As the UK looks afresh at its post-Brexit international relationships with the EU and the rest of the world, this is the moment for government and business to work in partnership.
A new report from the CBI, Building a World-Leading UK Trade Policy, we highlight the principles that will give the UK the best chance of an edge and maximum leverage whilst negotiating trade deals.
We are also making several practical recommendations to government, for how to build a world-leading British trade policy, including:
- Appointing a Chief Business Trade Envoy to gather business intelligence, be a single point of government contact for firms, and ensure policy coherence
- Taking business delegations to negotiations to strengthen the UK’s hand and give negotiators immediate access to technical and “shop floor” expertise
- Extending the remit of existing Department for International Trade (DIT) Expert Trade Advisory Groups to create Thematic and Sectoral Trade Advisory Groups providing detailed advice for specific sectors
- Setting up a high-level Strategic EU Trade Advisory Group for EU trade negotiations.
These recommendations build on and expand the work already done by DIT for global trade deals, creating a comp