Jul132017

Press release: UK Government urges Welsh businesses to export

HM Government

In 2016 there were more than 3,800 businesses exporting in Wales with an annual combined value of £12.4bn exports. Now, Ministers are urging other business to take up the support on offer including financial incentives and online matching services.

To mark the anniversary Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns has announced that he will be writing to 26,000 Welsh businesses that have been identified as potential exporters and sending them a copy of a dedicated exporting guide for Welsh businesses.

The Wales Export Guide, sets out the full range of support available to Welsh businesses from the UK Government and contains inspiring stories of companies based in Wales that are successfully exporting. Alun Cairns hopes that businesses will recognise the huge potential available to help them invest and grow.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

I want Welsh businesses to get out into the wider world, to trade and do business all around the globe. That is why we are sharing the advice, guidance and support available from the UK Government, in particular from the Department for International Trade, for businesses in our Wales Export Guide. We want to help them to build their brand abroad as we continue to increase UK exports and encourage inward investment.

DIT has helped to secure billions of pounds in export opportunities, and since its creation in July 2016, the department has also supported;

  • a trade mission to India which resulted in £1.2 billion worth of business deals
  • the largest ever healthcare trade mission to China which saw British organisations sign deals worth more than £250 million
  • UK architecture firms to secure a contract worth tens of millions of pounds in UAE

DIT has also set up ten working groups across 15 countries to strengthen trade and commercial ties with key trading partners around the world.

International Trade Minister, Greg Hands said:

We are already a great trading nation, but as an international economic department we now want to encourage businesses to look at whether there could be a global market for their goods and services.

By designing our own trade policy in Britain’s national interest, after we leave the EU, we will be able to take advantage of growing markets around the world and further boost our export successes.

Through great.gov.uk, the department gives UK businesses access to millions of pounds’ worth of potential overseas business, helping them start or increase exporting.

There’s been more than 2.4 million visits to great.gov.uk and more than 3,300 UK businesses have already registered on the government’s ‘Find a Buyer’ service to match UK businesses to worldwide demand.

Exporting support for Wales

DIT hosted the inaugural Wales Export Business Summit where more than 80 businesses came together to access advice and guidance from entrepreneurs, international business owners and export champions. The summit helped to connect firms starting out on their exporting journey with the expertise they need.

In the last year, DIT has supported almost 1,200 companies in Wales by helping them attend overseas trade shows, carry out crucial market research and develop international relationships.

One Welsh manufacturer that has benefited from government support is Pontypool-based company Flamgard Calidair. Through UK Export Finance, which operates as part of DIT, Flamgard secured a contract to provide specialist fire and shut off dampers to the Chernobyl site. The €1.5bn multinational engineering project, managed by international contractor Novarka, will be installed in late 2017. ENDS

Notes to editors

  • Contact the DIT Media and Digital Team on 020 215 2000
  • Follow us: @tradegovuk gov.uk/dit

Jul132017

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EU

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Jul132017

EU

Roaming charges ended in the European Union on 15 June 2017. Europeans travelling within EU countries will ‘Roam Like at Home’ and pay domestic prices for roaming calls, SMS and data.  …

On 23 June 2016 citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU). On 29 March 2017 the UK formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the EU by…

Over the past 20 years, the European Union has put in place some of the highest common asylum standards in the world. And in the past two years, European migration policy has advanced in leaps and…

‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan.It will be built through concrete achievementswhich first create a de facto solidarity.’Robert Schuman9 May 1950On 25 March 2017,…

In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and deliberate destabilisation of a neighbouring sovereign country, the EU has imposed restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.Overview…

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his annual State of the Union speech at the European Parliament on 14 September 2016, just two days ahead of the informal meeting of 27…

Enlargement is the process whereby countries join the EU. Since it was founded in 1957, the EU has grown from 6 member countries to 28.Any European country that respects the principles of liberty,…

Jul132017

Discours d’ouverture du Commissaire Moscovici lors du point presse sur l’abrogation de la procédure de déficit excessif en Grèce

EU

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On 23 June 2016 citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU). On 29 March 2017 the UK formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the EU by…

Over the past 20 years, the European Union has put in place some of the highest common asylum standards in the world. And in the past two years, European migration policy has advanced in leaps and…

‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan.It will be built through concrete achievementswhich first create a de facto solidarity.’Robert Schuman9 May 1950On 25 March 2017,…

In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and deliberate destabilisation of a neighbouring sovereign country, the EU has imposed restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.Overview…

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his annual State of the Union speech at the European Parliament on 14 September 2016, just two days ahead of the informal meeting of 27…

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Jul132017

UN human rights expert calls unofficial visit to Belarus ‘first step’ towards cooperation

United Nations

12 July 2017 – An independent United Nations human rights expert back from an unofficial visit to Belarus today said he was hopeful for a dialogue to begin with the country’s Government.

Miklós Haraszti said that although the Government still did not recognize his mandate, it was encouraging that they had allowed him to attend a human rights seminar, which took place on July 6, alongside the parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“I see the authorities’ tolerance as a sign of progress which may be the first step toward cooperation with the mandate created by the Human Rights Council in 2012,” Mr. Haraszti said.

He also noted the publication of the Government’s action plan on human rights, even though none of the 100 points within the plan tackle civic or political rights.

Mr. Haraszti, who was in the country for a special event, and not at the invitation of the Government to pursue work related to his UN mandate, said the Government could quickly change the human rights situation, if it wished.

“The absolute command that the Government has established over public life also allows it to bring change at a stroke of a pen,” he told the seminar on human rights.

The seminar highlighted two key areas of concern regarding human rights in Belarus, according to the expert.

“The first is a systemic refusal of individual liberties – a permission-based regime of public life, which in effect criminalizes all Belarusians who act without prior authorization,” he said. “We also note a lack of independence of the judiciary, and ongoing use of the death penalty.

“The second area of concern is the cyclical recourse to mass repression, such as the crackdowns in December 2010 and March 2017, when the authorities actually criminalize citizens for using their civic and political rights.”

Mr. Haraszti spoke out against Government actions earlier this year, expressing dismay at what he called “the Government’s return to the policy of violent mass repression.”

UN Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.