With ASKAR SHEIBANI

Chair, DBF and CEO Comtek Network Systems UK Ltd

The UK and Welsh Governments have been actively encouraging UK businesses to export, especially to countries outside the European Union.

Export helps the UK's economy immensely, by stimulating growth and creating jobs. Unfortunately, the UK imports substantially more than it exports. This major discrepancy has led to a current account deficit. We have become a consumer economy. Other nations such as China and Germany are producing and we are buying. This will, in the long term, have a severe negative impact on the UK's economy.

For us to prosper economically we need to reverse this import/export balance. To achieve a healthy growth in exports, the UK has to concentrate on innovation and radically improve its productivity by using the latest technologies. We need to learn from countries such as Germany, China, South-Korea whose governments have supported innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and manufacturing.

Covid-19 has changed the global market dramatically. Brexit has also created massive market uncertainties and will be very disruptive for our exports if the UK doesn't reach a mutually sensible agreement with the EU. These two colossal international situations have created major challenges and opportunities.

Despite what many economists forecast, I don't believe all is doom and gloom. The UK has the talent, resilience and the capacity to overcome all this turmoil and will survive, revive and grow as long as both the UK and Welsh governments work closely with the business communities. The government must remove all the outdated, bureaucratic red-tape and devise business-friendly policies, so that international trade can run smoothly without the nonsensical hindrances and barriers which it now faces.

Since the sudden and unexpected emergence of Covid-19, the UK and Welsh governments have been very quick to act and support businesses.

The Welsh Government, in particular, exceeded all expectations in dealing with the pandemic with complete maturity, moving with astonishing speed to support the most-needy small businesses.

However, the UK government now has to urgently create a barrier-busting team to remove all the bureaucratic policies that are frustrating our ability to export goods. For instance, if a business wishes to export a technology-based product to outside the European Union it must prove that the product cannot be used within the military. The UK export department calls these tech-based products "Dual-Use Products". All Dual-Use Products require an export licence. In fact, this effectively covers any technology products since it could be argued that most are dual use.

Last year the Department of Business introduced a radical enforcement system to make sure all businesses apply for an export licence for Dual-Use Tech products. Unfortunately, obtaining an export licence can take several months.

Potential customers will never tolerate such a long lead time and will buy from elsewhere. Sadly, the export team within the Department for International Trade are very risk-averse bureaucrats, who lack the appropriate expertise. The export officials are unable to distinguish between the technology products, which are common and harmless from the potentially risky ones.

As a result, they demand export licences for most technology products which carry software on them. With their simple naive definition, a smartphone or your internet switch/router at work/home would be classified as a product for "Dual Use" since they can be used in the military. This is just one example of many bureaucratic hurdles facing our hard-working businesses. Removal of these unnecessary barriers will cost the government nothing. It will make it easier for us to trade globally without any unnecessary hindrance. The business community can effectively work with the government to make the regulations simpler, business-friendly, and more efficient.

Imagine how much worse the situation will become after Brexit if these rules apply to EU countries too. These present export rules have the potential to stifle the UK economy at a time when we need to do all we can to survive and flourish again.