The Bafta we all want is a UK-US trade deal

Despite the glitz of the film awards, British SMES only have eyes for a tie-up with our transatlantic partner

This weekend, lots of us across the UK will follow the British Academy Film Awards (Baftas) – the annual celebration of globally successful British entertainment. The event is also a fantastic UK export showcasing Britain’s world-leading creative industries – a cutting edge in screenwriting, acting, directing, original music, set design, costume design, visual effects and more.

However, the Bafta I had in mind for promising UK businesses is not one presented by Joanna Lumley (as fabulous as she is).

It’s one that opens up frictionless trade with approximately 30m businesses and more than 300m consumers in the United States of America – a British-american free trade agreement.

With a little over a year to go until the March 2019 Brexit deadline, businesses large and small are making their voices heard on Britain’s future trading relationship with the EU.

This is despite a prolonged period of distraction and an alarming number of political leaders leaving the pitch following the Article 50 trigger.

I’m relieved that Downing Street eventually turned to businesses of all sizes to gain counsel and guidance on what employers and exporters want from our future trading relationship with the EU.

It has been equally encouraging to see the Prime Minister and the Department for International Trade engage small businesses in discussions with other trading partners around the world, evidenced by the recent trade delegation to China.

But how frustrating it was to see discussions held on the exclusive ski slopes of Davos, for what would be a vital trade agreement with the United States.

Let me be clear – I celebrate and applaud our political leaders for maintaining the special relationship our two nations enjoy.

But given that 99pc of businesses in Britain are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES), surely they are the voices that matter?

Sage has recently undertaken research to identify the impact of regulatory burdens on small and medium-sized businesses globally. The results were telling, and demonstrate that harmonising trade regulations between the United States and the United Kingdom would be beneficial to businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

Maybe Donald Trump should be made aware that businesses in the US stand to benefit even more than businesses in the UK, judging by this metric.

Sage’s research found that while more than 30pc of UK businesses surveyed would competitively benefit from fewer regulatory hurdles, that figure stood at 43pc for businesses based in the US.

So, while the Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement) negotiations between the US, Mexico and Canada continue, the UK should greet president Trump’s preference for bilateral trade deals with enthusiasm.

And note, Mr President – American and British businesses come to the negotiating table as equal partners, as two shining beacons of free trade and entrepreneurship.

Whether Britain is front of the queue, a “Bafta” deal would be immensely impactful for small and medium-sized businesses on both sides of the Atlantic seeking to create a “win-win” for new jobs and prosperity.

So I would love to see them – the entrepreneurs – being invited by the US and UK governments to set the direction for an eventual trade deal.

Political leaders will come and go, but a Bafta for business will support exporters for years to come and provide a guiding light for the free world.

‘I would love to see SMES invited by the US and UK to set the direction for a trade deal’

Stephen Kelly is chief executive of Sage