The UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has asked for ICAEW’s assistance in gathering input from businesses in the professional services sector on how to drive growth in global markets.

The government is calling on the views of firms across the sector operating in high-growth overseas markets as it looks to shape international trade policy.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds MP, has stated that his immediate priority is to progress Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with a range of international partners, including the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. 

The DBT wants to ensure that ministers and officials engaged in international trade policy and negotiations are fully aware of the up-to-date views of professional services firms. The professional and business services sector is one of the largest and most successful in the UK, employing 14% of the workforce, according to government figures. 

ICAEW firms that would like to contribute are asked to complete the Department’s short online questionnaire by 22 October 2024. Questionnaires are automatically anonymised, but there is space to provide any identifying information that respondents are comfortable sharing.

With exports totalling £855bn, the UK was the world’s fourth largest exporter in 2022. 

The government says it is putting economic growth at the heart of its strategy to improve the livelihoods of British people. Restarting talks is the first step towards agreeing the high-quality trade deals the UK needs to give businesses access to international markets, boost jobs and deliver that growth, it says.

In addition to FTAs to drive growth through trade, the government also plans to publish a trade strategy that it says will align with its industrial strategy, enhances the UK’s economic security and supports net-zero ambitions. 

In a statement in July, Reynolds said boosting trade abroad was essential to delivering a strong economy at home. “From the Gulf to India, our trade programme is ambitious and plays to the UK’s strengths to give British businesses access to some of the most exciting economies in the world.”