Bischof, Vice President German British Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Mr J. P. Garnier, CEO MeatWise Int.
Peter Ellingworth, Chief Executive, ABHI
Dr Stefania Lovo, Associate Professor, University of Reading
Simon Chambers, Director Storm Model Management
Dr Layla McCay, Head of Policy, NHS Confederation
Simon Jeffreys, Chief Executive
Professor Davide Castellani, Professor of International Business and Strategy
Dr Bryce Stewart, Reader, University of York
Ms Pauline Burt FRSA, CEO Ffilm Cymru Wales
Sarah McCartney, CEO, 4160 Tuesdays
Ian Mucklejohn, Vacational Studies
Professor Paul Ekins, OBE, UCL, Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy UCL
Mr David Hellyar, Chairman John Hellyar & Co Ltd
Andrea L Hough OBE, Chair of Atec Solutions Ltd
Gregory Messenger, Associate Professor of Law, Commissioner, University of Bristol Law School
Dr Jeremmy Okonjo, Assistant Professor of International Economic Law, University of Warwick
Phoebe Clay, Director, Unchecked UK
Simon Curtis, Senior Legal Counsel
Dr Nick Mann, NHS doctor
Dai Preston, Managing Director
Dr Charles Rose, Economist, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Mike Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Geoff Mackey, UK Country Manager, Plastics Europe, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Tamara Cincik, CEO, Fashion Roundtable, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Stephen Kinsella OBE, Legal Consultant Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
Stephen Gosling, Board Member, Commissioner, UK Trade and Business Commission
David Henig, Expert Adviser, UK Trade and Business Commission
Naomi Smith, CEO, Best for Britain
