This blog supports the key asks found in our UK Manifesto 'A Field of View'

In its simplest form, trade is the action of buying and selling goods and services. However, it can also convey the principles and values of someone operating within a market. At a global level, this takes on added significance. Trade can be used as a force for good in the world; robust trade policy can be a cornerstone of climate action.

There are precedents for this. For example, the EU is moving to adopt a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. This tool puts a fair price on carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods that are entering the EU. Import levies within the mechanism prevent ‘carbon leakage’ as companies based in the EU cannot move production abroad where there are less stringent climate policies. Equally, it means EU products will not simply be replaced by more carbon-intensive imports.

Brexit has meant that the UK has begun to chart its own course. After decades in the EU, it is now incumbent on the UK to develop its own coherent trade strategy. This needs to simultaneously deliver economic benefits for citizens while also being coherent with our wider domestic and international agendas. Namely, being climate and nature leaders.

This call to action is no more present than in agricultural trade. In 2020, the UK imported 46% of the food it consumed. This equates to £48 billion of food, feed and drink. While the UK will need to reduce how much food it imports on a warming planet, both imports and exports will still play a critical role in the UK economy for decades to come.