This government was elected on a pledge to turn the page, to kickstart growth and to rebuild our country so that it once again serves the interests of working people. We said that we would hit the ground running from day one. And that’s exactly what we’ve done.
You can see that in our pressing ahead with accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership – or CPTPP for short. It’s an expansive free-trade agreement covering four continents and more than 500 million people.
Peru is shortly expected to become the sixth and final ratification needed to trigger our accession to CPTPP by the end of this year. It will mark a major milestone in our journey to full membership of a bloc that will boast a combined GDP of £12trn after the UK joins.
This is a real win for big-hitting British exporters who stand to benefit from smoother trade and more than 99% of UK goods qualifying for zero tariffs across the bloc, which includes economies such as Peru, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia and Singapore.
But our accession boosts smaller businesses keen to break into these markets for the first time, too. That really matters because research published by UK Export Finance in 2019 shows that businesses that export grow at up to twice the rate of those that don’t.
I want to maintain this momentum, capitalising on the goodwill and trust we worked so hard to secure in the run-up to the election. That means hitting the reset button on our trade relations, starting with the European Union. The EU is not just our closest trading partner – it’s still our largest trading partner by quite some margin.
Yet we know that thousands of British businesses have stopped exporting to Europe altogether. It’s no secret as to why. The last government’s adversarial approach to working with the EU resulted in UK firms being buried in bureaucracy. We’re changing course – working towards negotiating the removal of unnecessary border checks while securing mutual recognition for professional qualifications so British companies can more easily operate in France, Germany, Italy and beyond.
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At the same time, we’re pursuing high-quality, barrier-removing trade deals with partners around the world, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and India. A deal with the GCC alone could increase bilateral trade by 16%, generating an additional £1.6bn for our economy in the long run.
So we’re opening up new markets and going for growth abroad at every opportunity. But we’re just as ambitious in spurring growth at home, too. That’s shown in our plans to scrap regressive business rates, tackle late payments to small businesses and align key institutions under the National Wealth Fund to unlock investment in the new clean, green industries of the future. And as the chancellor made clear last week, there will be no blank cheques for public sector unions as we deliver growth across the UK.
However, after 14 years of haphazard, kneejerk policymaking, I know what businesses are crying out for right now is certainty and stability. They want to see a clear, credible strategy for UK industry – one that gives them the confidence to invest and plan not for just for the next year but the next decade.
That’s why the prime minister and I will be setting out our ambitions for a new industrial strategy – one that is fully aligned with our trade strategy and will be international from the start.
We’ll be addressing the nation on our plan to work with mayors and multinationals, councils and CEOs, trade unions, devolved governments and academics to build a more resilient economy; to have a modern industrial strategy that transforms the UK into a global magnet for international investment. It will be a strategy that lets us create good, well-paid jobs in the places where they’re most needed. A strategy that supports our transition to a clean energy superpower by 2030.
The prime minister will also host an International Investment Summit on 14 October that will help to attract investment in the UK, creating good jobs across the country, which will put more money in people’s back pockets – meaning British taxpayers can reap the benefits of our economic growth.
When the prime minister stood on the steps of Downing Street last month, he said that the rebuilding of our economy would begin immediately. It has and business confidence has already jumped to the highest level for eight years. I am proud to be part of this government. A government that is putting country before party and business before ideology. A government that is building the pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-wealth creation economy our country so decisively voted for.
