New and improved tools to better protect vital industries from global threats and an expansion of UK Export Finance (UKEF) capacity to £80 billion both feature in the Government’s new Trade Strategy which will, it said, protect and boost British businesses.
Launched on 26 June 2025, just days after the publication of its Industrial Strategy, the latest document sets out plans to unlock £5 billion worth of opportunities for UK exporters through the new Ricardo Fund, which will tackle complex regulatory issues, shape global standards and remove obstacles for UK businesses selling abroad.
The 100-page UK’s Trade Strategy document marks a reset in the UK’s approach to international trade, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). It targets more mutual recognition of qualifications to boost the UK’s status as the second biggest exporter of services in the world whilst also supporting its advanced manufacturing base in what the DBT describes as a rapidly changing global landscape.
Business and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said: “The UK is an open trading nation but we must reconcile this with a new geopolitical reality and work in our own national interest. Our Trade Strategy will sharpen our trade defence so we can ensure British businesses are protected from harm, while also relentlessly pursuing every opportunity to sell to more markets under better terms than before.”
This will involve exploring new, deeper co-operation with markets such as Brazil, the Philippines and Mexico while also building on the three significant trade deals agreed last month – with the United States, EU and India.
The Strategy announces that the UK will join the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), a temporary arbitration arrangement for resolving appeals to World Trade Organzation (WTO) trade disputes, demonstrating, the Government states, its commitment to an effective rules-based international trading system.
The Trade Strategy document also mentions the Government’s upcoming SME Growth Strategy, and how together with the Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy, the three interlocking strategies will aim to strengthen businesses and support growth, at home and abroad.
Department for Business and Trade
We are the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
