Business and Trade Secretary gives speech on economic security and trade in turbulent times
Kemi Badenoch delivers a speech at the 30th anniversary of the Pontignano Forum discussing the importance of economic security and trade in turbulent times.
As I said to Minister Tajani when I met him this morning, it is no secret that the Brits love Italy. I personally, have been a fan of your great country since my first visit here aged 25, a very long time ago, so much so that I even honeymooned in Sicily.
I have been a minister since 2019 and every year I look for an excuse to come to Italy ‘on business’, last year I was in Rome to meet the Pope, the year before at a G20 meeting and before that I was having my first visit to Pontignano.
It speaks volumes that I am one of 3 British Secretaries of State attending today.
This is testament to the enduring strength of the United Kingdom’s relationship with Italy. It is also a real testament to the significance of the Pontignano forum which is why I am so pleased to be congratulating Lord Willets and all the Pontignano conveners on making your 30th anniversary.
The world has changed a great deal since that first conference in 1993.
But the close bonds between the UK and Italy have been constant. Today, I want to talk about how we can tackle our common challenges on economic security together.
This morning, I met with Dr. Sabrina Malpede, an Italian you can guess by her name, she started a business started in Scotland, after studying for her PhD at Glasgow University, supported by the UK’s Department for International Trade, as it was then, to establish a base in Italy and help contribute to the Italian National Recovery Plan with products designed in the UK.
The story of her company, ACT Blade is not only one of the future of energy production. It is also a story about those close ties that bind the UK and Italy.
I’m delighted to say those ties became a little bit closer today, when I signed the UK-Italy Export and Investment Promotion Dialogue with Minister Tajani this morning.
This is the UK’s first export deal with an EU country as an independent trading nation.
And it is a deal designed to boost a trading relationship already worth nearly £45 billion – and up more than 20% over the last 12 months.
As what I say with every trade deal I’m working on – the deals are only worth doing if they are of real benefit. And, more importantly, of benefit to the people of both our countries.
Because I know that here in Italy, people are experiencing the same worries as people in the UK.
Rising prices in the shops, a squeeze on the cost of living, fears about international security.
And, perhaps most pressingly of all, concerns over energy security and the cost of heating our homes.
That’s where I come back to Dr Malpede and ACT Blade.
The technology her firm is pioneering is driving forward the sustainable production of energy.
This technology doesn’t just help with reducing bills, it also helps with the crucial question of energy security.
So everything we have done during our visit, whether the Memorandum signed today with Minister Tajani, or the CEO forum I chaired with Minister Urso, or even this conference we are having now with Minister Valentini.
They are all about more than warm words, they are about deepening and strengthening the UK-Italy partnership to deliver real benefits for the people of our 2 great nations.
Last month, I set out my top 5 priorities for the year ahead as the UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade.
Breaking down trade barriers, boosting exports, attracting investment, signing good trade deals.
but most importantly for this forum: defending free trade – making the world more secure by strengthening supply chains and standing up to protectionism.
Now as Secretary of State for Business and International Trade these priorities remain essential as I look at what more I can do to support business in the UK.
The UK and Italy both have proud traditions of trading across the globe. We both know the benefits that free trade can bring.
These shared values help the people of our own countries, but they can also help those in other countries around the world.
You will have seen from the visit that President Zelensky made to London today, how much we support the people of Ukraine. This is something that both the UK and Italy are united in, and we are also united in our commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
We are both members of the G7, cooperating to find solutions to major global issues.
And we have a large number of industries and services on which we work together daily.
One of these areas of shared expertise between the UK and Italy is in the car industry.
Whether you’re talking about a Lamborghini or a Land Rover; a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce. We both know how to make good cars.
Maybe that’s why the UK’s biggest export market to Italy is in cars – worth nearly £1 billion.
And I hope that close partnership will continue to build as our automotive sectors move into the next phase of car manufacturing, with electric and low-emission vehicles.
But as we and others accelerate towards the exciting future of Electric Vehicles, we must take care not to retreat into protectionism.
I understand the intention of the US’s Inflation Reduction Act, but I see no benefit for our industries – or the people we represent – if we enter a global subsidies race.
I know that like the UK Italy shares these concerns, I’ve heard them from businesses here today at the CEO Forum and we are working with our friends and allies in the US, the EU and across the world we can both counter our common threats - and - defend together the principles of free and fair trade.
Jointly voicing our concerns over the IR Act is a good example of where we are working in tandem to the benefit of consumers.
Economic security has never seemed so important in the three decades since the Pontignano began nor been under so much threat.
That’s why it’s so important that countries like the UK and Italy continue to build our close relationship.
And why I’m so pleased to be in Italy today knowing that my friends the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace are arriving shortly, and they will continue to work to make that relationship even stronger for the future.
Thank you.