ICC United Kingdom Unveils Ambitious Growth Plan

ICC United Kingdom Unveils Ambitious Growth Plan

ICC United Kingdom Unveils Ambitious Growth Plan to Unlock £25 Billion in Trade Growth, £224 Billion in Efficiency Savings and £22 billion in SME working capital

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) United Kingdom has launched a bold and transformative “Plan for Growth” aimed at revolutionising the UK’s trade and trade finance systems. The plan provides a roadmap to unlock billions in economic growth, ensuring the UK leads the future of global trade by unleashing £25 billion in trade growth, delivering £224 billion in efficiency savings and unlocking £22 billion in SME working capital to supercharge national economic growth.

The UK stands at a crossroads. Outdated paper-based trade systems are stifling economic growth and productivity, but bold action can position the UK as a global leader in 21st century trade. By embracing digitalisation, regulatory modernisation, and strategic partnerships, the UK can create a cheaper, faster, simpler, secure and sustainable trading environment.

Trade plays a vital role in the national economy. The “Plan for Growth,” would turbocharge the UK’s trade landscape to make trade and trade finance cheaper, faster, simpler, and more accessible. The plan would have clear benefits for SMEs, leading to 35% efficiency gain and access to £22 billion in working capital.

Key Benefits:

·       £25 billion in trade growth

·       £224 billion in efficiency savings

·       35% efficiency gain for SMEs

·       £22 billion in SME working capital unlocked

·       Trade transaction times cut from 2–3 months to just 1 hour

·       80% reduction in trade transaction costs

·       Shipping costs reduced by 18%, workforce productivity increased by 60%

Chris Southworth, Secretary General of the ICC United Kingdom, said: “Outdated bureaucracy is holding back the UK’s economic potential. With this plan, we can modernise trade, unlock growth, and strengthen our position as a global leader in digital trade,”

He continued: “With international trade on the cusp of a digital revolution, the UK has a unique opportunity to lead the way. We have world-leading legislation in place and the opportunity to scale the benefits to every company. The Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 (ETDA) and the Digital Assets Bill 2025, are positioning the UK as a global leader in trade legislation. Through these, we can achieve remarkable efficiency gains and unlock huge growth opportunities that will benefit businesses of all sizes”

Driving the Transformation

Central to this plan is the International Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (iC4DTI)  — the UK’s flagship institution for digital trade. Co-founded by ICC United Kingdom and HM Revenue and Customs, iC4DTI is the only centre of its kind globally, aligning public and private sector efforts to drive digital transformation in trade.

Recognised as the global benchmark for trade digitalisation, iC4DTI collaborates with the Cabinet Office, Department for Business and Trade, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and international organisations such as the World Trade Organization.

Southworth said, “The future of global trade is digital, with the UK perfectly positioned to help shape the future of world trade. We have cutting-edge legislation, the framework to deliver the benefits in the Roadmap to Digitalise UK Trade, and the innovation institutions, and we need to achieve this at pace and scale. If we leverage these advantages, we can ensure businesses of all sizes benefit from a simpler, faster, and more cost-effective trading environment and help the emerging markets  to do the same”

ENDS

Strategic Recommendations:

  • Reform trade finance regulation to reduce the £22bn SME finance gap.
  • Mandate adoption of electronic transactions in government procurement to help transition to a data-driven trading system.
  • Build a network of digital superhighways by expanding the use of modern Digital Economy Agreements .
  • Establish an interoperable trade data environment to enable information to flow across systems, platforms and jurisdictions
  • Implement digital identities to streamline overly complex compliance bureaucracy and create more transparency across global supply chains.
  • Leverage UK’s iC4DTI and Tees Digital Trade Test Bed Centre to drive innovative solutions at pace and scale.

Notes to editors

ICC is the world’s largest business organisation, representing 45 million companies with 1 billion employees in over 170 countries.

The International Chamber of Commerce is the only business organization with UN Observer Status and acts as a leading voice for business at the UN, G7, G20, World Trade Organization, and other major international institutions. ICC United Kingdom is the representative voice for ICC in the UK and provides a mechanism for UK industry to effectively engage in shaping international policy, standards, and rules.

We are the leading voice on digital trade ecosystems and Co-Chair the B20 Taskforce on Digital Transformation and the Corporate and Trade Digitalisation Taskforces with government and Commonwealth Legal Reform and Digitalisation programme.

For further information or to arrange an interview, please email tom@thomaslanecomms.com