Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Accepted
Embed UK in Asia's regional growth corridors through regular ministerial attendance at events.
Recommendation
The Government should look to incorporate regular ministerial and official attendance at key events in Asian economic centres, such as GIFT City in India, where UK exports have the most potential to grow. Diplomatic trade policy should move beyond a centralised, export-driven model and aim to embed the UK in Asia’s regional growth corridors. (Recommendation, Paragraph 65)
Government Response Summary
The government states that Ministers have already engaged extensively across Asia and will continue to do so, highlighting CPTPP membership and ASEAN partnership as ways it is embedding itself in key markets. It also confirms its trade policy goes beyond a solely export-driven model.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Department for Business and Trade Ministers have engaged comprehensively across Asia during this Parliament, travelling to 9 markets, and will continue to do so. The Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security recently travelled to Japan to support the excellent UK pavilion at the Osaka Expo, the third visit this year by DBT Ministers to this important market not only for UK exports, but also for investment opportunities into the UK. The Government is working to embed ourselves in key Asia-Pacific markets through our membership of CPTPP, providing UK businesses additional access to a market of over 500 million people1 and seeking to facilitate trade through supporting the development of dialogues between CPTPP and both the EU and ASEAN. The UK is also a dialogue partner of ASEAN, in addition to having a number of free trade agreements and trade arrangements with markets in the region. As set out in the Trade Strategy, the Government’s trade policy approach goes beyond driving exports, and seeks to generate UK growth through a wide range of levers including in the Asia-Pacific region.