What is the UK Board of Trade and what should it be? Your questions answered
Trade is a critical engine for economic growth and many countries around the world have independent bodies dedicated to measuring trade performance and advising on trade policy. But, in the UK, we do things a little differently. Instead we have the UK Board of Trade. So here’s everything you need to know about what it is, what it does and most importantly, what it should do.
What is the UK Board of Trade?
The Board of Trade is a governmental body - existing in various forms since the 17th Century - which offers advice to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and wider government on its trade and exporting strategy.
As a member of the EU and part of the EU’s common trade policy, it was virtually dormant from 1973 until reconstituted in 2017 by the Conservative government after the Brexit referendum.
In 2023, the Board was relaunched to specifically focus on exports. Unlike similar bodies in other countries however, it does not offer impartial assessments of the nation’s trading performance or scrutiny of new trade deals.
Who sits on the UK Board of Trade?
The current Board of Trade is made up of a number of advisers and Ministers, and since the General Election has been headed up by Jonathan Reynolds, the new Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
Out of the current advisers, three are Secretaries of States, two are Ministers of State, and three are Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State.
There is no representation from the devolved Governments.
What are the criticisms of the UK Board of Trade?
One of the main criticisms of the existing Board of Trade is its lack of independence from the Government, and its lack of effective scrutiny. Since 2017, its main activity has been promoting the trade policy of the last Conservative government rather than analysing it or suggesting ways it can be improved.
Other key criticisms include:
It’s irregular - the current Board of Trade is expected to meet quarterly, but meetings in recent years have been sporadic.
The lack of accountability - the series of trade reports produced between 2020 and 2022 on specific aspects of trade have ceased and there does not seem to be any requirement for the Board to continue to output anything.
It’s ineffectual - the Board does not currently produce any specific impact assessments on trade deals or the broader international trade landscape.
Was the Conservative Government's trade policy a success post-Brexit?
There is widespread agreement that the UK’s post-Brexit freedom to determine its own international trade policy has not been a success under the previous government.
Trade as a percentage of UK GDP fell by 11% in the first year following the implementation of the Tory government's Brexit deal, with evidence suggesting that it was a critical factor in increasing costs and bureaucracy for British businesses when trading with the UK's largest trading partners in the EU.
Since then, trade growth has continued to disappoint, the UK has become less open, and exporting is still heavily concentrated in South East England.
What’s more, the only meaningful new trade deals which were agreed by the previous government are predicted to contribute negligible amounts to UK GDP and in most cases, are judged to disproportionately favour the other country or group of countries over the UK.
Australia trade deal is predicted to increase UK GDP by just 0.08% by 2035
New Zealand trade deal is predicted to increase UK GDP by just 0.03% by 2035
CPTPP trade deal is predicted to increase UK GDP by just 0.08% by 2035
What has the new Government said about a new UK Board of Trade?
In May of 2023, Best for Britain, acting as the secretariat to the cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission, produced a report which recommended the creation of a new government agency to act for the Department for Trade and Business as the OBR does for the Treasury, ensuring that trade policy is independently assessed.
In November of 2023 and in response to our recommendation, Jonathan Reynolds - at the time, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade - announced Labour’s intention to establish the Board of Trade as an independent entity:
“So Labour will give the Board of Trade a proper purpose as an independent advisory agency, accountable to the Secretary of State, advising on the impacts of regulation on trade; horizon scanning for opportunities. And because trade is integral to every region and nation in the UK, it will have an explicit duty to report against how each region and nation is performing to boost opportunities for the whole of the UK.”
It has recently been reported that Reynolds will be replacing a number of advisers on the current Board of Trade to ‘refresh its membership and remit’, hinting at wider shake up of the organisation.
Best for Britain continues to support the creation of a new and independent UK Board of Trade to impartially assess the UK’s trading performance, scrutinise the value and cost of new trade deals and advise the government.
Best for Britain’s recent report explores the practical aspects of setting up an independent Board of Trade as well as the steps that need to be taken to fulfil the new government's plans and ensure that a new, independent Board of Trade functions as it should.
What have others said about a new UK Board of Trade?
In September 2023, over 80 leading academics, industry bosses, trade advisors and trade bodies wrote to the Trade Secretary at the time, Kemi Badenoch, urging the last government to make the Board of Trade independent and to give it a meaningful role when it comes to scrutinising new trade deals and assessing the UK’s trading performance.
Among the signatories were leading business figures Peter Norris, Chair of the Virgin Group, former CEO of Siemens UK Juergen Maier CBE and Vice President of the German British Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Bob Bischof. As well as Sir Vince Cable, former President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
This article first appeared on Best for Britain