We need support to help exporters

Written by

Jonathan Walker, Policy director, North East England Chamber of Commerce latest column for The Journal

Cast your mind back a year and a bit ago. We were all firmly in lockdown, allowed out once a day and strictly confined to our bubbles (well, at least most of us were).

But you might also remember that the most profound change to the country’s economic status in a generation had just occurred. After more than four years of negotiations, late-night votes and elections, Brexit finally got done and the transition period ended.

With everything else that’s been going on, it’s easy to forget just how big a change Brexit has been.

Free movement ended, customs declarations came in and the entirety of social media became experts on cross-border issues in Northern Ireland.

For a region which, at the time, sent more of its goods to the EU than any other single market, these changes meant a huge amount of adjustment and disruption to our businesses.

At the Chamber we heard and saw this first hand. As the region’s biggest provider of international trade services, we helped businesses both to prepare beforehand and understand the new rules once they came in.

So where are we one year on?

The truth is that our regional trade numbers aren’t where we’d like them to be.

Our own surveys show that export performance has been largely flat, even while domestic activity has rebounded strongly following the onset of the pandemic.

Of course, Brexit alone is not responsible for all of this. There are severe global supply shortages, inflation and the continued impact of Covid.

But only the most blinkered could fail to see that leaving the EU has, at least in the short term, caused some major headaches for traders.

A recent British Chambers of Commerce survey showed that 45% of firms reported difficulties adapting to changes in rules brought about by the UK-EU agreement.

Exporting can be an enormous boost for businesses, but unless these issues are ironed out many may be deterred from selling overseas.

The practical support available to exporters to tackle trade barriers must be increased, while new border changes introduced in January mean it must also be expanded to importers grappling with new processes.

This is probably the last Chamber column I write before heading off before pastures new and is probably my 1,374th on Brexit. Here’s hoping that Government listens, if only so my successor can write about something different.

Norwegian Ambassador addresses Chamber global members

Written by

North East businesses which trade internationally heard at first hand the opportunities to develop closer links with Norway from the country’s Ambassador.

Speaking at a North East England Chamber of Commerce Global members’ virtual lunch, H.E. Wegger Strommen stressed the UK was a key market for his country with 20% of Norwegian goods coming across the North Sea.

The ambassador also outlined a breakdown of his country’s primary export sectors, with the main one being oil and gas and then the fishing industry. This reliance on fisheries isin part due to the Norway’s length of coastline, 90% of Norwegians living by the sea and a factor in the long-standing close economic collaboration with the UK.

In 2019, the North East did £421m worth of trade with Norway, sharing in each other’s primary products, cars from the North East, petroleum from Norway. However, the development of the North Sea power link andDogger Bank Offshore Windfarmwill deliver more opportunities between us.

He also touched on Brexit and Norway’s experience of international trade as it is outside the EU. The Ambassador noted that they have negotiated new market access and consultations on priority areas, like fish, and the UK should identify its own priority sectors.

His speech explained therewere 16k British people in Norway and said they were an important part of their workforce and explained there were also mutual strong links withNorwegian nationals in the UK.

In his view the future links with the North East would remain strong, “If you like someone you are already in business. We make our living on the sea which we share with the North East region. What is good for you, is good for us.

He said: “We have a history with the North East that stretches back over 1,000 years and see the UK as a strong ally and neighbour. The sea binds people together, in the olden days in Norway the only way to see each other was often by boat. Sometimes people describe the sea as a divider but there is usually a much easier way to see someone via a boat than over a mountain range!”

The Ambassador also talked about the importance of Norwegian students attending our North East Universities as they very often returned to do business in the North East as a result.

As a final note he added how much this region was a magnet for Norwegian tourists who came for sporting, musical and entertainment events.

The Chamber global lunch was held in association with the Norwegian British Chamber of Commerce, through the Global Chamber Network.