Trade policy
It has been one year since the Government launched the Trade and Investment White Paper. Led by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and working closely with UK Trade and Investment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the White Paper advocated a whole of government approach to trade and UK growth. To find out more please visit our Trade White Paper pages using the tabs to the left of this page.
The aim of the UK Trade Policy Unit (TPU)
The TPU brings together trade and development policy experts from BIS and the Department for International Development (DFID), its aim is to help bring about global prosperity and security through open and fair markets.
Simply preserving current levels of openness is a significant challenge, given increased pressure to resort to protectionism. Our priorities in the economic crisis, therefore, are to help keep markets open, to help UK business overcome barriers to trade and prepare for the upturn, and to ensure trade continues to contribute to sustainable development and poverty-reduction, consistent with our longer-term trade strategy.
UK business does not operate in a vacuum. In the longer term, the greatest benefits from trade result from the openness of all which is best achieved if all share in the benefits.
The evidence in support of open and fair markets still stands. A 10 percentage point increase in trade openness translates into 4% increase in per capita income. Growth accounts for approximately 80% of poverty reduction which has lifted 500 million people over the poverty line over the past 15 years.
For expert advice and support for UK based companies wishing to grow their business overseas and for international companies wishing to establish or expand their business in the UK please visit the UK Trade & Investment website. For practical advice for companies on International Trade please visit the Business Link website. Both can be accessed via the related links on the right of this page.
