Director General, Economic Security and Trade Relations (ESTR)

Kate Joseph

Biography

Kate Joseph became the Director General, Economic Security and Trade Relations (ESTR) at the Department for Business and Trade on 4 March 2024. Prior to this, Kate held the position of Director for International Economic Security at the Treasury.

She started her career as an analyst and adviser on international arms control before joining the Civil Service at the former Department for International Development in 2004. Since then, Kate has held positions including Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and director roles in the digital space at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

More recently, Kate held roles at HM Treasury leading the response to COVID-19 and the Ukraine response.

Director General, Economic Security and Trade Relations (ESTR)

The Director General for Economic Security and Trade Relations (ESTR) is responsible for:

  • the multilateral trading system
  • market access strategy
  • economic security
  • export controls and sanctions
  • responding to a changing international political landscape

Department for Business and Trade