UK Ministry Of Commerce Wants To Remove Barriers To Digital Trade

UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan wants to remove barriers to digital trade. (photo: twitter)

JAKARTA – The UK will work to break down barriers to digital trade to help its businesses export their services. This was revealed by the newly appointed UK Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, on Monday, September 13.

The UK Department of International Trade last week published a report seeking to predict global trade trends through 2050 predicting that demand for digital services will double in the next decade.

"We all depend on digital commerce, but UK businesses face digital barriers in countries that take a protectionist approach," Trevelyan said in a virtual speech at London Tech Week.

"I want the UK to break down these barriers and open up exciting new opportunities for businesses and consumers so we can see increased productivity, jobs and growth," he said.

Trade deals typically focus on removing barriers to trade in goods, but since leaving the European Union, the UK has sought to include agreements on digital trade and common standards in professional services to spur growth in the services sector.

Trevelyan will use his first speech since taking on the role last week to set out the department's plans to try to shape international digital policy. This will include establishing digital trade cooperation through free trade agreements.

Enhanced consumer and intellectual property protection and promoting the development of digital trading systems such as electronic contracts are also among Trevelyan's plans.

The UK Ministry of Commerce, said the digital sector contributed 150.6 billion pounds to the UK economy in 2019 and employed 4.6% of the national workforce. He also wants to make it simpler and less expensive for businesses that use data to trade internationally by advocating free and trusted cross-trade using data streams.