Widespread support in UK for new trade deals
Just over two-thirds of Britons are currently in support of government moves to sign free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries outside of the European Union, a new survey has found.
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The latest 'Public Attitudes to Trade Tracker' (PATT) - a survey of more than 3,000 Britons conducted by BMG Research for the Department for Business and Trade - recorded that 67 per cent of those polled supported non-EU deals. The figure represented a slight increase from the previous survey last November.Only four per cent of respondents expressed opposition to such FTAs, while the remainder were 'don't knows'.More than half of those supporting new deals said they did so because they offered opportunities to strengthen the UK economy. Other reasons given were: that chance to improve trade opportunities (41 per cent); the ability of the UK to set its own trade policy (36 per cent); the prospect of lowering prices for consumers (36 per cent).
Meanwhile, concerns over the FTAs stemmed mainly over the potential reduction of safety and food standards, and fears over how the deals might have a negative impact on the environment.The report stated: "While public optimism about the health of the economy has dropped considerably, levels of support for signing free trade agreements has remained stable. "Support for free trade agreements with specific countries has increased in several cases, including India."Marco Forgione, director-general of the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOT&IT), said it was encouraging to see that public support for trade deals had risen.“It is a crucial time to seize this momentum and support businesses on how they can most effectively make use of these new trade agreements," he said.“International trade is a ‘force for good’ and trade agreements stimulate economic growth throughout the UK, creating jobs, lowering prices for consumers, and promoting innovation and technological advancement.”An analysis of the 77-page report by the institute found that Switzerland was the most popular country in terms of potential partners for future trade deals, commanding 64 per cent support, closely followed by the US, although there are few prospects of an FTA with the Biden Administration.Half of those surveyed backed the deal currently under negotiation with India - an increase of ten percentage points on last year's survey.The IOT&IT added: "Support for deals with Saudi Arabia and China was lower at 42 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. Most Brits aren’t aware of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which Saudi Arabia is a member and with which the UK is currently negotiating an FTA."Public support for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which the UK recently secured an agreement to join, was at an all-time high of 53 per cent, although only 28 per cent said they were aware of the pact."Britons' mood over the wider economy was more pessimistic, with 60 per cent expressing fears that things would get worse in the next 12 months and only 14 per cent confident of an improvement."However," the institute added, "the majority of those predicting a worsening of the economy are more positive about FTAs, with 65 per cent saying they support the UK’s trade deals, up from 56 per cent since last year."More people believe FTAs will be more likely to have a positive impact on the cost-of-living crisis than not...most people think trade in general has a positive impact on their daily lives, rising from 56 per cent last year to a new peak of 62 per cent."
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The latest 'Public Attitudes to Trade Tracker' (PATT) - a survey of more than 3,000 Britons conducted by BMG Research for the Department for Business and Trade - recorded that 67 per cent of those polled supported non-EU deals. The figure represented a slight increase from the previous survey last November.Only four per cent of respondents expressed opposition to such FTAs, while the remainder were 'don't knows'.More than half of those supporting new deals said they did so because they offered opportunities to strengthen the UK economy. Other reasons given were: that chance to improve trade opportunities (41 per cent); the ability of the UK to set its own trade policy (36 per cent); the prospect of lowering prices for consumers (36 per cent).
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Meanwhile, concerns over the FTAs stemmed mainly over the potential reduction of safety and food standards, and fears over how the deals might have a negative impact on the environment.The report stated: "While public optimism about the health of the economy has dropped considerably, levels of support for signing free trade agreements has remained stable. "Support for free trade agreements with specific countries has increased in several cases, including India."Marco Forgione, director-general of the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOT&IT), said it was encouraging to see that public support for trade deals had risen.“It is a crucial time to seize this momentum and support businesses on how they can most effectively make use of these new trade agreements," he said.“International trade is a ‘force for good’ and trade agreements stimulate economic growth throughout the UK, creating jobs, lowering prices for consumers, and promoting innovation and technological advancement.”An analysis of the 77-page report by the institute found that Switzerland was the most popular country in terms of potential partners for future trade deals, commanding 64 per cent support, closely followed by the US, although there are few prospects of an FTA with the Biden Administration.Half of those surveyed backed the deal currently under negotiation with India - an increase of ten percentage points on last year's survey.The IOT&IT added: "Support for deals with Saudi Arabia and China was lower at 42 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. Most Brits aren’t aware of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which Saudi Arabia is a member and with which the UK is currently negotiating an FTA."Public support for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which the UK recently secured an agreement to join, was at an all-time high of 53 per cent, although only 28 per cent said they were aware of the pact."Britons' mood over the wider economy was more pessimistic, with 60 per cent expressing fears that things would get worse in the next 12 months and only 14 per cent confident of an improvement."However," the institute added, "the majority of those predicting a worsening of the economy are more positive about FTAs, with 65 per cent saying they support the UK’s trade deals, up from 56 per cent since last year."More people believe FTAs will be more likely to have a positive impact on the cost-of-living crisis than not...most people think trade in general has a positive impact on their daily lives, rising from 56 per cent last year to a new peak of 62 per cent."
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