Corin Crane, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Businesses have faced a significant amount of uncertainty in relation to trading overseas, so it is extremely positive that a UK-EU deal has been reached.
“We know the value that international trade brings, and any steps to remove barriers around this are welcomed.
“This deal will remove unnecessary checks on food and drink exports, link our emission trading schemes making life less costly for businesses and the use of E-gates at passport control will make travel simpler for businesspeople who cross EU borders on a regular basis.
“The deal has also seen a UK-EU defence and security pact established and more will be done around a youth mobility scheme.
“While there is still work to be done, this deal provides some much-needed stability. We will be supporting businesses across our region to navigate this new deal, as well as the US trade deal, and help more companies take their goods and services overseas.”
Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The summit marks a turning point in UK/EU relations which puts our trade relationship at the forefront of our partnership going forward.
“For four years, businesses have fought hard to sustain sales to the EU in the face of a rising tide of costs and paperwork which has severely dented their competitiveness.
“The British Chambers of Commerce had seven key asks of Government going into these negotiations which were based on four years of research and analysis involving thousands of firms.
“Today’s deal is good news on five of those. But we must not stop here, this agreement must be the foundation on which we aspire to build a much stronger business relationship going forward. That can only be of benefit to all our economies.”
The deal comes after the announcement that businesses in the West Midlands can make the most of free help to trade globally after the Exporting Starts Here support programme was extended until next year.
The programme will now run until March 2026 thanks to further funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority and will see the programme continue to be led by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce across Coventry, Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country.
The programme is targeted at specific sectors, such as aerospace, electric light vehicle manufacturing, health tech/med tech, logistics/distribution, professional/financial services and e-commerce – but businesses in other sectors are being encouraged to get in touch.
Funding for the programme was awarded through Business Growth West Midlands and is designed to support growth in the regional economy by enhancing exports.
The support features a mix of one-to-one advice from expert export advisers, online workshops and face-to-face events, including an international trade conference later this year. Greater Birmingham and Black Country Chambers are supporting the delivery in their areas.
The project is funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), and delivered by the Coventry & Warwickshire, Black Country, and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
