A wealth of opportunities to go global

Made in the UK, sold to the world, writes Henrietta Brealey.

Well, that 's the name of the flagship UK Government campaign aimed at driving up UK Exports.

But, as the headlines this week showed, the UK is developing something of a track record for missing export targets.

In 2012, David Cameron pledged that UK exports would be worth £1tn by 2020.

Then in 2021 Boris Johnson set the same goal, this time for 2030. Now the Department for International Trade are predicting it won 't be reached until 2035.

Of course, quite a few things have happened between 2012 and 2023 that have impacted the UK 's global trade outlook.

Brexit has, undoubtably, made it more bureaucratic to export to the EU and with bureaucracy comes cost.

The COVID-19 pandemic turned global supply chains, and shipping prices, on their heads.

Russia 's invasion of Ukraine exacerbated key areas of global trade disruption further. By this point, we 've all run out of synonyms for 'unprecedented times '.

And yet there are still real opportunities to be had on the global stage for growth-minded businesses.

Trading internationally significantly expands your potential customer base and supports improved productivity and resilience.

According to the Chamber 's Quarterly Business Report - our temperature check of local business sentiment - at Q4 2022, 29 per cent of businesses reported an increase in their international sales, up 4 per cent on the previous quarter.

ONS trade statistics show that over the 12 months to November 2022, the value of UK exports rose by 24 per cent compared to the previous year.

Some major barriers to trade that appeared as the global economy haltingly reopened following relaxing of COVID measures, such as the exceptionally high cost of international freight, significantly eased in the last couple of quarters of 2022. There are certainly some cautiously optimistic signs.

So now something close to a 'new normal ' is emerging, there is a real opportunity for the UK government to clearly restate their intentions, and plan, for the UK on the international stage.

Next month, the Chamber is hosting our Global Trade Conference - back in person for the first time since pre-pandemic. We 'll be welcoming senior representatives from the Government to share with local businesses what the priorities and plans are for trade negotiations and how the UK intends to position itself on the global stage. There 's going to be a lot to unpack.

And, of course, we 'll be moving from the policy to the practical with businesses sharing their experiences of trading internationally - from local manufacturers Birmingham Case Makers to services firms.

Among our speakers are leaders from specialists in AR & VR technology Taran 3D, transformation consultancy Curium Solutions and communications consultancy Liquid PR. Each of them has had their own unique journey - from the serendipitous, to the highly planned - into overseas expansion.

While the UK may not quite have hit those ambitious export targets, the campaign tagline “made in the UK, sold in the world ” very much rings true.

All over Greater Birmingham there are local businesses going global and exploring new markets. And still many more yet to discover the potential opportunities on offer.

Henrietta Brealey is chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce

This column first appeared in the Birmingham Post

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