Kemi Badenoch has said global Britain is “thriving on the world stage” following Brexit boosts worth £15billion to businesses.
Figures released on the fourth anniversary of Brexit show the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) removed £1million of trade barriers every hour in 2023.
Ms Badenoch, Business and Trade Secretary, said: “The statistics and successes contained within the pages of ‘Brexit 4th Anniversary’ tell a powerful story – of a global Britain which is thriving on the world stage.
“When we left the European Union, there were many forecasts of inevitable decline. These have been proved false.
“My department is leveraging our post-Brexit freedoms to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business. And we’re knocking down the barriers to trade; removing roughly 500 to date.
“In 2023 this was equivalent to removing around £1million of trade barriers every single hour.
“The British people’s conviction that the UK would excel as masters of our own fate has paid dividends.
“My mission – and that of my department – is to now build on these achievements. To loudly and proudly champion free markets, free trade, and free enterprise as the surest path to economic prosperity.”
The Government said that since the start of 2020, the UK has resolved around 500 barriers blocking British businesses from exporting abroad.
Examples of these global trade wins include: Selling new medicines and medical devices to South Africa by unlocking around £25million worth of exports over the next five years.
UK beauty companies can enjoy more access to the Chinese market, with a barrier resolution worth £550 million to UK businesses over five years, the DBT said.
Marco Forgione, director general of the Institute of Export and International Trade, said: “These figures are very encouraging, and are testament to DBT’s ongoing efforts to transform the UK’s international trade growth.
“There are growing opportunities for British businesses to expand across the world. What is essential now is that these businesses are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to take advantage of this potential, including the opportunities created by free trade agreements.
“A particular focus must be on encouraging and supporting micro, small and medium sized businesses to trade internationally, as research shows that businesses which trade cross-borders are more sustainable, more resilient, employ more people, are more innovative, and are more profitable.
“Digitalisation of trade processes will enable even greater trade facilitations and simplifications.”
The UK has been negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal with India but the Government’s plans to lower legal migration could hamper discussions.
Net migration to the UK hit a record level in the year to December 2022 of 745,000, at least 561,000 more people than before Brexit.
A deal with Australia was the first trade agreement negotiated from scratch by the UK since it left the EU.
An agreement with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein was announced in June 2021 while the UK signed a new deal with New Zealand in February 2022.
