The House Article | The Trade Triangle will only work if growth reaches every region

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Every government wants growth. But growth is only meaningful if businesses can feel it. As Chair of the APPG for International Trade and Investment, my concern is whether businesses in every postcode across the UK are seeing that ambition translate into opportunity.

A recent report by the APPG for International Trade and Investment titled Navigating the Trade Triangle explores the relationship between the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy, Trade Strategy and Small Business Plan. Taken separately, each is important. Together, they should provide a path to stronger exports and more resilient businesses. The Industrial Strategy is designed to give businesses confidence about where the UK wants to compete. The Trade Strategy is there to open routes into new and existing markets. The Small Business Plan provides direction for SMEs so that they can access the support they need to grow.

Too often, however, businesses do not experience government policy as a joined-up offer with a clear direction. Our inquiry found that without better coordination, the Trade Triangle risks becoming three good strategies which fail to translate into practical help.

The report is the product of a year-long inquiry that heard from businesses, trade bodies, regional organisations, think tanks and financial providers from across the UK. We held sessions across the country in Teesside, Belfast and Windsor. Indeed, the success of the Government’s growth agenda will be judged in places like those and by the extent to which local businesses can access new markets, attract investment and navigate barriers to trade.

Businesses told us consistently that they want an industrial strategy which provides certainty, a trade strategy that brings opportunities and a small business plan that recognises the realities of life as a small or medium business owner. But they also warned that delivery is complex. Too many businesses do not realise that support is already available, and those that do know about it say that access can be slow and confusing.

This matters because growth is about more than just a measurement of improved GDP. It’s about raising living standards and productivity right across the country. The focus must be on measuring growth in terms of GDP per head, which has been driven by investment and which in turn impacts local economies.

Regional delivery must be at the centre of the Trade Triangle with empowered local institutions capable of translating national policy into practical support. But we must avoid a two-tier system in which businesses in areas with mature devolution settlements receive a clearer route into support, while businesses elsewhere are left navigating a maze. English devolution must be judged not by structures created, but by whether businesses can access the right help at the right time.

The expanded Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade has an important convening role here, but every department should play its part. DEFRA should deepen its support for food and farming exporters to reach new markets. DESNZ should back green technology exports. Skills policy should support export-led jobs. The Treasury should consider the impact of taxation, red tape and operating costs on the ability of SMEs to compete.

Ultimately, the call is on government to simplify existing support and to provide clearer guidance on customs and regulatory requirements, along with better promotion of export finance and grants.

If we get the Trade Triangle right, it will amount to more than just three strategies on paper. It will help pave the way to higher productivity, stronger exports and better opportunities for SMEs across the UK.