Interministerial Group for Trade communiqué: 22 January 2025
Published 17 February 2025
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The Trade Interministerial Group met on 22 January 2025 via video conference. The meeting was chaired by Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security, the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP (UK government).
Attendees
The attending ministers were as follows.
From the UK government
The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, The Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP, Secretary of State for Wales, and the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
From the Scottish Government
Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Business.
From the Welsh Government
Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy, and Planning.
From the Northern Ireland Executive
Conor Murphy MLA, Minister for the Economy.
What was discussed
Ministers discussed the UK government’s current trade priorities and the ongoing work creating a UK Trade Strategy.
Ministers discussed:
- the UK’s trade relationship with the EU
- the UK’s trade relationship with USA
- current standings of the free trade agreement (FTA) programme
- progress of the UK’s Trade Strategy
Ministers agreed to reconvene quarterly.