The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed new Trade Envoys to boost British business in key markets including Canada, South Korea and Turkey.
Basingstoke’s local MP Maria Miller and her colleagues Rt. Hon. John Whittingdale and Rt. Hon. John Hutton - will use their skills and experience to help UK businesses find new export and investment opportunities and promote UK trade in Canada, Republic of Korea and Turkey.
Trade Envoys promote UK trade, drive green economic growth, and encourage inward investment to help level up every part of the UK. Trade Envoys will build on the UK’s strong relations with key trading countries and work with the Department for International Trade’s global network to break down barriers to doing business, with total trade with Canada, the Republic of Korea and Turkey representing more than £54bn of UK bilateral trade.
Maria said, “I am honoured to be appointed by the Prime Minister as the new Trade Envoy for Canada. I look forward to strengthening our relationship with Canada, championing UK as a destination of choice for investment and supporting the UK’s economic recovery through the levelling up agenda, by helping business take advantage of the opportunities arising.”
Trade Envoys will also promote the major opportunities green trade presents, including the creation of high-value jobs in the UK’s low-carbon economy and fuelling technological innovations that can be exported worldwide. The new appointments will extend the total number of Trade Envoys to 40 parliamentarians, covering 80 markets.
UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said, “These new Trade Envoys will play vital role in promoting Global Britain across the world, driving economic growth, and encouraging inward investment across the whole of the UK.
From the UK’s accession to CPTPP, to our ambitions for an enhanced trade deal with South Korea and green trade agenda, there is huge potential for our new Trade Envoys to strengthen and grow our trading relationships between the UK and Canada, South Korea and Turkey.
Trade Envoys are parliamentarians appointed by the Prime Minister, drawn from both Houses and across the political spectrum.
Coming from a range of parliamentary backgrounds, the latest round of Trade Envoys will bring experience in the creative industries to their new roles, with both Maria Miller MP and John Whittingdale MP serving as previous Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
The full list of new appointments is below:
The Rt. Hon. Member for Basingstoke, Maria Miller, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Canada
The Rt. Hon. Member for Maldon, John Whittingdale, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to South Korea
The Rt. Hon. Lord Hutton of Furness, John Hutton, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Turkey
Background:
Trade Envoy roles are unpaid and voluntary.
The UK’s green economy is projected to grow by 11% per year from 2015 to 2030, and by 2050 1.4 million people could be directly employed in low carbon good and services sectors – a seven-fold increase from 2018.