April eNewsletter

Dear Members & Friends of the Chamber

Last edition we commented on the 5^th round of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the UK and Canada, and the visit to the UK of Hon Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development. This week we have seen announcements on the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), another FTA this time including 11 members: Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam - a trade bloc which will now have a total GDP of £11 trillion. This is the UK’s biggest trade deal since Brexit and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the centre of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new nation and first European country to join. British businesses will now enjoy unparalleled access to markets from Europe to the south Pacific.’ Mary Ng added: ‘The UK’s accession to the CPTPP [builds] on our longstanding economic and people-to-people ties and shared values on open and rules-based trade… Canada is a leader for open, predictable, and inclusive rules-based trade and welcomes expansion of the CPTPP to economies dedicated to the same high standards.’ Read more here.

On March 28, 2023, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, delivered the Canada’s Budget 2023 with promised spending on the climate and dental care, and increasing taxes on higher-income Canadians. For more details read here and for commentary including on International tax reform, RBC have commented here.

The UK’s Spring Budget with the aim of halving inflation, growing the economy and getting debt falling, was presented mid-March, and for a webinar discussion on its implications for international businesses by Crestview Strategy, ebl miller rosenfalck and Blick Rothenberg, go to the Members’ Area or email us for a copy of the recording. We also include this edition an article by RDP Associates on the changes to the R&D Tax Credit Scheme.

This edition our focus is on SME news at a time when UK SMEs appear more upbeat about their 2023 prospects, and a new survey has found Canada’s SMEs are banking on strong growth in the next 3 years. SME members sharing their news include: beacon.io, Briars Group, ebl miller rosenfalck, SteelEye and RDP Associates.

We offer a warm Chamber welcome to our latest members: Edmonton International Airport, LOVIS and MetaVerse tech (VBuddies World); and two new Board Directors: Bob El-Hawary - returning to the Board with Cognitive Systems Corp - and Katie Fedosenko who succeeds Ralph Lutes on behalf of Teck Resources. In Secretariat news, congratulations to our colleague Lisa Selby who is promoted to Business Development & Engagement Manager.

Join Lisa and our Secretariat colleagues if you can in April and May when our event programme includes: 13 April a Talent Beyond Boundaries webinar; 20 April 4^th Annual Canadian Universities Alumni Mixer at the Royal Overseas League (in person); 24 April Making the Business Case for Nature at Gowling WLG (in person); 11 May AGM & House of Lords Lunch (in person) and our 25 May Annual Golf Day at the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club (in person).

For more on events, membership, news, and e-introductions email us at: info@canada-uk.org,

We wish you happy networking at this time of year.

Izzy, Lisa, Cathrine & Nigel
Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce

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