British exports - what does the government do to help?

Following on from Jim’s blog on Wednesday about exports (Exporting – no thanks – we’re British, there have been some interesting reports in the last couple of weeks emphasising the ways in which government tries to encourage exports, which could be the source of some investigation work for students around the the theme of The Relationship between Businesses and the Political Environment, and political decisions affecting trade and access to markets.

First, on Wednesday the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published the government’s strategy for trade and investment to drive global economic growth. This opens by saying that included in the strategy are a range of actions to help secure a strong, sustainable and open economy that benefits business both domestically and internationally. The three areas of focus are
• Strengthening the multilateral trading system,
• Enabling developing countries to benefit from trade and investment, and
• Maximising and realising the opportunities for UK businesses to trade and invest
The statement issued by the FCO expands on each of these, and adds a video from the press launch as well as supporting quotes from the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Trade and Investment Minister, all of which could be used to underline the importance of government support for trade initiatives as part of the drive towards economic recovery. Perhaps the second bullet point here, about working to find benefits for developing countries, could provide some background for “the extent to which governments should influence Corporate Social Responsibility”?

To see what practical help is available for UK businesses,if you can afford to devote a lesson to this you could start with this BBC report which looks at why “Small firms are unnecessarily missing out on exports”. To see what is being done to help, go to the UKTI website. I would suggest use of these two pages:
• Exports and the Balance of Trade
• Inward Investment and the Capital Account
Each explains how the department helps and supports businesses, either those that want to export, or those that want to invest in the UK and to set up business here – and each has links to case studies that can be used to add examples that could be used to add to students’ stock of examples to draw on in BUSS4 essays.

Exchange rate: £1 above €1.20 [8 May 2012]
The Boston Matrix, whisky and booming exports [2 Dec 2011]
International operations decisions - Adidas trainers for $1? [26 Nov 2011]
Evan Davis ‘Made in Britain’ - and a new trade data tool to play with [21 Jun 2011]
Flexibility is a key part of exporting success [20 Apr 2011]
Sources of finance for an export-led strategy [6 Mar 2011]
Exporting - No Thanks - We’re British [9 Feb 2011]
Rising industrial unrest in China [29 Jun 2010]
Video case study - New Balance quality in a successful UK factory [28 Jan 2010]
Q&A - What methods can a business can use to expand into international markets? [14 Jan 2010]
Emerging Markets - Strategies for Doing Business in China [5 Nov 2009]
Q&A - Does globalisation benefit UK businesses and the UK economy? [27 Oct 2009]
Q&A - What are the main factors driving globalisation? [27 Oct 2009]
Q&A - What is globalisation? [27 Oct 2009]
Video report - pound hit by falling inflation [14 Oct 2009]
Video briefing - Doing Business in Brazil & Mexico [15 Sep 2009]
Q&A - Explain the causes of inflation [1 Jul 2009]
Video case study - Rebranding acquisitions [1 Jun 2009]
Video case study - EU legislation impact on business [28 May 2009]
Q&A - Why are start-ups vulnerable to cash flow problems? [26 May 2009]
Video case study - subsidy boosts demand for small cars [23 May 2009]
BA posts a record loss [22 May 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by Social Enterprise? [22 May 2009]
AQA AS Business Unit 1 - Possible Evaluation Questions [17 May 2009]
Q&A - How do changes in commodity prices affect businesses? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are the main legal areas that a start-up business needs to consider? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are commodities and how are their prices determined? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - Describe the basics of setting up a business in the UK [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are the implications for UK businesses if the pound strengthens? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What causes an exchange rate to change? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is an exchange rate? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is credit and why do businesses need it? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is a sole trader? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is franchising? [1 Mar 2009]
Video Case Study - Export Success for Mining Tools Manufacturer [15 Jan 2009]
Video Case Study - Exporters Benefit from a Weaker Pound [6 Jan 2009]
Beijing Bound for the Black Cabs [19 May 2008]
Two years of pain as CBI forecast lower growth for the UK [25 Mar 2008]

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