A common trade connection

Those involved with the UK’s maritime sector have the advantage of being part of the Commonwealth — an extensive network of countries with the potential to boost imports and exports all round

The Commonwealth of Nations — the intergovernmental body comprising 53 states from Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia — represents nearly a third of the global population with 2.4 billion people. In 2014, it created a nominal GDP of $10.5 trillion, equivalent to 17% of the gross world product when measured in purchasing power parity. What’s more, there really is a “Commonwealth advantage” for trade: when Maritime UK vice chair (and former Lord Mayor of London) Lord Jeffrey Mountevans spoke at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018, he noted that when two nations are part of the Commonwealth, they have reduced trading costs.

A network of possibilities

It is a time of unprecedented change for the UK. The country is facing the prospect of its imminent departure from the European Union — a multinational organisation whose net benefit to the UK could be in the area of 4% to 5% of GDP or £62 billion to £78 billion annually, according to a Confederation of British Industry review. If this proves true, and the UK is hit by a financial shortfall from its EU divorce, or Brexit, Commonwealth trade deals could be key to ensuring its economic prosperity for the future.

Writing for business-focused news source City A.M., Maritime UK chairman David Dingle said that the Commonwealth “represents a golden opportunity for Britain as it leaves the European Union”. He also argued that the Commonwealth “is a network with huge potential” — and he’s not wrong. Some of the world’s most influential countries and maritime nations — including India, Singapore, Australia and Canada — are part of the multi-continent grouping, and what’s more, Mr Dingle noted that the Commonwealth contains half of the top 20 emerging global cities. That’s not forgetting the sheer size of the organisation’s population on top of these features.

However, much of the Commonwealth’s potential remains untapped. Discussing the potential of a large increase in trade between Commonwealth members in his City A.M. article, Mr Dingle cited the Commonwealth Trade Review 2015’s argument that even without any co-ordinated policy measures, there was potential for $156 billion of additional exports, and of this, over $35 billion was made up of possible exports from the UK.

“As it is, the top ten largest Commonwealth countries — among them India, Pakistan, Australia and Canada — represent just eight per cent of our total exports,” he also wrote. “And if you then include the other 43 countries of the Commonwealth, that figure rises only to nine per cent.”

Boosting commerce

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Lord Mountevans called for heightened trade between the UK and countries of the Commonwealth. Addressing the Commonwealth Business Forum at the meeting, the Maritime UK vice chair talked of the “huge untapped trading opportunities” in the grouping, also saying that trade was the best way for nations to develop and that developed countries needed to support those that were less developed. He also spoke about the importance of the ‘blue economy’ and the planet’s huge underwater world.

Additionally, Lord Mountevans called for the UK maritime sector to “work together” to realise opportunities brought about by the International Maritime Organisation’s April commitment to reduce carbon emissions, saying that “there is a natural advantage in doing so with Commonwealth partners”. And with Mr Dingle noting that factors like a shared language and similar legal systems bring down the cost of business dealings between Commonwealth member nations, now’s a better time than any for those involved in UK maritime trade to get on board.