The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has issued a series of what it describes as provocative articles “challenging the cosy Westminster consensus” on a range of business and economic issues, including exports and trade.
“Bursting the bubble: 10 ways Westminster gets it wrong on business and the economy” pulls no punches in arguing for more intelligent – and more informed – debate on the big issues facing the UK.
The articles seek to undermine a range of myths that have taken hold in Westminster and Whitehall in areas including debt, productivity, bank finance, education, infrastructure, inward investment, the EU, energy, broadband and exports.
With regard to the last of these topics, the BCC tells Prime Minister David Cameron that his ambition to double UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020 will miss its target – by 14 years.
“Put simply,” it argues, “while Government support may have helped individual businesses succeed over the years, it has failed to move the dial on exports overall.”
Pointing to the fall in the UK’s share of world exports (now down to 3%) and the continuing increase in the trade deficit, the BCC makes clear that export support to date is not working.
British businesses simply do not perform as well in terms of exporting as their French and German counterparts. Of the five million companies in the UK, only one in five are exporters – compared with one in four in Germany.
Government should be focusing its activities on helping to open up markets for British business, the BCC recommends, and leave business-to-business trade promotion Activities to the private sector.
It also highlights that UK export growth will not happen without action closer to home: addressing infrastructure deficiencies and the skills gaps and ensuring that businesses of all sizes have the access to finance that they need.
