Launch of Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation in Teesside
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A world-leading centre dedicated to digitalising International Trade has been formally launched at Teesside University.
The Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI) is playing a key role in the development of trade and growth in the North East that is already being carried out in Teesside, in the Teesport Freeport and with the support of the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).
The North East England Chamber of Commerce was invited to the launch event. Jim Davison, Head of International Trade at the Chamber, said: “The centre puts the North East, as well as the UK, in a really strong position on the innovative global trade front. It means we, as a region, can be leaders in this field.
“The North East is a driving force for digital innovation and many international businesses including Sage UK, Atom Bank, Bede Gaming and Tharsus have headquarters here, and pioneers in the subsea engineering and space industries are developing innovative technologies in our region.
“The Chamber’s goals of driving digital innovation and knowledge and skills sharing align perfectly with the centre and we look forward to working with the team to place the region at the forefront of digital innovation.”
The C4DTI is industry-led and is working to create an open digital trade system based on common, internationally-recognised standards. It is working to ensure the UK takes full advantage of the coming passage of the Electronic Trade Documents Bill, our network of Free Trade and Digital Economy Agreements and the boost to trade offered by the creation of Freeports in the UK.
C4DTI will show to industry how digital processes can be safely adopted with significant and demonstrable benefits to profitability, sustainability and security of supply chains. Initial work has focused on Singapore, building on the world-class Digital Economy Agreement the UK has recently signed.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Teesside has a long, proud history of being at the forefront of manufacturing and international trade, most recently exemplified by the development of the UK’s first and largest Freeport, Teesworks and Teesside Airport.
Innovation through digitalisation will be vital in making sure we deliver real growth opportunities to firms in the area and, the rest of the United Kingdom. I look forward to its work producing real economic benefit for people across Teesside, Darlington, and Hartlepool.”
The centre is also working to ensure that those benefits are spread right across the trading community, not just to large corporations and logistics firms, but to the SME sector in the North East, where making international trade easier, quicker and cheaper can enable businesses to grow.
Professor Craig Gaskell, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange), Teesside University, said: “Teesside University is proud to support and indeed to host the C4DTI. As an anchor institution for the Tees Valley, we deliver skills and applied research to drive innovation and knowledge exchange; ensuring this region is best-placed to take full-advantage of global opportunities for 21st century industry. These ambitions align perfectly with the goals of the centre and I look forward to the partnership between us delivering real results for all international trade both local and national.”
Chris Southworth, Secretary General ICC United Kingdom, said: “The huge opportunity we have here to improve and increase UK international trade and thus growth, depends on entities like the C4DTI working with industry to show how digitalisation can help in practice. But this needs to be done collaboratively and with the support of our partners here in the North East, the Centre is well placed to be able to facilitate the transformation that is in prospect.”
Set up in response to the government’s stated ambition for the UK to have an open trading system with the rest of the world, the centre aims to identify barriers and drive innovation at scale across the whole of the country’s trading system. By digitalising the UK trading system, there could be £225bn in efficiency savings.
C4DTI, which is funded by the Tees Valley Combined Authority and co-ordinated by the International Chamber of Commerce United Kingdom, was formally launched on 8 March.