BritishAmerican Business (BAB) welcomes the publication of the UK Government’s new Trade Strategy and supports the efforts to align trade policy and trade promotion with the growth ambitions identified in the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

As a contributor to the consultation process, BAB is pleased that a number of priorities raised by our members have been reflected in the final strategy. The emphasis on boosting Britain’s services exports is especially important for the transatlantic economic corridor. The US remains the UK’s largest services export market, with exports worth over £126 billion last year. BAB is also pleased to see a renewed commitment to progressing mutual recognition of professional qualifications, a long- standing priority for our members across legal, financial, and other sectors.

While BritishAmerican Business will continue to support the ambition of a full and comprehensive UK-US free trade agreement, we welcome the government’s focus on sector-specific deals that can deliver impact now. We are particularly encouraged by the clear commitment to advance the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal and the UK-US Technology Partnership, both of which have the potential to offer opportunities for deeper cooperation on innovation, digital trade, and emerging sectors.

Support for exporters through tools like the expanded UK Export Finance offer and the new Ricardo Fund will also be important in helping more UK firms, especially SMEs, succeed in the US market. 

We look forward to supporting both government and business in implementing this strategy.