10 UK Export News You Might've Missed - Week 33
In this edition of Export News from Expordite, we’ll cover the top 10 UK export news and headlines from week 33 of 2024?—?August 12th-18th, 2024.
Key News
General Export?News
"A historic breakthrough in defence trade between the UK, US, and Australia has been announced today following landmark export control changes to benefit the AUKUS partners.????
The milestone will enable all three nations to work more closely together to develop next-generation technologies, compete with adversaries and support interoperability in the Indo-Pacific.??
It is estimated the reforms – which will lift certain export controls and restrictions on technology sharing – will cover up to ￡500 million of UK defence exports each year, and billions of dollars of trade across all three nations, helping boost UK economic growth."
Source: GOV.uk
"UK Export Finance (UKEF) has announced a €22 million direct loan to support the construction of a rural water supply project in the Quiminha region of Angola that will be delivered by British firms.?
The project is expected to improve living conditions and support economic development in the Quiminha region – an important agricultural area – by providing a reliable source of potable water that can also meet industrial and agricultural needs.??
The UKEF loan secures new opportunities for UK exporters, which are expected to deliver around €8 million in UK subcontracts."
Source: GOV.uk
"Lima, 16 August 2024. The Government of Peru and the UK Government have signed a new government to government agreement to enable the delivery of a large-scale $630 million hospital infrastructure that will benefit around 5 million Peruvians in northern regions of the country.
The programme is a priority for the Peruvian government, as it aims to increase healthcare provision in those regions and reduce the regional healthcare gap in the country. It envisions the construction of two hospitals: the “Piura High Complexity Hospital” in the region of Piura, and the “Trujillo Regional Teaching Hospital” in the region of La Libertad, both in northern Peru.
The agreement further strengthens the UK and Peru’s diplomatic and trading relationship. Similarly, this new partnership enables a consortium of UK businesses - with local and international experience - to support the delivery of two large-scale hospitals, managed by the Peruvian Health Investment Agency, PRONIS."
Source: GOV.uk
"A small business from Barnsley which makes toy slime has secured government-backed financing for a new factory, new staff and new product lines. Specialist lender Newable Commerce issued the funding with the support of UK Export Finance, the government guarantor.
Slime Party UK produces a mess-free variety of sensory putty. With humble beginnings in the kitchen of its founder Ruby Sheldon, the business now supplies to some of the largest toy retailers in the world.
Since securing the finance, the business has opened a new 15,000 square foot factory in Barnsley and is now looking to take on 50% more staff. The business will also use the financing to meet continued high demand from its export markets in Europe and the Middle East – notably in Lebanon, Malta and Ireland."
Source: GOV.uk
"The UK has issued a notice of that it is adapting an existing security process to assist export control reforms. Ministry of Defence Form 680 will become the “administrative vehicle through which it will review and enable the release of United States International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controlled defence articles, including technical data, to foreign persons within or outside of the UK”.
The change came into effect on 16 August 2024, with an implementation period until 1 September 2024."
Source: Global Sanctions
"The volume of goods exports (excluding inflation) rose by 11% in June, with substantial increases in both EU exports (up by 12.7%) and non-EU trade (up 9.4%).
Imports also saw a significant upswing in volumes for June with an overall increase of 7.8%. EU goods imports rose by 9.9% and non-EU goods by 9.4%.
Drivers for the rise in exports to the EU were machinery and transport equipment. This included aircraft and electrical machinery to Germany, mechanical machinery to France, and pharmaceutical and medicinal products to the Republic of Ireland.
For rest of the world, the main drivers were higher chemicals exports, particularly to the USA. Sales of medicinal products to the US were also up."
Source: Liverpool Chamber
"According to details given by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), after three consecutive months of decline, Vietnamese tuna exports to the UK have increased once again, with export value to the highly lucrative market soaring by 56% to reach US$742 million.
The first half of the year witnessed tuna export turnover to this market rake in US$3.6 million, down 5% over the same period from last year.
Frozen tuna meat/loins remain the nation’s major export product to the UK market, accounting for 92%. In addition, the country is currently the second largest non-EU supplier of frozen tuna meat to the UK market, after the Republic of Korea (RoK)."
Source: Vietnam Net Global
"The British Government has taken the rare step of placing an export ban on a single, tiny, ancient gold coin. What separates this tiny trinket from similar historical finds is that it bears the name of a hitherto unknown king in England, who was a contemporary of Julius Caesar.
Little is known about this Britonic King of Wessex, named Esunertos, other than that he was a "leader with power and influence", but this rare connection has caused the coin to be valued at ￡20,040, excluding VAT, leading to fears it could be lost in a private collection.
The temporary bar on its sale abroad has been brought in with the hopes that a British public institution might purchase it and preserve it for future generations."
Source: Express
"Export sales of Scottish salmon have jumped 41% in the first half of 2024, thanks to increased demand from the US and Asia."
Source: Food Manufacture
"Food Manufacture investigates one UK processer’s issues with the EU TRACES system, that resulted in severe exporting delays."
Source: Food Manufacture
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It's great to see the UK making strides in defence trade and clean water initiatives. The €22 million loan for the Angolan clean water project is particularly noteworthy. What do you think will be the most significant impact of this project on the local community?