Speech

Trade Secretary speech at the Atlantic Future Forum in New York

Trade Secretary tells audience of US investors Britain is going for growth in a big way

This was published under the 2022 Truss Conservative government

Thank you and good afternoon everyone.

How wonderful it is to be at the Atlantic Future Forum.

This a superb event organised by the Royal Navy and our teams from the Department for International Trade,聽 the Ministry of Defence and of course the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

It is particularly poignant being on HMS Queen Elizabeth given the events of the last few weeks.

To say it鈥檚 been emotional would be an understatement. For everyone in the UK, young or old, Her Late Majesty had been ever presence of force in British Life.聽Many of us here were more than her subjects we were Her Majesty鈥檚 Ambassadors, Her Majesty鈥檚 Civil Service, Her Majesty鈥檚 Armed Forces, Her Royal Navy, Her Government.聽

Our late sovereign was also, of course, a stateswoman, who devoted herself to deepening the special relationship.

So it is a particular privilege to stand on this vessel which she named at Rosyth Dockyard 8 years ago, as we begin the Carolean age in the service of His Majesty.

And talk about an important aspect of the US and UK鈥檚 shared future and by that I mean our economic partnership.

I lived briefly in the US, and learned very quickly that Americans and New Yorkers especially, like to cut to the chase.

So, I鈥檓 going to get straight to the point:

Right now, there鈥檚 a global growth slow-down underway.

And if you鈥檒l forgive the pun, we need all hands on-deck to get the world economy鈥檚 wheels spinning again.

And that鈥檚 why in the UK we鈥檙e going for growth in a big way. And in fact some of you may have heard some major reforms we announced on Friday, to achieve this:

But before I go into what we are doing, it would be odd not to address the elephant in the room and the financial instability in markets over the last few days.

You would by now have heard the Bank of England taking short-term measures to provide stability - as is their job.

My colleagues, including the Chancellor, continue to work very closely with our institutions to support them in their aims while maintaining their independence.聽 And we must look at all of this in the context of the fundamentals, which are that the UK economy is strong and we have a plan - a Growth Plan to cut taxes, promote enterprise and cut red tape for business.

So what are some of the things we鈥檙e doing?

We鈥檙e keeping corporation tax at the lowest in the G20 at 19% not cutting, keeping.

We鈥檙e creating low tax investment zones around the country, to make it quicker and easier to build and get things done because the regulatory environment has not kept pace with our economic needs.

We鈥檙e accelerating critical infrastructure projects in sectors like transport, energy, and telecoms to ensure we invest in our future and deliver for the next generation.

We鈥檙e also going to be spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. Something I know looking at all of the uniforms in the room is especially relevant to all of you here today.聽

We鈥檙e rolling out significant financial services reforms that will make the UK an even better place to do business and much more.

There is radical change happening on our side of the Atlantic. It鈥檚 the kind of radical change that we鈥檝e not seen for 40 years.

We know it is bold.

We know it comes with risk.

But in these volatile times, every option, even the status quo is risky.聽

And the Prime Minister, my predecessor but one in my role as Trade Secretary gets trade and knows that our global economic relationships have got to be at the heart of this work.

Right now, US-UK trade is booming. Sadly, not enough people know this or hear the message enough. So I want to make sure they do and I鈥檒l continue to bang the drum.

But it鈥檚 the investment story that鈥檚 even more interesting.

Increasing numbers of American firms are realising that backing the UK is a great move.

I could make your eyes glaze over by trotting out an endless list of statistics! Don鈥檛 worry I鈥檓 not going to do that today

鈥�.. but the numbers speak for themselves:

US businesses already invested 拢479 billion pounds into in our economy 鈥揟o put that figure into context it鈥檚 more than Sweden鈥檚 annual GDP.

Every day just under 1.5 million Britons go to work for an American firm.

And in the year to March alone, American investment created 27,000 British jobs.

I know to some extent I鈥檓 preaching to the choir here.

Because I don鈥檛 have to look far around this room to spot businesses that are boosting their UK operations.

In fact, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, are just some of the American firms here today that have said they will do precisely that. And we look forward to working with them.

Undoubtedly, factors like good infrastructure, our legal system and a lack of red-tape, are part of the UK鈥檚 attraction.

But there鈥檚 another reason too. We are fast becoming the world鈥檚 innovation destination.

Just like Manhattan, we鈥檙e an island full of dynamism and ingenuity.

We鈥檙e the nation with big ideas.

We鈥檙e Europe鈥檚 unicorn factory.

In the first quarter of this year our tech start-ups attracted more global investment than anywhere bar the US and partnerships between UK and American firms are pushing forward progress.

For instance, there鈥� s a really interesting story taking place right now involving a firm in Cambridge called PhoreMost and a business named Polaris Quantum Biotech from North Carolina.

Together, they want to cut the time it takes to create cancer therapies. That鈥檚 not only a great business partnership, it鈥檚 literally a life-saving collaboration.

But I want to do even more to make sure American ambitions collide with British ideas or vice versa.

So here鈥檚 my elevator pitch. The UK is pro-ambition, pro entrepreneur, pro-growth and home to top-flight talent fizzing with extraordinary ideas.

And we are more determined than ever before to turn the country into the place to come if you want your business to succeed.

Of course, we mustn鈥檛 pretend everything is perfect or easy.聽 We know that, sometimes trading our way to growth can be more difficult than it needs to be.

But it鈥檚 because the US and UK are close that we can fix problems wherever we find them.

Look at the way we recently solved the Section 232 tariff dispute on UK steel and aluminium exports and reached an understanding on the Airbus-Boeing dispute.

Very soon, Americans will be able to pick up a leg of Welsh lamb at their local store for the first time in decades, after a long-standing rule was removed.聽

That鈥檚 obviously big news for British farmers. And it鈥檚 arguably even better news for Americans who get to tuck in on some of the finest grass-fed lamb in the world.

And, of course, we鈥檙e delighted that bourbon is fully back on the drinks menu, in Britain, following the Section 232 resolution.聽

I know that behind the scenes we鈥檙e working hard to resolve issues and make it quicker, easier and cheaper for our firms to do business.聽

The UK also sees the huge potential to develop our relationships with individual states as another huge opportunity.

In May, under the stewardship of my predecessor, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding on trade and economic cooperation with Indiana 鈥� a state that already buys $1.4 billion worth of UK goods every year.

North Carolina followed in July.

And I know the DIT team is working hard on continuing Anne-Marie鈥檚 legacy with me and securing more this year so watch this space.

Given we鈥檙e anchored not far from the Statue of Liberty, I want to end by saying a few words about trade as a force for progress and a force for good.

Free markets and fair trade are very personal to me.聽

Too many people trot them out as cliches and platitudes, but a world without these freedoms is not just poorer it鈥檚 also more dangerous.

I grew up in Nigeria. And I saw first-hand what happens when a nation can鈥檛 trade or worse embraces protectionism.

Not long ago, the government there banned rice and tomato not tomayto imports to support local industry.聽 The result was not a boom in production, but supply shortages, price rises and people smuggling in tomatoes like they were diamonds.

I will never forget the sight of my mother a university professor stuffing her suitcase with Tesco Value Rice when she visited me in London because it was cheaper there than back home for her.

One of the many reasons I鈥檓 so frustrated by the trope that Brexit was the UK retreating from the world, is because it is completely untrue.聽 I voted to leave the European Union and I saw Brexit as a once in a generation opportunity for the UK to embrace the world - and trade was and still is at the heart of that.

So I want to make sure that we use our freedoms to build better and fairer trading relationships with emerging economies.

When trade is open and free and everyone plays by the rules, we will win and developing countries gain an alternative to authoritarian regimes.

But at a time when weaker economies are being exploited by those who don鈥檛 share our values, it鈥檚 not enough to talk about why free and fairtrade matters, we need to show how too.

Last month, my department launched the Developing Countries Trading Scheme.聽 It鈥檚 one of the most generous initiatives of its type in the world and it鈥檚 going to give a boost to businesses in 65 countries by cutting red tape and lowering tariffs.

It鈥檚 early days but I鈥檓 already hearing how the scheme is giving entrepreneurs in countries like Bangladesh the opportunities they need to grow their businesses. And closer to home, I鈥檓 very much focused on exploring how trade can support the reconstruction of Ukraine.聽

Of course, the UK-US trading relationship couldn鈥檛 be a better illustration of capitalism鈥檚 power to influence, unite and act as a counter to protectionism and authoritarian regimes.

And we鈥檙e already using trade to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the world.

At last year鈥檚 G7, we renewed our Atlantic Charter; originally signed by Churchill and Roosevelt pledging UK and US economic and security collaboration.

Through our Future of Atlantic Trade dialogues, we鈥檙e working on critical issues, such as developing and diversifying our supply chains in response to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.聽

We鈥檙e deepening our ties in the Indo-Pacific through our AUKUS pact.

Our response to the Indo Pacific region鈥檚 rapid growth and China鈥檚 growing assertiveness, is another shared challenge.

And I know we鈥檙e both committed to opposing economic coercion, and the unfair trade practices that choke competition and penalise countries that follow the rules.

President Ronald Reagan once said: 鈥楩ree trade serves the cause of economic progress and it serves the cause of world peace.鈥�

And the UK-US economic partnership is the clearest possible example of why free trade and free markets are not just integral to our growth but to the freedoms we share.

Next month, we鈥檒l mark the 75th anniversary of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 鈥� the forerunner of today鈥檚 multilateral system.

Our nations helped to forge that deal after WW2, following long negotiations.

At GATT鈥檚 heart was an acknowledgement that free and fair trade would be key to our future.

Again today, we face unprecedented challenges.

Again, at times, we may have differences.

But just like the American and British teams who gathered round the negotiating table three quarters of a century ago

I know we are committed to deepening our transatlantic economic partnership.

Building our businesses鈥� bonds of commerce.

And demonstrating, unequivocally, how through free trade we can together create a better world.聽 Thank you.

Updates to this page

Published 28 September 2022