‘Global Britain’ is about more than GDP figures

It is time the Government stepped up and made a better case for the ideals of 'Global Britain'. GDP figures, the next set of which are released tomorrow, next to trade deals just aren't enough, argues Jayne Adye, Director of Get Britain Out.

As the UK continues to develop its own trade deals all over the world, the International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss MP, shows herself to be one of the only Government Ministers delivering on her brief. However, we always hear a great deal about the net value of trade deals in relation to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and not enough about how this aggressive global trading policy can improve individual industries and lower costs for UK customers.

For example, very little has been made of announcements in the last few months of new markets being opened up for British farmers to export all over the world. In the USA, British beef is being sold for the first time in over 20 years. Likewise, a deal with Mexico was struck last month allowing the export of British pork to the country for the very first time. These are just the first new opportunities opening up as a result of Brexit and they are estimated to be worth up to £110 million to farmers in the next five years alone, creating more money for investment and improving the quality of farming in this country.

When it comes to importing goods into this country, there are huge benefits. Tariffs of up to 10 per cent could be wiped off the £137.3 million worth of tech imports we bring in from Mexico every year, making everyday products like telephones and kitchen equipment cheaper for all of us. Elsewhere, our new trade deal with Australia removes tariffs on a wide variety of goods including wines, saving British households £34 million a year alone. Liz Truss is also in the process of finalising the trade deal with New Zealand. In Parliament on Monday this week, the Prime Minister suggested a new announcement finalising a trade deal is on the cards imminently. This could be the week to see the large number of trade deals the UK has signed so far grow further.

Importantly, the UK is on the verge of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which would create millions more in savings on the high street and in our weekly shopping bags. Included in this agreement would be countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, from where we import a huge amount of our fashion – again eliminating tariffs – which we still had to pay whilst we were inside the EU, so this would help to cut costs by up to 12 per cent.

What family in the UK can say they would not want to take advantage of these cost reductions?

In recent days (and about time) the Government has also announced a swathe of new trade envoys and trade commissioners around the world. A number of these are Africa-based, where there are huge opportunities to improve our economic links, whilst also reducing the cost of living in this country. For example Ghana, where former Labour and Independent MP Baroness Kate Hoey has been named a trade envoy, is the second largest producer of cocoa beans for chocolate manufacturing and a growing producer of coffee beans. However, the final products of both are not manufactured in Ghana, because of stringent restrictions put in place by the EU – to their huge advantage of course – which currently force many African countries to export their raw goods to Europe, in particular to Germany. European companies then manufacture the finished goods at a significant mark-up, disgracefully taking advantage of poorer nations.

On this key issue, the UK – outside the EU – now has the opportunity to take the lead and push for a fairer system, which will encourage raw products to be refined directly at source, cutting out the middlemen. The EU's Common Agricultural Policy did not allow this to happen, for fear of undercutting militant French farmers and Belgian chocolatiers, with UK consumers having to pay the price as a result. Now we are outside the EU we cannot tie ourselves to the past. Instead, we can increase our reputation in these countries, which have been supressed from achieving maximum success for so long. This will not only give their economies a huge boost, but will reduce the need for the UK to send billions of pounds – and resources in aid – to countries which have their own huge economic potential.

'Global Britain' as an idea has, in many ways, been conveniently left unexplained by this Government, using the phrase as a generic term to boast of our future. As a result, people often dismiss the phrase as simply another Brexiteer election slogan.

Instead, it must be set out as a mentality which explains why, as a country, our future in the world belongs outside the EU and why the end of our Eurocentric approach over the last few decades is key to our future. It will mean reducing our cost of living; opening up new opportunities for UK businesses; and breaking a cycle of endless aid, while also encouraging innovation and economic growth around the world.

Now is the time to take advantage of the benefits of our leaving the European Union, not only for the United Kingdom, but for those sincere friends we build solid relationships with around the world.