Director’s update: Globalised Economy

As we look ahead to Q4 and a busy few months ahead, the CBI’s international team are focused on promoting export led growth, increasing the UK’s focus on services trade, supporting FTA negotiations and Market Access, as well as shaping the future global standards and regulations. We are also ensuring supply chain resilience is underpinned by free trade.

That’s why I am currently in Mexico ahead of the next round of FTA negotiations that are at the end of October, and then off to the Atlantic Future Forum in New York City. We also have a steady drumbeat of activity from our green trade panel at the WTO Public Forum, the progression of the India FTA, the 20^th Party Congress in China, UK International Trade Week, US mid-terms, COP27, the B20 and G20, the Business Europe Council of Presidents and the CBI Annual Conference. Following all these events, we’ll be keeping updated with all the latest insights and resources.

We also have John Bleed visiting the UK from our US office and, hopefully, Guy Dru Drury from our Beijing office.

All of this gives us an opportunity to shout about the importance of trade for growth and the need for business and government to lead on the world stage – something we have been pressing home with the new government.

Mexico FTA - maintaining market access and winning new opportunities

Compared to the India FTA, the renegotiation of the rollover deal with Mexico slight pales into insignificance – but it shouldn’t.

Mexico is a founding member of CPTPP, a key doorway into the US due to the USMCA deal, and an important market in their own right with a population of over a 130 million.

Politically protectionist, these negotiations are integral to maintain our market access as much as winning new opportunities, such as including services provisions in the new agreement – something the CBI is calling for as well as repeating member asks for the deal. I’ll also be showing a united front with our Chief Negotiator, Charlotte Hayes, reflecting the Mexican’s ‘the room next door’ approach to business engagement.

Atlantic Future Forum

The AFF is the bilateral UK-US foreign and national security policy dialogue, bringing together businesses and over 200 of the most senior officials and politicians in this space, to build collaboration, particularly on three key areas – economic resilience, technology and China.

As the only business organisation invited, we’ll be positioning the CBI to the Truss government, particularly the new Foreign Secretary and Trade Secretary who are attending – an important time to engage given the government refreshing the Integrated Review (expect a veneer not a full refresh).

I’ll also be using the forum as a chance to join up CBI’s official role at the G7 and G20 and influence the new government.

Diwali deadline

And of course, I couldn’t not mention the India FTA which is expected to be signed at the end of October in time for Diwali. Behind the scenes, CBI has continued to highlight business asks, reinforcing the real opportunity the FTA affords and the need for substance over pace. With Liz Truss focused on delivery, there is political desire to get this deal over the line quickly, this desire replicated by India too.

It symbolic for the UK to have negotiated a deal with such a sizeable economy and politically important coming just after the 20^th National Congress of the CCP in Beijing. We will keep banging the drum and most importantly push for transparency to manage expectations – something we managed to achieve after our recent letter to the former SoS DIT.