Foreign Policy: Support for UK Businesses in Global Trade

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Viscount Waverley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the United Kingdom’s foreign policy supports the needs of United Kingdom businesses to create and engage with trade opportunities globally.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, promoting the UK’s prosperity is one of Her Majesty’s Government’s key foreign policy objectives. We seek to create new opportunities for business by championing open markets and promoting economic reform, better business environments and key trade partners. Using our network of overseas posts and programme funds, we work to support British businesses to make the most of these opportunities and we are preparing for an independent UK trade policy, deepening dialogues with future FTA partners.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, does the noble Earl wish to concede that a combination of conflicting intradepartmental priorities and policies, leading sometimes to a lack of visible ministerial support, has a detrimental impact on industry’s ability to enter and further new markets? Given that government should not consider itself to be the sole arbiter of bilateral relations, should not a primary focus be to create an environment whereby the private sector thrives, best achieved in step with policy and industry?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Viscount raises a number of points, partly on ministerial involvement in this process. My noble friend Lady Fairhead, the Minister for UK Export Finance, is conducting a review of our export strategy. This puts finance at the very heart of trade promotions. The Government’s industrial strategy will result in improvements to the support that the DIT can give other firms.