International trade: Bridging national strategy with regional and local execution
Trade is often framed as a national policy issue, yet its success is ultimately determined locally – by businesses, ports, logistics networks, and supply chains across the United Kingdom. José Puyana, Director of Trade at Transform, shares why closing the gap between national strategy and regional execution is a vital next step for boosting trade.
For many businesses, the system still feels fragmented. Responsibilities are shared across central government, devolved administrations, and regional authorities, often without a single, clear view of where to go for help. This is why collaboration, clarity, and connectivity matter more than ever.
As one business leader put it at a recent trade conference: “I know how to sell my product. I just don’t know which door to knock on to do it faster.”
The first step is acknowledging that trade isn’t just global, but regional. The second is knowing how devolution is changing the map of international trade. While trade policy – negotiating agreements, setting tariffs, and managing borders – remains reserved to Westminster, the delivery of trade has become increasingly devolved.
A new map of international trade
Each devolved administration now plays a major role in building its own trade ecosystem. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have dedicated export and investment agencies, business networks, and trade development programmes. English regions are also developing their own international trade strategies, with mayors and combined authorities seeking to align trade with investment and innovation priorities.
Furthermore, Freeports and Investment Zones are creating new local gateways for global commerce.
This evolution reflects the reality that trade and growth are deeply local and dependent on regional skills, infrastructure, and business communities. However, it also creates new complexity. Businesses operating across borders within the UK – from suppliers in Wales to customers in Scotland or Northern Ireland - encounter a patchwork of support and requirements.
The missing link is the connection: the clear coordination between the national and devolved authorities, or the strategic and the operational.
The opportunity for a joined-up system
Devolution gives the UK a unique opportunity to design a trade system that combines local knowledge with national scale. It’s not about taking powers back or giving more away, but making them work harmoniously.
There is already significant progress; the UK’s trade policy frameworks are some of the most advanced globally, supported by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and UK Export Finance. Devolved governments are running proactive trade missions, and regional innovation clusters are catalysing investment in growth sectors.
Alongside this, trade digitalisation is helping to modernise how goods, data, and finance move. Though these developments create momentum, they highlight the need for stronger coordination between departments, nations, and levels of government. A joined-up approach would ensure regional trade priorities feed into national strategy, create a coherent offer for exporters, and help regions attract investment by linking local strengths to global demand.
The pillars of a unified approach
A truly joined-up approach is built on four pillars:
1. Shared priorities
Clear alignment between national trade strategy and devolved economic plans, ensuring each region’s strengths, from green energy to life sciences, are represented in global trade missions and agreements.
2. Connected services
Businesses should be able to access export support, financing, and compliance services through one coordinated pathway, regardless of location. That could mean a common entry point – physical or digital – linking devolved and national programmes.
3. Common standards and data
Shared standards for reporting, impact measurement, and trade performance would help both national and regional actors make better decisions.
4. Digital as an enabler, not a driver
Digitalisation, from interoperable data systems to paperless trade, can make coordination easier, but it’s a means to an end: a simpler, more responsive system that supports businesses wherever they are.
Success does not necessarily require massive changes, but it does require rethinking how councils and government collaborate. We already see examples of this working. In Teesside, collaboration between the local authority, the Freeport, and industry has turned regional innovation into national leadership in trade digitalisation. Scotland’s international network offers businesses a single interface to global opportunities, and Northern Ireland’s dual-market access shows how pragmatic collaboration can deliver practical benefits when partners align around a shared goal.
The path forward
At Transform, our work in public service design has shown that simplifying trade is about more than just technology. It depends on aligning people, processes, and priorities. To turn policy intent into delivery, we must map and redesign trade user journeys across regional ecosystems, ensuring support is easy to access wherever a business starts.
By deploying digital solutions that support integration – from shared data infrastructure to smarter compliance workflows – we can help multi-agency programmes work as one. Ultimately, the goal is to align national strategy with regional ambition, ensuring that the UK’s trade plan is as strong as the local communities that drive it.
