Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to benefit from recent trade deals
Manufacturing in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are set to benefit from the UK’s new trade deals with India, the US and the EU that slashes tariffs and boosts access to the world’s fastest growing economy.
- Prime Minister to meet with the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor Paul Bristow
- Comes as we’ve nailed three trade deals in as many weeks to deliver growth that is a priority for the Plan for Change
- Delivers major jobs boost for local manufacturing that employs 16% of all people
Manufacturing in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are set to benefit from the UK’s new trade deals with India, the US and the EU that slashes tariffs and boosts access to the world’s fastest growing economy.
The deals negotiated by the Prime Minister delivers long-term certainty for local manufacturing that employs over 51,000 people - 16% of all jobs in the region.
Reducing tariffs on machinery and medical equipment will support employers with a significant presence in the region like Paragraf, Hutchinson and Bradshaw Electric Vehicles to grow and create more jobs – delivering on our Plan for Change.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
The trade deals that we have closed provides certainty for 51,000 people in the region who are employed in manufacturing, delivers security for their families and puts more in people’s pockets.
It also will create opportunities for more seamless trade, attracting inward investment that will grow the local economy and make a difference to people’s lives.
These changes will be felt everywhere, whether it’s lower food prices at the checkout, more choice for consumers and higher living standards that will improve livelihoods across the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
36,116 people employed in agriculture will also benefit from our deal with the EU. It reduces checks and red tape, meaning that produce grown and farmed in East Anglia now has easy access to the UK’s biggest trading market.
The agreement also protects British steel exports from new EU rules and restrictive, providing further security for 1,375 people working in the steel industry across the East of England.
The Prime Minister will tell the English Mayors and the Leaders from the Devolved Governments at a meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions in London today (Friday 23 May) that his trade deals with India, the United States and the EU will deliver economic growth that will improve people’s lives at home.
He will challenge those in attendance to drive economic growth in their local areas to deliver for working people.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
The three landmark deals secured this month with the US, India, and the EU have shown this government is serious about striking the deals that our businesses want and need.
We are delivering billions for the UK economy and wages every year as part of our Plan for Change. For businesses in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, these deals will mean stability and jobs protected as they seize new opportunities to sell to some of our biggest trading partners.
Our deal with India is set to benefit every corner of the UK, including manufacturing in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, that according to the latest available data contributed £4.4 billion to the UK economy.
Under the Free Trade Deal that was concluded, the barriers to trading have been dropped, with India agreeing to reduce tariffs on products including advanced machinery and medical devices that are made in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Dr Uday Phadke, Executive Chairman of Accelerator India, and Chief Executive of the Triple Chasm Company, Cartezia Ltd and Director of the Research & Development Society, said:
The recent UK trade deals are a significant step forward in strengthening the global position of UK science and technology.
At Triple Chasm Company, we see these agreements as a powerful enabler of cross-border innovation, expanding our commercialisation services across key markets in the US, Europe, and India.
These deals not only boost our growth in global innovation clusters but also reinforce our confidence to invest further in the UK. We commend the UK Government for its credibility and strategic vision in securing agreements that directly support ambitious, innovation-led businesses like ours.
Cambridge is uniquely placed to benefit from the deals that we have secured, whether that’s the reduced tariffs from our India Free Trade Deal on medical devices that will unleash more opportunities in life sciences.
In another win for the region’s world class research and development sector, our agreement with the US opens the way to future technology partnership where our two science-rich nations will collaborate in biotech, life sciences, quantum computing, nuclear fusion, aerospace and space.
Just this week, the Prime Minister acted in the national interest by confirming a new agreement with the European Union that will deliver on his core mission to grow the economy, creating more jobs in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, raising standards and putting more money in people’s pockets.
At today’s meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions the Prime Minister will also lead discussions about spreading AI to help working people access the services that they need in their local areas.