The UK has signed its most significant trade agreement since leaving the EU by joining the Indo-Pacific trading bloc. The deal, which took two years of negotiations to strike, will unlock access to a region worth £11 trillion a year. UK firms will now have increased access to markets including Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Vietnam,
Anyone trading with or from Northern Ireland since Brexit will be aware of the increased difficulties and effective border down the Irish Sea. It’s an issue which has been a constant bone of contention, especially with Northern Ireland politicians, leading to the collapse of the Stormont Assembly after the DUP withdrew. Rishi Sunak, the UK
New data from the Office for National Statistics has found UK service exports have grown to their highest-ever levels. Sales grew by 20% compared to 2021 – and up 23% against 2018 – to £400 billion last year. The UK sits behind only the US as the biggest services exporter globally with the sector contributing
The global appetite for UK food and drink has continued to grow despite pandemic and post-Brexit pressures. New data from the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has shown how food and drink exports have now surged past pre-pandemic levels to stand at a record £24.8bn with chocolate and cheese exports proving ever-popular. Over half of
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen displayed what has become an increasingly uncommon showing of UK/EU cooperation and agreement late last month with the announcement of the breakthrough Windsor Framework. The new deal for Northern Ireland fixes many of the problems that the previous protocol had
The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) between the UK and EU in the wake of Brexit is delivering more headaches than benefits for the majority of exporting SMEs. That’s according to data collected in December last year by the British Chambers of Commerce from almost 1,200 surveyed businesses. The survey found that almost eight in
New data has highlighted how a range of global economic factors are hampering growth efforts for small and medium-sized exporters. Data from more than 2,300 UK SMEs as part of the British Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly Trade Confidence Outlook for Q4 found that just one in four had seen international sales growth at the backend
Global efforts to reduce our impact on the planet are gathering pace, and countries within the EU are leading the way when it comes to pushing reforms on product packaging. The next step in this drive has come into force in Spain in the form of a plastic packaging tax – an indirect levy on
The global economy has massively shifted since the COVID-19 pandemic. It has yet to recover, and it looks as though a full recovery won’t happen anytime soon, especially with the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Many countries are experiencing financial crises because of this. The WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has stated that
Since officially leaving the EU, the UK has seen exports reduce by a quarter, with a total of £2.4 billion in lost sales. Certain countries have seen more of a dip than others. For example, Spain, Germany, and Italy’s imports from Britain are down by 50.6%, 44.5%, and 43.3%, respectively. Even Ireland has seen a