What's New

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has launched negotiations on a new UK–Mexico Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which would, she said, transform the UK’s relationship with the world’s 16th biggest economy.

Food and drink exports across the UK are recovering from the challenges of the pandemic with manufacturers taking advantage of new trading relationships across the world, according to research by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

Mainly spread by wild animals in parts of west or central Africa, and first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970, monkeypox has suddenly appeared in 14 countries with, for the first time, the virus being found in people with no clear connection to the usual countries of origin.

The road freight rates index for Europe, produced by Upply and the International Road Transport Union (IRU), hit an all-time high in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 as rising cost pressures, supply and capacity disruptions, regulatory change and war in Ukraine created, “a potent mix of rate drivers”.

Following previous reports of Freeports to be established in England and Scotland (see Confirming regulations and maps of Freeports published and Government invites bids for Green Freeports in Scotland), details have now been announced of a £26 million deal to create one in Wales.

Including a trade assistant for services and investment, the European Commission has now made its Access2Markets portal freely available.

Speaking in Parliament, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said that the Government plans to introduce a Bill which “will put in place the necessary measures to lessen the burden” on trade with the rest of the UK.

UK importers and exporters are feeling optimistic about their prospects for growth in the next 12 months, according to the latest survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD).

The Government has introduced a Bill which will help to bring into force its first independently negotiated Free Trade Agreements in more than 50 years.

The latest trade report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) notes that total UK exports of goods, excluding precious metals, increased by £0.6 billion (2.1%) in March 2022, driven by a £0.4 billion (2.6%) increase in exports to non-EU countries, while exports to EU countries increased by £0.3 billion (1.7%).