SCOTLAND has a proud and distinguished record in exporting goods and services around the world. Scottish produce, engineering and finance are bywords for quality, and fly the flag for our fantastic global brand.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the chance to meet with locally based businesses across Ochil and South Perthshire who continue to make their mark on the world in a range of areas, from precision engineering and aerospace maintenance to businesses specialising in food and drink.
Large or small, their hard work and expertise is paying dividends in winning over global buyers.
While we’ve many great individual success stories to tell, we can’t rest on our laurels and rely on our worldwide reputation to see us through to the future.
As things stand, the UK’s trade gap is widening to record levels. Official figures released last week showed that the UK’s trade deficit has increased to £34.7 billion in 2015, an increase of £300 million in a single year. This is despite the fact that George Osborne has set his own Government a target of doubling UK exports to £1,000bn by 2020.
This matters to us all, not just because this is yet another failed economic target by George Osborne, but because this deficit is a drag on the wider economy, which holds back growth. It also matters to people working here in Scotland because a strong Scottish manufacturing sector that is fit and able to compete in worldwide markets means even more skilled, well-paid jobs here in our towns and cities beyond the 190,000 existing manufacturing jobs that our economy currently sustains.
That’s why Nicola Sturgeon’s new action plan to boost Scottish manufacturing, which she announced this week, is so important for our economy.
The new programme outlines how our Government in Edinburgh will work in partnership with industry and our colleges and universities to stimulate innovation, improve productivity and increase investment in the Scottish manufacturing sector so that it can become even more competitive in international markets.
Manufacturing industries currently account for more than half of our international exports, and even more of our spending on research and development.
This £70 million investment will support Scottish manufacturers to develop innovative technologies, business models and infrastructure, from the proof-of-concept stage through to implementation. It will help sharpen the cutting edge of Scottish industry, and pave the way to grow our export potential.
Compare this record of action with that of the Tory government in London.
Rather than investing in manufacturing, or taking tangible steps to address their poor exporting record, the latest Comprehensive Spending Review slashed the budget for UKTI, the UK’s trade body, limiting its ability to promote our products and services to a global market.
Instead of real investment in manufacturing jobs, one of their latest wheezes is to hand out jobs for the boys by giving a dozen backbench MPs and members of the House of Lords new positions as international Trade Envoys. Only one of the new appointments, Baroness Northover, is a woman.
It’s also emerged in the last few days than after less than a year in post, the UK’s Trade Minister, Francis Maude, intends to step down from his position.
His successor will be the sixth Trade Minister in only seven years under this government, a terrible record that is holding our great export potential back.
Just when our businesses need the UK Government to focus on growing manufacturing and exports, the UKTI, the UK Government department with the responsibility of leading our exports strategy, is now devoid of leadership and facing a reduced budget. George Osborne once crowed about his intention to double UK exports by 2020 by exporting a trillion pounds of goods and services, but like so many of his economic targets the reality hasn’t matched his rhetoric.
Our economy needs a renewed commitment from the UK Government that lives up to its previously inflated promises.
Scotland has a fantastic global brand, and an illustrious record in taking our wares and skills to the world.
While the Scottish Government, led by the SNP, is taking real action now to provide practical support to business, we’re being let down by a UK Government that talks a great game, but consistently fails to deliver on its inflated promises. Scottish businesses deserve better from Westminster.
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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