Scotland's Vision for Trade: annual report - October 2024

Ministerial Foreword

I am delighted to publish this third Annual Report, which details the progress we have made in implementing Scotland’s Vision for Trade in the past year.

The Vision sets out our strategic policy approach to international trade, an approach directly linked to our wider aims for the Scottish economy. We want a strong, successful, innovative and dynamic economy. Trade has an important role to play in achieving that, by stimulating economic activity in Scotland.

Facilitating an environment where businesses are able to thrive and investors are welcome is central to our economic approach. We have therefore taken a range of actions this year to improve the trading environment in Scotland, including stepping up our direct engagement with the business community, supporting the resolution of individual market access barriers and using standards and regulation to support businesses. For example, we collaborated with the British Standards Institution (BSI) on the introduction of a new voluntary whisky standard which empowers distillers in Scotland to trade internationally.

We are using our principles-based approach to trade to create more opportunities for people to participate in our economy, for example by gaining a better understanding of the cause, impact and potential measures to address the clear gender export gap, whereby businesses led by women are less likely to export than those led by men.

Recent tragic global events demonstrate why taking such a principles-based approach, with concern for human rights at its core, is so important.

Many trade levers of course sit with the UK Government. For example, over the past year, we held the previous UK Government to account as they continued their programme of new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the US. We contributed to FTA negotiations with India, Canada, Switzerland, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Israel, Republic of Korea and Türkiye, as well as the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP), arguing Scotland’s case and protecting and promoting our interests.

Making progress towards our aims for the Scottish economy, however, relies on better and stronger collaboration between our two Governments. We are committed to working constructively with the newly-elected UK Government in furthering our shared trade interests.

In his first speech to the Parliament after taking office, the First Minister emphasised the importance of working together to achieve our collective aims. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with all our stakeholders in the coming year to ensure businesses in Scotland are supported in achieving their ambitions as we take forward Scotland’s Vision for Trade.

Richard Lochhead

Minister for Business