UK parliament cites Commonwealth Secretariat Brexit trade research

British MPs have highlighted research undertaken by the Commonwealth Secretariat during a UK parliamentary debate on post-Brexit Commonwealth trade opportunities.

Citing recent studies by Secretariat trade experts, Conservative MP Jake Berry told MPs, “A recent report on the Commonwealth states that on average it is 19% cheaper for businesses in the Commonwealth to do trade, because of our common legal systems, language and culture. The Commonwealth and its nations represent a growing and increasingly important market for Britain; Britain, in turn, represents the fifth largest economy in the world and a gateway into Europe for Commonwealth nations.”

Mr Berry said that the UK had a lot to learn from Commonwealth partners who are “blazing a trail for free trade among themselves.” He added that a new

study from the Commonwealth had estimated that a UK-India free trade agreement would increase two-way trade by 26% and predicted that UK exports to India could increase by 50% every year.

The debate took place ahead of the Commonwealth’s first trade ministers meeting, scheduled for 9-10 March in London.

Hugo Swire, the Conservative MP and former UK Minister for the Commonwealth, said the trade ministers meeting was an opportunity to discuss the significance of Brexit for international trade. Now deputy chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, which is co-hosting the meeting, Mr Swire said, “We need to be aware of the Commonwealth advantage: when bilateral partners are Commonwealth members, they tend to trade 20% more and generate 10% more in foreign direct investment flows than when one or both are non-Commonwealth nations.”

This was highlighted by the Secretariat’s 2015 report: The Commonwealth in the Unfolding Global Trade Landscape: Prospects Priorities Perspectives.

Greg Hands, Minister of State for the Department of International Trade, responding for the Government, described the Commonwealth as “more important than ever”. He said, “It is an enormous market, but it is more than just a market. The Commonwealth Charter has prosperity at its very centre.”