Pulse.Assent

• Benefits of ground-breaking free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand to be unleashed for British businesses and consumers later this month
• First trade deals negotiated from scratch by the UK and tailored to our strengths as a services-led economy
• Trade deals deliver on the Prime Minister’s priorities to grow the economy and drive innovation

British businesses and consumers will soon be able to reap the benefits of the UK’s first trade deals negotiated from scratch since leaving the European Union with the agreements set to come into force this month.

Expected to increase bilateral trade with Australia by 53% and with New Zealand by 59% in the long term, the two game-changing free trade agreements are anticipated to go live across all three countries from midnight on 31 May.

It comes as the Prime Minister meets both the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Chris Hipkins, tomorrow for talks in Downing Street ahead of the Coronation.

Both trade deals will drive economic growth and innovation across the UK, Australia and New Zealand through the removal of tariffs on all UK goods exports, open unprecedented access for services, cutting of red tape for digital trade, and by making it easier for UK professionals to live and work in Australia and New Zealand.

It comes just weeks after the UK concluded negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade area worth £9 trillion, putting us at the heart of a trading powerhouse.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

As some of our closest allies, and greatest friends, I am delighted our first built from scratch trade deals are with Australia and New Zealand.

These landmark deals squarely deliver on my priorities to drive economic growth, boost innovation and increase highly skilled jobs across the UK, ensuring we and our closest friends continue to prosper for generations to come.

Business and Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, said:

With these two deals the UK is using our status as an independent trading nation to tailor agreements to our country’s economic strengths. Alongside our recent conclusion of talks to join CPTPP, the government is forging a bold new future alongside the world’s most dynamic and fast-growing economies.

Putting these trade deals into action will help create new opportunities for business, boosting wages and helping spur economic growth.

The UK and Welsh Governments have now made the final legislative changes needed to bring the trade deals into action.

Services are central to the UK’s economy, accounting for around 80% of its economic output and workforce, and one of its biggest export success stories. The provisions in these deals complement our strengths and will help deliver on the PM’s priority of growing our economy.

UK professionals from scientists and researchers to lawyers and accountants will have access to Australian work visas without being subject to its changing skilled occupation list. Brits will also be able to work more freely in New Zealand through commitments which enable UK service suppliers to deliver contracts.

Other UK benefits include:

• Investment opportunities and access to government contracts, including putting British businesses on equal footing to compete for an additional £10 billion of Australian public sector contracts per year and high investment screening thresholds for UK investors in New Zealand
• Tariff free access to both markets for all British goods and flexible rules of origins, giving businesses a competitive edge over international rivals
• Reaffirmed commitments to the Paris Agreement and opportunities to grow our low-carbon economy, with tariffs on environmental goods liberalised
• Removal of UK import tariffs on majority of goods from Australia and New Zealand, reducing prices for UK consumers on favourites such as wine and manuka honey and lowering costs on machinery parts for UK manufacturers
• Progressive rules on digital trade and free flow of data, cutting red tape for SMEs and easing trade while protecting intellectual property, brands and innovations

There are robust protections for British farmers in both deals, including staging tariff liberalisation for sensitive goods over time.

Both countries are key members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a huge trade bloc in the Indo-Pacific.

Businesses have welcomed the news, including:

Grimshaw, a global architecture practice with its origins in the UK, where it is known for its work on the global Eden projects as well as Waterloo Station, London Bridge station and the line-wide design for the recently opened Elizabeth Line.

It has been working in Melbourne since 2002 – instigated by its first project in that city, Southern Cross Station. In Sydney, the studio was established in 2010 and has designed and delivered important projects in infrastructure as well as commercial architecture, tertiary education and research laboratories including the Sydney Light Rail, Martin Place Metro Station and the recently completed Poly Centre, 210 George Street. Both studios have grown to now comprise nearly a third of Grimshaw’s world-wide staff.

It has also been working in New Zealand for almost a decade on the City Rail Link. In June 2023, it is due to formally launch its new studio in New Zealand and its Auckland premises will open with approximately 20 full time staff.

Mark Middleton, Global Managing Partner at Grimshaw, said:

Our approach has always been characterised by the same motivations and thinking which are the very essence of free trade – the movement of people and goods without restrictive tariffs or conditions. But with the advent of the new UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, we can now approach the mobility of our architects through simplified and liberated arrangements for transfers between our studios.

Also of great importance to us is the integration into the UK-Australia FTA of the assurance that architects from both countries can provide services under contract in either country. This, combined with the provision that those architects within our practice who now wish to transfer between the UK and Australia can work for four years, double the previous term, provides us with much welcomed certainty as we construct our teams and extend our collaboration. This important development is mirrored in the UK-New Zealand agreement where UK architects can now transfer to our Auckland studio for three years.

With the formalisation of the new Australian and New Zealand FTAs, we now operate with a much welcome assurance that our business can continue to attract both our global collaborators and new talent to our Australasian studios, assuring our continuing growth and prosperity.

Seed & Bean, founded in London 2005 with the idea to create an ethical range of confectionery. The company previously exported to Australia and New Zealand, however this ceased due to COVID. It maintains an ambition to export to both nations again and the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) would help do that.

Seed & Bean’s Chief Chocolatier Oliver Shorts said:

The trade deals with Australia and New Zealand will help us reduce the landed cost of our organic chocolate bars into the two countries. One of the big barriers to entry are the costs involved in getting the goods in, and this will allow us to help any potential distributor margins and permit the product to be a more viable opportunity in the market.

As part of the two Free Trade Agreements, originating British food and drink products will benefit from reduced tariffs.

The Fifth Wheel Company, which manufactures luxury leisure vehicles in North Wales. The company’s export sales make up over 40% of its annual turnover with its products reaching as far as Australia and New Zealand.

Fifth Wheel’s Technical Director, John Gethin Whiteley, said:

We believe our products are the best in the world and the Australia and New Zealand trade agreements will allow us to increase our export sales to these regions. As the Fifth Wheel concept is a recognised method of towing in Australia and New Zealand, and the appetite from the public is ever growing to live off grid and explore, we see a massive potential for our products in this marketplace and are actively looking for partners to help us grow.

As a result of the Free Trade Agreements, tariffs on all products will be removed making it more competitive for UK manufacturers to export their products to these markets.

Background

• The agreement is expected to enter into force on the 31 May, subject to finalisation of UK domestic procedures with remaining changes to UK law coming into force at the end of May.
• Please see here for more information on the UK-Australia free trade deal.
• Please see here for more information on the UK-New Zealand free trade deal.

The Trade Remedies Authority today published its consolidated Corporate and Business Plan 2023-2026. This ambitious plan sets out the TRA’s corporate and business planning priorities for the next three years under its four strategic goals of Cases, People, Digital and Reputation and details how the TRA plans to deliver its mission of defending UK economic interests against unfair international trade practices.

A far-reaching work programme

By March 2025, the TRA expects to have completed its review of all 43 trade remedy measures transitioned from the EU. From this point, the TRA will act directly in response to requests from UK industries. Developments in the global economy, such as the spread in use of subsides for strategic industries, could drive an increasing need for trade remedies in the future. To help ensure that every British industry that could need this support is aware of the UK’s trade remedies regime, the TRA will continue to invest in its Pre-Application Office, which offers free confidential advice to support businesses interested in making an application. The TRA has recently launched an online hub to provide additional guidance for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) navigating what trade remedies could mean for them. The TRA has also introduced a biennial survey of stakeholder views to help ensure we’re focusing on what matters to businesses and other key stakeholders.

Expanded analysis of the TRA’s operating environment and risk landscape

The plan sets out an ambitious programme of 20 corporate and business planning priorities for the next three years, aligned to the TRA’s strategic goals – this includes a programme to monitor and evaluate the impact of the recommendations the TRA makes to the Government, a digital vision roadmap and how the organisation plans to expand engagement with peer trade remedies bodies worldwide. The plan also expands its analysis of the TRA’s external operating environment, which in turn informs its risk landscape and reflects the rapid pace of both domestic and global change. And to ensure that stakeholders can hold the TRA to account on the deliverables that matter most, the plan sets out a strengthened set of high-level Key Performance Indicators for each of the TRA’s strategic goals.

TRA Chair Simon Walker explains:

The Trade Remedies Authority plays a critical role in the government’s vision of putting trade at the heart of global Britain. This plan sets out how, over the coming years, we will build on and deploy the independent expertise needed to provide robust advice and recommendations to government in support of the UK’s strategy for prosperity and economic growth.

The plan includes links to further detailed information about the TRA and its schedule of cases. It will be reviewed, updated and rolled forward each year to make sure it takes account of changes in operating environment, supports the organisation in being agile and flexible as a business, and remains fit for purpose. The plan will be followed in July 2023 by the TRA’s first Annual Report & Accounts.

Background information

• As an independent body operating at arm’s length from the Department for Business & Trade, the TRA is guided in its work by its principles of proportionality, impartiality, transparency and efficiency.
• The TRA welcomes applications for trade remedies investigations from any business operating in the UK. Read our online guidance to find out more about how to apply and what information to provide.

• New campaign launched in US – with billboards across Silicon Valley – to encourage tech experts to invest in the UK and help deliver on priority to grow the economy
• Campaign promotes that UK is now the third country in the world to have a trillion dollar tech sector
• Short film narrated by Stephen Fry highlights the UK’s tech success

In 2022, the UK became only the third country in the world to have its tech sector valued at one trillion dollars, making it a tech superpower alongside the US and China.

To date, 162 ‘tech Unicorns’ – private start-ups which are valued at more than $1bn – have been started in the UK, more than the total number in Germany, France and Sweden combined.

Yet government research suggests that many of Silicon Valley’s top tech entrepreneurs and investors are still not aware of the UK’s world-leading strengths in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), fintech and medical technology.

GREAT, the government flagship marketing programme, has taken steps to address this by launching its ‘Unicorn Kingdom’ campaign, which promotes the UK as a place with all the right ingredients to breed new tech unicorns and aims to drive international investment, grow the economy and create jobs across the UK.

The campaign launched with billboards in San Francisco promoting the UK sector’s scale ($1trillion), agile regulation and world-class talent. The campaign also includes targeted LinkedIn and digital display ads and a content partnership with TechCrunch, with promotional videos narrated by Stephen Fry.

The campaign is being supported by multiple UK tech unicorns including Darktrace, Deepmind, Revolut, and Matillion – and is the latest in a number of recent actions from the government which demonstrates its strong support for UK tech.

This includes the establishment of the new Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, the launch of  the International Tech Strategy, the upcoming AI Whitepaper and the Government’s commitment to provide £20 billion of funding to research and development by 2024-25 – the highest ever level of public support for UK researchers and innovators.

The next stage of the campaign will see leaders from the US tech sector invited to the UK for London Tech week, to see the benefits of working in the UK first-hand.

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:

The UK has all the right ingredients for tech companies to thrive. But we’ll keep working hard to foster the right conditions for the tech sector, so that it can continue to deliver on my priority to grow the economy and create jobs right across the UK.

Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, said:

The UK tech sector is a wonderful success story. Only three countries in the world are in the trillion-dollar tech club – and we’re one of them. We’re home to some of the brightest minds and best universities, and our doors are open to any tech entrepreneur who wants to start the next Deepmind or Deliveroo.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said:

The UK has one of the top tech sectors in the world with a valuation of more than a trillion dollars. It’s diverse, resilient, and continues to grow at a rapid pace with the most venture capital investment in Europe. The goal of this campaign is to attract as much collaboration and investment as we can from Silicon Valley.

The formation of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, shows Investors and entrepreneurs that the UK is more dedicated than ever to forming a tech sector that is pro-innovation, pro-talent and pro-growth. Our commitment for R&D spending to be £20 billion a year by 2024 drives forward the government’s ambitions for the UK to be a science and tech superpower.

As well as the promotional campaign, business leaders from across Silicon Valley were invited to a special reception to promote the UK tech sector in San Francisco.

At the event, they met the leaders of tech companies from across the UK as well as senior government officials, who explained to them the UK’s place at the centre of the tech world and the benefits of investing in the country.

Matthew Scullion, CEO and founder of Manchester-based tech company, Matillion, said:  

In the UK, we really have all the ingredients required for building consequential companies. We have brilliant grassroots engineering skills from our very strong university ecosystem. We have skills, we have capital, and we have a great environment for starting and building businesses.

Further activities will also be carried out in the UK during London Tech Week in June, when leaders from the tech sector in America will be invited to the country to see the benefits of working in the UK.

The Welsh economy is expected to benefit after the UK Government today (31 March) announced the conclusion of trade talks with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a vast free trade area spanning the Indo-Pacific.

The bloc is home to over 500 million people and will have a total GDP of £11 trillion once the UK joins. Joining the bloc could boost the Welsh economy by improving businesses’ access to some of the world’s largest markets.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms. As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.

Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

There are numerous opportunities for Welsh businesses to benefit from joining CPTPP, with more than 450 businesses in Wales exporting over £900m worth of goods to CPTPP countries in 2021.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said:

This is an important moment for the UK. Our accession to CPTPP sends a powerful signal that the UK is open for business and using our post-Brexit freedoms to reach out to new markets around the world and grow our economy.

Joining CPTPP will support jobs and create opportunities for companies of all sizes and in all parts of the UK. It is also about giving Welsh businesses improved access to the countries that will be gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region which is projected to make up the majority of global growth in the future.

Joining the trade bloc will mean more than 99 percent of UK goods exports to CPTPP members will be eligible for zero tariffs. In the long run, it could boost the UK economy by £1.8 billion and lead to a £1.7 billion increase in UK exports to CPTPP countries as result of the reduction of barriers across goods and services according to the Government’s published scoping assessment. Key Welsh exports such as machinery and power generators could benefit from the removal of tariffs as a result of the agreement.

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies said:

This trade deal is great news for Welsh business. CPTPP countries are already an important sector in the Welsh export market. Over 450 companies, including Halen Môn and Fifth Wheel, will benefit from less red tape and better opportunities. These growing markets will help businesses in Wales increase export opportunities and boost the global appetite for Welsh goods and services.

Fifth Wheel Company are a multi-award winning business specialising in the design and manufacturing of luxury tourers. All of their vehicles are assembled in-house at their factory in Rhuallt in North Wales, and they’re excited about the exporting opportunities that will be created by the UK joining CPTPP.

Gethin Whiteley at Fifth Wheel, commented:

We’ve been exporting our luxury caravans to Australia and New Zealand customers for the last five years. The leisure and camping market within these countries is growing, and our products offer the size and space of a motorhome and the practicality of a car and caravan so are perfectly suited to explore.

We have already embarked on a trade mission to strengthen our position in these markets, and we believe that joining CPTPP, along with the bilateral deals, will further assist us in our search to increase exports of our products to markets of growing importance.

Wales-based company Halen Môn produce ANGLESEY Sea Salt, which can be found in over 100 of the UK’s best delicatessens, as well as in retailers such as Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Harvey Nichols.

They already export to more than 22 countries across the globe, including several CPTPP members, and are looking forward to exploring the further exporting potential created by the UK’s accession to the trading bloc.

Alison Lea-Wilson at Halen Môn said:

Anything the UK government can do to help realise the huge potential of trading with CPTPP member states is to be welcomed. We already export to Japan and Singapore and see opportunities in Australia too.

We are delighted to be supplying a Japanese bakery ingredients company with our innovative oak smoked water. There is already a great relationship between Wales and Japan forged in part by rugby, seaweed and even leeks, and we look forward to building on it.

Membership is a gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region, which has 60% of the world’s population and is set to account for the majority (54%) of global economic growth and around half of the world’s billion middle-class consumers in the decades ahead.

As a member of CPTPP, the UK will help influence and shape global rules for industries of the future like digital, data and services, and secure our place as a global leader in a network of countries committed to free trade.

The UK and CPTPP members will now take the final steps required for the UK to formally sign in 2023.

New jobs and investment are set to come to Wales as the UK Government today unveils ambitious plans to scale up affordable, clean, homegrown power and build thriving green industries in Britain.

After decades of reliance on importing expensive, foreign fossil fuels, the Government is delivering a radical shift in our energy system towards cleaner, more affordable energy sources to power more of Britain from Britain.

New green technologies, set to be developed and deployed here in the Wales including carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen, will spearhead the government’s new Energy Security Plan.

As part of this, Grant Shapps is announcing £160 million of new funding for pilot projects to build the port infrastructure needed to support further floating offshore wind, through the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme. This scheme will support investment in the infrastructure needed to meet the UK’s ambition of up to 5GW of floating offshore wind by 2030, supported by a substantial pipeline of potential projects in the Celtic sea.

Today, the UK Government confirmed Hanson Padeswood Cement Works carbon capture and storage project – based in the North Wales region – as one of eight projects to be taken forward to negotiations to form the basis of the UK’s new CCUS clusters.

This announcement follows the confirmation in the Spring Budget of £20 billion for CCUS, future-proofing jobs in the industrial heartlands, including the North Sea, contributing to a half a million new green jobs set to be created and supported across the country.

CCUS is a key pillar to the UK’s path to net zero – recognised by the independent Committee on Climate Change as a necessity – and the country’s geography means it has capacity to permanently store carbon emissions taken from our air deep underground and at sea.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

Thanks to our unique geography and strong expertise in clean technology, the UK is well placed to create thriving new industries in carbon capture, hydrogen and floating offshore wind across the country.

By investing in new ways to power Britain from Britain, we will not only strengthen our long-term energy security, but also deliver on our promise to grow the economy with well-paid jobs and opportunities for businesses to export their expertise around the world.

Energy Security and Net Zero Minister Graham Stuart said:

Wales will be at the heart of our plans to power up Britain, as we support its development of new home-grown technologies of the future.

Today’s announcement will create opportunities for welsh businesses to export their expertise around the world and set the standard for a clean, secure and prosperous future.

Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies said:

The UK Government’s Energy Security plan is ambitious and contains fantastic news for the whole of Wales. We know that there is huge potential in the Celtic Sea for floating offshore wind and we have the best sites for new nuclear developments.

The UK Government is supporting plans for the Celtic Sea to deliver enough clean, secure electricity for 4 million homes by 2035. Today we’ve announced £160m of government funding to kickstart investment in building the infrastructure in ports to allow them to deliver this innovative source of renewable energy.

The establishment of Great British Nuclear will support our ambition to ramp up nuclear capacity in the UK to a quarter of our energy demand by 2050. I am eager to see nuclear energy brought back to Wales and the development of a floating offshore wind industry, creating jobs, spreading growth and prosperity and securing our energy supply.

The UK Government has also set an ambition for 10GW of hydrogen production by 2030 – which could generate enough clean electricity to power all of London for a year.

Wales will be central to these plans, where one of the first successful applicants to the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund will be located. Fifteen projects will be awarded grant funding of £37.9m to support the development and deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production plants. Hydrogen will play an important role in helping intensive industries such as chemicals, steel and cement convert to using clean energy.

The successful project is Statkraft’s Trecwn Green Hydrogen Valley project. It plans to build a 15MW electrolyser system to produce green hydrogen, using the region’s excellent wind and solar resources to produce a sustainable fuel for transport and other industrial application.

Alongside this, three companies based in Wales have been shortlisted to proceed to the next stage of the first electrolytic hydrogen Allocation round (HAR1).

These are:

• RES and Octopus Green Hydrogen
• Marubeni Europower
• H2 energy and Trafigura

Today’s plans will help deliver on the Prime Minister’s promise to grow the economy across Wales, supporting new green jobs, creating a strategic advantage in new clean industries, and generating opportunities for Welsh businesses to export their expertise around the world.

A new campaign to help businesses, charities and public sector bodies increase their energy efficiency and drive down bills by making simple changes at low-to-no cost has been launched by the UK government today.

The campaign, targeted at small and medium sized businesses, will offer guidance on how organisations can make significant savings while cutting emissions, from installing light and heating timers, to turning down boiler flow temperature and changing light bulbs.

Many organisations are already aware of ways to boost their energy efficiency and have put these measures into practice. However, a substantial number of businesses are missing out on huge potential savings, due to a lack of information on how to cut down on their energy costs.

For many companies, a 20% cut in energy costs represents the same bottom-line benefit as a 5% increase in sales. A new website will help organisations access simple, low-to-no cost advice, outlining a range of possible actions, from having better sight of current energy use to upgrading and modifying equipment.

Examples of businesses already benefiting from energy efficiency measures:

• LED lighting allowed a carpark in Bedford to cut their average annual lighting costs by 50%. Lurke Street Multistorey Carpark installed lighting throughout their premises in 2017, replacing older, less energy efficient lighting. By installing a smart meter they were able to actively track and compare year-on-year savings – on average £50,000 per year – allowing them to build business cases for further investments.
• Marlec Engineering, a wind turbine manufacturer in Corby, switched to energy saving lighting as part of a range of measures to make their business premises more energy efficient. The company replaced T8 Fluorescent lamps with new, energy saving LED tubes. The lighting did not reduce light levels in the office and achieved a 60% saving on lighting costs.

To make sure as many businesses as possible know about the campaign, it will be promoted through partnerships with the British Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Business and paid advertorial across TV, radio, social media and more.

It follows the launch of the government’s £18 million ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign last year. This provides similar advice for households, saving them hundreds on their energy bills, and saw UK sales of ‘draught protection products’ on eBay double shortly after the launch.

Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan said:

Falling wholesale energy prices are welcome news, but this in no way changes our firm, long-term commitments to vastly boost UK energy efficiency across industry and households.

From today businesses, charities and public sector bodies can access helpful and practical advice on simple actions they can take to substantially reduce their energy use – and potentially increase profits.

Not only will this help lower operational costs by up to hundreds of thousands of pounds, but smarter energy use will help us deliver on our critical pledges to cut demand by 15% and reach net zero by 2050.

The new site also offers guidance on taking full advantage of the government’s range of energy support schemes available, such as the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which offers a unit discount on bills, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers grants to help make installing heat pumps and biomass boilers as cheap as a gas boiler.

Adrian Dennis, Managing Director of Marlec Engineering, said:

Our business works with an absolute focus on sustainable energy solutions. We’ve invested in electric company cars and eco-friendly packaging. But upgrading to LED lighting is low-cost, and one of the simplest ways to promote sustainability in-house and save money on utility bills. We’d encourage other businesses to upgrade as well.

Energy Bills Discount Scheme

From today organisations across the country will start receiving money off their energy bills through the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme. It comes as wholesale gas prices are at levels not seen since before Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, with eligible UK businesses, charities, public sector bodies and others to receive the discount until 31 March 2024.

Customers do not need to apply for the universal discount, with suppliers automatically factoring it into the bills of all eligible non-domestic customers.

The new scheme replaces the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which by late March had paid out £5.6 billion – around £35 million a day to cut energy costs for businesses.

Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability Amanda Solloway said:

This government will always be unapologetically pro-business. We’ve spent over £5 billion to protect against disruption to UK industry at the hands of Putin, saving many businesses around half on their wholesale energy costs this winter.

The new level of support offered today reflects a substantial drop in global energy prices – now at their lowest level since before Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

We will continue to firmly back UK industry and are making sure those unable to cut back on their energy use continue to be shielded.

Dhara Vyas, Deputy CEO at Energy UK, said:

Despite recent falls, wholesale gas prices are still high by historical standards, making this is a difficult time for businesses up and down the country. Energy suppliers are working with businesses to come up with innovative solutions that will help customers afford their bills while providing improved customer service and information. But high prices cannot be solved by industry alone, so we’re pleased government and industry have worked together to ensure delivery of this critical, extended support is on time. We particularly welcome the launch of a business energy campaign will help reduce bills now and protect against future crises.

Meanwhile, eligible energy and trade intensive industries will be able to apply for a higher level of support through a GOV.UK portal later this month. This is expected to save some businesses 20% of predicted wholesale energy costs.

Domestic heat networks will also receive a new, sector-specific support rate. This will make sure these customers do not face disproportionately higher energy bills under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme than those supported by the Energy Price Guarantee.

The discount is expected to be reflected in bills from May onwards, with support backdated to 1 April.

Minister Solloway met with Ofgem, energy suppliers and others earlier this week to discuss what more suppliers can do to help business customers fixed into long-term contracts at high prices – especially those in sectors currently facing challenges.

Non-Standard Cases

The government is today announcing further that non-domestic energy support will be extended and eligibility expanded to include customers receiving energy from non-licensed suppliers through the public electricity or gas grid.

These customers will be able to apply for Non-Standard Cases support under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme covering similar levels of energy costs from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

Non-Standard Cases support will also be expanded to include non-domestic customers who receive electricity or gas from license-exempt suppliers via private wire or pipe and where prices paid are pegged to wholesale energy prices. This wider group can apply for backdated support under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme as well as under the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme.

Further information about how eligible customers can apply will be provided on GOV.UK in due course.

Notes to editors:

Business Energy Efficiency campaign

Advice offered on the new government website will be continuously updated with sector-specific guidance, successful case studies and any new, relevant schemes. Key actions advised include:

• Undertaking an energy review
• Installing SMART meters
• Reviewing tariffs
• Installing light timers and changing lightbulbs
• Timing heating and turning down boiler flow temperature

Energy Bills Discount Scheme

From today, all eligible non-domestic customers who have a contract with a licensed energy supplier will see a unit discount of up to £6.97/MWh applied to their gas bill and a unit discount of up to £19.61/MWh applied to their electricity bill.

This will be subject to a wholesale price threshold – £107/MWh for gas and £302/MWh for electricity. This means that businesses experiencing wholesale energy costs below this level will not receive support.

These businesses will receive a discount reflecting the difference between a price threshold and the relevant wholesale price. Some Energy and Trade Intensive Industries will receive a higher level of support. The price threshold for this element of the scheme will be £99/MWh for gas and £185/MWh for electricity. This discount will only apply to 70% of energy consumption and will be subject to a ‘maximum discount’ of £40.0/MWh for gas and £89.1/MWh for electricity.

The Energy Bill Discount Scheme will be delivered through regulations made under the Energy Prices Act 2022. The Regulations are expected to be made in late April 2023 and the scheme will not be finalised until they are made.

• Further information on the Energy Bills Discount Scheme can be found here.
• Further information on the Energy Price Guarantee can be found here.
• Further information on the EBRS for Non Standard Cases can be found here [add link]
• Further information on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme can be found here.
• Improving the energy efficiency of homes is the best long-term method of tackling fuel poverty, and that’s why the government has committed over £6.6 billion in this parliament, with a further £6 billion committed to 2028.
• The government last month announced the allocation of £1.8 billion to boost energy efficiency and cut emissions of homes and public buildings across England.

Energy Price Guarantee

Households will not feel the full force of Ofgem’s new Price Cap – at £3,280 from today –after the Government announced a three-month extension of the Energy Price Guarantee from April to the end of June – meaning the typical household bill will remain at the yearly equivalent of £2,500. The Guarantee protects customers from increases in energy costs by limiting the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy.

The Guarantee is just one element of support offered by the government to household this winter, having stepped in to pay around half of the typical bill. Other support has included £400 payments towards bills through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. To date £5.5 billion has been paid out through the Energy Price Guarantee and £9.4 billion through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

• the new business tax year comes in today 1 April 2023, with a new regime to boost investment and spur UK growth
• £27 billion cut to corporation tax, via Chancellor’s new full expensing policy, expected to boost investment by 3% in each of the next three years
• other tax changes coming into force include more business rates relief, extension to the fuel duty cut and a £450 income tax cut for carers

The package, announced at Spring Budget, comprises 100% full expensing and a 50% first-year allowance. It will mean the UK has the most generous capital allowance regime in the OECD worth £27 billion over the next three years, amounting to an effective £9 billion a year tax cut for companies.

The OBR expects this regime to boost investment by 3% over three years.

To mark the milestone, Financial Secretary to the Treasury visited Brompton Bikes in Greenford, London, who’ll be using full expensing to stimulate their growth.

Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“We are determined to make the UK the best place in the world to do business, which is why from today businesses can start to benefit from the raft of tax cuts on offer to boost their growth.

“With full expensing, the more a company invests the less tax they’ll pay, and I encourage companies of any size to take full advantage of this world-leading reform.”

With the new 25% corporation tax rate coming in for the top 10% most profitable companies from today, and the super-deduction ending yesterday, the Chancellor used his Spring Budget to ensure that the UK’s tax system fosters the right conditions for enterprise, investment and growth.

Full expensing lets companies deduct 100% of the cost of certain plant and machinery investments from their profits before tax. It is available from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026. It provides the same generosity as the super-deduction, saving firms up to 25p in every £1 of qualifying investment and is for main rate assets – such as construction, warehousing and office equipment.

The 50% First-Year Allowance lets companies deduct 50% of the cost of other plant and machinery, known as special rate assets, from their profits during the year of purchase. This includes long life assets such as solar panels and lighting systems.

Minister Victoria Atkins visited Brompton Bikes in Greenford this week to see how these capital allowances will be used to help the firm invest and grow. The minister toured their factory, viewing a brand new state-of-the-art Autobraze machine and the production line. She also met a selection of 15 trainees currently on Brompton’s training programme.

Phill Elston, Operations Director at Brompton Bicycle, said:

“The announcement of a super deduction replacement is great news for us. In previous years it has meant we could invest significantly in our production capabilities, upgrading equipment and building a more progressive factory; which has seen us move from making circa. 45,000 bikes per year in 2019, to around 100,000 bikes per year in 2022.

“Our mission is to improve how people travel around cities, which in turn creates happier communities, and the new expensing scheme helps to accelerate that goal.”

Other tax measures taking effect today include new domestic and ultra-long Air Passenger Duty bands.

For passengers flying in economy class, the new domestic band will be set at £6.50, a 50% cut to bolster UK-wide connectivity, while the new ultra long-haul band will be set at £91, meaning those who fly the furthest will pay the greatest level of duty.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

“Transport binds the United Kingdom together, and this cut to Air Passenger Duty will make travelling between our family of nations easier than ever.

“Boosting transport links between our four nations sustains jobs, creates opportunities and is an essential part of this Government’s plan to grow the economy.”

Further tax measures include:

• To help household budgets further, the planned 11 pence rise in fuel duty has been cancelled, maintaining last year’s 5p cut for another twelve months, saving a typical driver another £100 on top of the £100 saved so far since last year’s cut.
• More business rates relief, as part of the Chancellor’s £13.6 billion package from 2022’s Autumn Statement. This includes the freezing of the multiplier and the introduction of 75% relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, helping the high street to thrive and compete with online firms.
• Extending creative sector reliefs: theatres, orchestra and museums and galleries will benefit from a further 2 years of tax relief rates of 45%/50%. The museums and galleries exhibitions tax relief sunset clause will be extended for a further 2 years to allow these organisations to fully benefit from the extension of the highest rates.
• The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), an existing measure which also supports business investment, has been increased permanently to £1 million today. This covers the investment needs of 99% of UK businesses.
• Rebalancing the rates of Research and Development Expenditure Credit and the R&D SME scheme to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent as effectively as possible. As a result, today the UK now offers the joint-highest uncapped headline rate of R&D tax relief support in the G7 for large companies.
• The government also committed to considering the case for further support for R&D intensive SMEs, and at Spring Budget announced that from today there will be an increased permanent rate of relief for the most R&D intensive loss-making SMEs. To support modern methods of innovation, for accounting periods beginning on or after today, businesses will also be able to claim for the costs of datasets and cloud computing under the R&D tax reliefs.
• Expanding the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) to help more UK start-ups raise higher levels of finance. This package will help over 2,000 start-up companies access finance.
• Expanding the availability and generosity of the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) scheme which will widen access to CSOP for growth companies and simplifying the process to grant options under the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme.

On 6 April 2023 personal tax changes taking effect include removing tax-barriers that the medical community have made clear stop doctors working, delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority to cut NHS waiting lists so people can get the care they need more quickly. The pensions annual tax-free allowance will increase by 50% from £40,000 to £60,000, the Money Purchase Annual Allowance will rise from £4,000 to £10,000, and the Lifetime Allowance charge will be removed. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimate around 15,000 individuals will remain in the labour market because of the changes to the annual and lifetime allowances, many of whom will be highly skilled individuals, including senior doctors in the NHS.

Qualifying Carers Relief will be uprated with inflation from 6 April 2023 to representing a £450 per year income tax cut for carers. The uprating increases the amount of income tax relief from £10,000 to £18,140 plus £375-450 per week for each person cared for.

Further information

Major April tax changes:

Business tax:

• Business rates: freezing the multiplier for 2023-24
• Business rates: extended and increased 75% retail, hospitality and leisure relief for 2023-24
• Business rates: new transitional relief scheme
• Business rates: new supporting small business scheme
• Corporation Tax rate rise from 19% to 25%, and introduction of small profits rate at 19%
• End of the super-deduction on 31 March, and introduction of full expensing for three years from 1 April
• Extension of the 45% and 50% rates of cultural tax reliefs
• VAT threshold freeze continues
• Annual Investment Allowance at £1m level made permanent (already confirmed and in effect)
• R&D tax reliefs: The Research and Development Expenditure Credit rate will be increased and the R&D SME scheme rates will be reduced.
• R&D tax reliefs: Permanent higher payable credit rate for R&D intensive loss-making SMEs.
• R&D tax reliefs: Extending the scope of qualifying expenditures to include the costs of datasets and of cloud computing.
• Measures to reduce error and fraud in the R&D schemes.

Enterprise:

• From April 2023, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) will:
  • increase the amount of SEIS funding that companies can raise over their lifetime from £150,000 to £250,000;
  • increase the company gross asset limit from £200,000 to £350,000.
  • increase the company age limit from 2 to 3 years and;
  • increase the annual investor limit from £100,000 to £200,000.
• Company Share Option Plan (CSOP): the employee option limit has doubled from £30,000 to £60,000 and the ‘worth having’ condition, which limits which types of shares are eligible for inclusion within a CSOP scheme, has been removed.
• Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI): the process to grant options has been simplified by the removal of the requirement for a signed working time declaration and the removal of the requirement to set out share restrictions in an option agreement.

Personal tax:

• Personal tax threshold freezes continue
• 45p additional rate threshold reduction
• Cuts to AEA and dividend allowance
• Pensions tax: rise in the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, Annual Allowance and end of the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) charge (NB: LTA will be abolished from April 2024)

Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said:

 “These changes will ensure doctors are not disincentivised from remaining in their roles in the NHS and taking on extra hours – meaning more will continue treating patients and helping to tackle the backlogs which will deliver one of our key priorities. 

 “This comes alongside our wider reforms to the NHS Pension Scheme which introduce new retirement flexibilities to support older staff meaning they can re-join the scheme and continue to build their pension, ensure the interaction between the pension tax system and inflation doesn’t impact their standard of living, and allow staff in primary care networks to access the Scheme.”

Upratings:

• Basic and new State Pensions will also be uprated by 10.1%, in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), in 2023/24 as the government delivers on the triple lock.
• Air Passenger Duty: uprated in line with forecast RPI / new domestic and ultra-long haul bands take effect.
• Aggregates levy: freeze
• VED: uprate for cars, cans and motorcycles, freeze for HGVs
• Qualifying Carers Relief: uprating to account for inflation
• Savings tax: freeze starting rate limit and ISA subscription limits
• Gaming Duty: freeze bands
• Tobacco duty: uprate by RPI+2% on all tobacco products, but increase by RPI + 6% for hand-rolling tobacco and the minimum excise tax will increase by RPI +3% this year
• Inflation-linked benefits and tax credits – e.g. Universal Credit – will also rise by 10.1% from April 2023, in line with the CPI.

• UK announces deal to join CPTPP – a major trade bloc in the Indo-Pacific which will have a total GDP of £11 trillion once the UK joins
• More than 800 businesses in Scotland exported to CPTPP countries in 2021 and could benefit after today’s announcement
• Joining the Trans-Pacific partnership, which contains some of the world’s fastest growing economies, gives Scottish companies, start-ups and farmers access to the world’s emerging middle class

The Scottish economy is expected to benefit after the UK Government today (31 March) announced the conclusion of trade talks with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a vast free trade area spanning the Indo-Pacific.

The bloc is home to over 500 million people and will have a total GDP of £11 trillion once the UK joins. Joining the bloc could boost the Scottish economy by improving businesses’ access to some of the world’s largest markets.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms. As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.

Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.

There are numerous opportunities for Scottish businesses to benefit from joining CPTPP, with more than 800 businesses in Scotland exporting £2.1 billion worth of goods to CPTPP countries in 2021.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said:

This is an important moment for the UK. Our accession to CPTPP sends a powerful signal that the UK is open for business and using our post-Brexit freedoms to reach out to new markets around the world and grow our economy.

Joining CPTPP will support jobs and create opportunities for companies of all sizes and in all parts of the UK. It is also about giving Scottish businesses improved access to the countries that will be gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region which is projected to make up the majority of global growth in the future.

Joining the trade bloc will also mean more than 99 percent of UK goods exports to CPTPP will be eligible for zero tariffs. In the long run, it could boost the UK economy by £1.8 billion and lead to a £1.7 billion increase in UK exports to CPTPP countries as result of the reduction of barriers across goods and services according to the UK Government’s published scoping assessment.

UK Government minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said:

Finalising this trade deal is great news for Scottish business – CPTPP countries already represent a large part of the Scottish export market. It lifts the red tape for items from whisky to textiles and produce, opening new markets and increasing the global appetite for Scottish goods and services.

Key Scottish exports such as whisky could also benefit from the removal of tariffs as a result of the agreement, with the UK having exported over £1.1bn worth of whisky to CPTPP countries in 2022 in current prices. Tariffs of around 80% will be eliminated on UK exports of whisky to Malaysia over 16 years, improving market access for Scottish exporters.

Anishka Jelicich, Director of Public Affairs at Pernod Ricard UK said:

CPTPP is a big opportunity for our Scotch whisky business. Five of our top 20 export markets are CPTPP members.

We expect tariff cuts and smoother access to some of the world’s fastest growing economies to increase exports and secure jobs and investment in the UK, with sales doubling in some markets.

Edinburgh-based Cyacomb provides digital forensics software to help law enforcement, social media and cloud companies find and block harmful content many times faster than before, doing in minutes what can currently take days. Cyacomb are currently growing their exports to CPTPP member Canada, and actively working on expanding into Australia and Singapore – and the UK joining the trading bloc will help these efforts.

Ian Stevenson, CEO of Cyacomb, said:

As a growing business offering disruptive technology, time spent navigating the complexities of international trade is time not spent on delivering value to customers or advancing our mission.

CPTPP will simplify doing business and remove economic barriers in working with our customers in Canada, and in other markets we’re working to enter including Australia and Singapore.

CessCon Decom are based in Livingston and have an office in Brunei, where they carry out full turnkey decommissioning, dismantlement, reuse and recycling of offshore oil & gas infrastructure.

This work now contributes a significant amount to their turnover, and the UK joining the CPTPP will help them further their work there once Brunei and the UK have both ratified CPTPP, in addition to opening up new markets.

Lee Hanlon, the CEO of CessCon Decom commented:

Accession to CPTPP will create further opportunities for CessCon that were not available as part of the EU and will further extend our existing relationships with Brunei that are important to our business.

Along with the other fast developing world markets that this opens up to us, we’re excited to see the possibilities that being a member of the CPTPP opens up to our business.

Membership is a gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region, which has 60% of the world’s population and is set to account for the majority (54%) of global economic growth and around half of the world’s billion middle-class consumers in the decades ahead.

As a member of CPTPP, the UK will help influence and shape global rules for industries of the future like digital, data and services, and secure our place as a global leader in a network of countries committed to free trade.

The UK and CPTPP members will now take the final steps required for the UK to formally sign in 2023.

Background:

• The UK is the first new member and European country to join CPTPP, which is made up of 11 Pacific nations including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

• Five rounds of talks with UK and CPTPP chief negotiators took place in total, with many more negotiations alongside. More than 150 delegates from all CPTPP member countries attended for the final round in Vietnam alone.

• The UK will sign our CPTPP accession letter following legal review, in due course. This will take place on terms that are right for the UK.

• Membership will improve trade opportunities with all countries in the bloc, including the nine countries with which we already have a bilateral FTA.

• The Government has been clear that the NHS and the price it pays for drugs is not for sale in any trade negotiations – including CPTPP – and that it will not sign trade deals that compromise the UK’s high environmental protections, animal welfare and food standards.

• Joining CPTPP is a critical part of the government’s wider trade strategy, which aims to deepen links with faster-growing parts of the world beyond Europe, partnering with countries who believe in free and fair trade.

Additional benefits of UK accession to CPTPP include:

• Boosting services: The UK is the world’s second largest services provider and services accounted for 43% of our trade with CPTPP members last year. Joining the bloc will slash red tape – UK firms will not be required to establish a local office or be resident to supply a service and will be able to operate on a par with local firms.

• Increased flexibility: Modern ‘rules of origin’ could make British businesses more competitive by allowing them to trade more freely across the bloc. For example, UK car manufacturers could sell car engines tariff-free to a car maker in the bloc who could then sell those cars tariff-free to any member country. This is currently not possible under all the bilateral trade agreements the UK has in place with CPTPP members and will help exporters diversify their supply chains and create new export opportunities.

• Pro-investment: Investment between the UK and CPTPP countries is expected to increase as the agreement contains provisions to limit barriers and encourage more inward investment. Inward investment stocks to the UK from CPTPP countries were worth £182 billion in 2021.

• Cutting-edge: Remotely delivered services from the UK to CPTPP were worth £20.5 billion in 2020. CPTPP sets modern rules for digital trade across all sectors of the economy and will support UK businesses of all sizes to seek new opportunities in CPTPP markets.

• New markets: Joining means we will have a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia for the first time, giving businesses far more access to an economy worth £271 billion in GDP in 2021.  Tariffs of around 80% will be eliminated on UK exports of whisky and 30% on UK exports of cars, helping the UK get a larger share of the market.

A new bill introduced today (Wednesday 29 March) will support businesses by modernising the business rates system to incentivise property improvements and support more frequent revaluations.

The measures being put forward review and reform business rates in England, making them fairer and more responsive to changes in the market.

The Non-Domestic Business Rating Bill will introduce more frequent valuations, to take place every three years instead of the current five, meaning those with falling values will see their bills drop sooner.

It will also provide new business rates improvement relief, so businesses making qualifying building improvements will not face higher business rates bills for 12 months. This will make it easier for businesses to invest with new reliefs for property improvements, providing tax breaks for businesses who are extending or upgrading their property.

Local Government Minister, Lee Rowley MP said:

The introduction of our Non-Domestic Rating Bill seeks to deliver the reforms announced during our Business Rates Review.

We are bringing the administration of the tax up to date, and making the system more responsive to changes in the economy and introducing new support to reduce barriers to business investment.

This is another step in the right direction for making sure the UK continues levelling up and supports businesses to grow and flourish.

The bill will build on recent steps to cut business rates, with £13.6 billion of support announced at the Autumn Statement, and to redistribute the tax through the 2023 revaluation.

Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:

I want businesses to know that the government is on their side. Businesses have asked for changes to the business rates system and we are acting, including with more frequent revaluations to make the system fairer and more responsive.

And they come on top of £13.6 billion of business rates support which resets the balance between bricks and clicks businesses, helping our much-loved high streets and communities.

Melanie Leech, Chief Executive at the British Property Federation, said:

These measures are a welcome step towards creating a business rates system that is fair for all. The British Property Federation has long-called for more frequent revaluations to help ensure the level of rates payable reflects current market conditions and structural changes in the economy.

A move from five to three yearly revaluations is a marked improvement, and we would like to see Government continuing to strive towards even more frequent revaluations in due course. The introduction of a business rates improvement relief is also a welcome boost as property owners and occupiers work together to decarbonise and futureproof older buildings and support the UK’s journey to net-zero.

Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:

Retailers welcome moving to three-yearly revaluations, meaning business rate bills will reflect underlying market conditions more quickly. Changes to valuation appeals processes and more transparency are also vital and the improvement relief will encourage more retailers to invest in their properties. These are all positive changes, but the job is not done. Government’s focus must remain on reducing the rates burden, enabling more local communities across the country to thrive.

The Non-Domestic Rating Bill has been informed by the Business Rates Review, which ran from July 2020 to October 2021. The consultation responses can be viewed online here.

The Bill has been introduced in parliament and will be debated in due course.

• UKEF appoints its first International Export Finance Executive (IEFE) for South Korea
• The IEFE will help to facilitate trade links between the two countries, with £4 billion of financing on offer
• UKEF seeking to grow number of South Korean businesses looking to invest and trade with the UK, particularly within renewable energy and clean growth sectors

UK Export Finance (UKEF) today announces it has appointed its first International Export Finance Executive (IEFE) for South Korea. With £4 billion of funding on offer to buyers, provided they source 20% from the UK, the IEFE will work to facilitate major financing deals for Korean businesses who seek to build relationships with UK exporters.

The role will provide a dedicated, on-the-ground specialist within the British Embassy in Seoul, working closely with major UK government departments to showcase the expertise, capability and profile of UK businesses.

Coming as the UK and Korea mark 140 years of diplomatic relations and look to deepen ties, including in trade and investment, the appointment aims to strengthen existing trade relations and build on UKEF’s track record in the region, following three offshore wind projects it supported in Taiwan in recent years, including the £230 million Formosa 2 Project.

South Korea currently sits as the UK’s 18th largest export market, with £10.2 billion worth of exports sold to the country in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022.

UKEF CEO Tim Reid said:

We’re delighted to have a UKEF specialist in South Korea for the first time, as it signals the start of new opportunities for UK businesses to increase trade in the region, with government-backed finance. South Korea is a major export destination for us already and we’re glad to deepen our existing trade relationship.  Both countries stand to gain from the innovation and creativity that exists in the South Korean economy: by identifying projects that deliver on our mutual goals and ensuring that the UK supply chain is at the forefront. Our new International Export Finance Executive will ensure that the trade relationship between South Korea and the UK will continue to evolve and strengthen for the future.

The appointment of an IEFE in Seoul is the latest development in UKEF’s drive to expand its global IEFE network, which will now total 7 representatives in Asia and a further 13 in key markets across the Americas, South Asia, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Tony Clemson, Country Director at the Department of Business and Trade said:

I am delighted we have an IEFE joining our team. This new expertise in export finance will add rocket fuel to our UK-Korea trade relationship. UK businesses have significant capabilities in green technologies and can help accelerate the net zero transition in both Korea and third markets.

The appointment is announced as preparations for negotiations for an enhanced Free Trade Agreement between the UK and South Korea are underway, setting the stage for a further strengthening of trade relations and closer cooperation between the two countries.