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The prime minister has said he wants to see more companies exporting and “championing” Britain.
Answering questions from the Liaison Committee, Boris Johnson rejected the suggestion that Britain was becoming a more “closed economy” due to Brexit.
‘No impediment’
The PM said that the UK was a “global trading nation” and that he wanted “to see much more of an export drive”, reports the Daily Mail.
“There is no natural impediment to our exports, it is just will and energy and ambition,” he added.
‘Inevitable’ impact
His comments come after the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast that UK international trade will continue to be 15% smaller than if the country had remained within the EU.
Following the report, Chancellor Rishi Sunak admitted that “it was always inevitable” that Brexit would impact UK trade, but said the government was working to open new markets around the world.
“Trading relationships take time. They don’t happen overnight. So, I think that of course that will happen over a period of time,” he said.
Campaign
The Express reports that the PM has promised to help boost exports and said there was a big campaign in the newspapers to encourage businesses.
“A lot more UK companies could sell a lot more overseas than they do,” he said.
£1tn ambition
The government has launched a 12-point plan to almost double the value of exports from £600bn to £1 trillion by 2030.
An extra £45m has been pledged to the Export Support Service, providing a single point of contact for those wanting advice to trade with Europe.
Further help for exporters includes:
- A ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ advertising campaign promoting priority sectors
- New DIT hubs across Britain
- Funds for SMEs to export more, including £4m for visiting trade fairs
- A new UK Tradeshow Programme
- Trade credit support from UK Export Finance
- Skills development through the UK Export Academy
- ‘Export Champions’ sharing their experiences
