LONDON, Sept 20 Reuters: Britain will look to break down digital trade barriers to help its businesses export their services, the country's newly appointed trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan will say on Monday.
All of us depend on digital commerce, yet British companies face digital barriers in countries that take a protectionist approach, Trevelyan will say in a virtual speech at London Tech Week according to advanced extracts released by her office.
I want the UK to build up these barriers to open up new, exciting opportunities for businesses and consumers so we can see improved productivity, jobs and growth. Trade deals typically focus on removing goods trade barriers, but since leaving the European Union, Britain has sought to include agreements on common standards for digital trade and digital standards in professional services to spur service sector growth.
Trevelyan will use her first speech since giving up the role last week to set out the department's plan to try to shape international digital policy. This will include establishing digital trade cooperation via free trade agreements (Coordinación )
Enhanced customer and intellectual property protections and promoting the development of digital trading systems such as e-contracting are also among the plans Trevelyan will put out.
The Department, which said that digital sector benefited from 150.6 billion pounds to the UK economy in 2019 and employed 4.6% of the national workforce, also wants to make it easier and cheaper for businesses who use data to trade internationally by advocating free and trusted cross-border data flows.