The FCDO means business: Foreign Secretary's British Chambers of Commerce speech, March 2025

Foreign Secretary David Lammy gave the keynote speech at the British Chambers of Commerce Driving International Trade conference in the City of London.

You can't be an MP for 25 years and not come across the British Chambers of Commerce working hard for business all over Britain.

And on becoming Foreign Secretary I quickly found your global network of Chambers working hard for British business all over the world.

It's wonderful to speak to you all today and even more importantly to get us working much more closely together in the years ahead.

Starting this job I said the FCDO would be the international delivery arm of this Government's missions, the first of which is kickstarting economic growth.

This department must play its important role and its full part in rebuilding Britain's economic foundations and putting more money into people's pockets in every part of the UK as part of this government's Plan for Change.

Growth requires a new partnership between government and business from SMEs to multinationals from tech to pharma, from manufacturing to services, you are the lifeblood of our economy, you are the difference between stagnation and growth, you are the energy on which not just the economy depends and of course, the success of our society is built on that.

[Political content redacted]

Because, let me emphasise stability has to be in this Government's DNA. Partnership has to be in this Government's DNA. Reform has got to be in this Government's DNA. Trade and openness is fundamentally in this Government's DNA and the success of this country.

We mean business.

There is no going back to the post-1989 order.

The liberal assumptions of my youth have collapsed.

We live in a time of accelerating threats in which not just our defence spending but our whole socioeconomic model needs reshaping around this Government's Plan for Change.

We have been here before.

In 1942, Beveridge wrote his famous report into the Five Great Evils stalking British society: want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.

The report proved so popular that the government translated it into French and German and dropped copies across Nazi-occupied Europe.

It was the welfare state that followed in the UK and new multilateral bodies like the UN, NATO and the GATT were built on the back of that re-industrialised and innovative period that happened following the war as government and business united.

Friends, we need to rediscover that partnership now [political content redacted].

You see that in Wes Streeting abolishing the bureaucracy of NHS England.

In Liz Kendall's complete overhaul of the welfare system.

In Rachel Reeves' changes to pensions funds and regulation.

In Ed Miliband dragging our energy infrastructure into the 21st century.

In Jonny Reynolds's forthcoming industrial strategy which will double down on the sectors in which our comparative advantage is greatest.

In Angela Rayner's major planning reforms and her ‘Devolution Revolution' including new Local Growth Plans that bring about that accelerated regional productivity.

And of course in Keir Starmer's announcement of a radical increase in defence spending.

My argument to you today is that this nexus of issues - social security, national security, economic renewal - have become ever more intertwined and we must now respond.

There are three great geo-economic challenges of our time which we have to confront.

First, those multilateral rules and institutions built to manage the global economy are clearly under deep stress and threat.

I am a multi-lateralist but I am also a realist.

There is no new WTO negotiating round in sight.

No fully functioning system for managing trade disputes.

Nowhere near enough speed to deliver climate finance to those in need.

Of course, we will continue to support the WTO rules which are so essential to our exporters but we will also form new coalitions of the willing to build momentum behind specific initiatives that will play to the British economy's present and future strengths.

For example, we are supporting a plurilateral initiative at the WTO on e-commerce which would vastly increase the potential of digital trade.

We are using our accession to the CPTPP to raise standards on transparency and competition across the bloc.

And supporting expansion of that agreement with negotiations in train with Costa Rica and Indonesia having recently applied.

DBT's Trade Strategy will set out how we will ensure we have the tools to promote and protect our interests in response to this changing global context.

Second, industrial activism is on the rise.

In general, the global stock of subsidies has been climbing since 2008.

Barriers to trade – tariffs and regulations – are going up.

US policy across at least the last decade is a reflection of that long-term trend not a deviation from it.

Like it or not the laissez-faire approach to globalisation which ruled and dominated from 1989 to 2008 is dead and buried.

So, in response to this new world I have asked the Department to turbo-charge the relationships which will generate the greatest returns on investment for UK PLC in the medium-term.

At the top of that list stands the EU, China and the United States of America.

And they will remain there for the foreseeable future.

That's why we are resetting relations with our closest neighbours in Europe with a first UK-EU Summit in May as we seek to improve the conditions for trade and investment with our closest partners, while also pursuing a policy of pragmatic engagement with China re-establishing economic cooperation and dialogue on global challenges like climate change whilst ensuring we will not undermine our national security [political content redacted].

And why we are working on a new economic prosperity deal with the US with a technology partnership at its core.

The 2 countries whose scientists invented the internet must keep on pushing at the frontier of technological ingenuity to unlock opportunities for our citizens.

But I have challenged the department to look beyond the obvious.

And to prioritise those partnerships which will underpin Jonny Reynolds's forthcoming industrial strategy.

I've just returned from a visit to Japan, with Jonny Reynolds, where we held an Economic ‘2+2' dialogue that they previously only had with the United States.

It's a great example of a relationship that can soar to new heights through deeper diplomatic investment.

Alongside Italy, our GCAP fighter-jet programme is progressing, generating thousands of high-end jobs across the UK.Jatco's manufacturing plant in Sunderland is expanding. Other Japanese businesses are expanding their investments right across the UK.

And Japan's defence budget – now the fourth largest in the world and their commitment to spend 7 billion dollars on chip and quantum R&D offers untold potential for further collaboration.

Thirdly, the future success of our nations depends on our ability to harness epoch-defining changes in emerging technology in particular AI.

Like no technology before it, it will shape not just our economic prospects, but our national security, our welfare state and the pace of our transition to a clean economy.

And we are in a hyper-competitive race between nations – and companies – to reap the advantages. That means we have to get behind our institutions and businesses. With far more energy and dynamism than before.

Because – you don't need me to tell you this – technology is the frontline of geopolitics.

As we move from an era of AI towards Artificial General Intelligence, we face a period where international norms and rules will have to adapt rapidly.

It is absolutely essential that the UK, the US and our allies' governments and companies work together ever more closely to win that technological race.

That requires us to back our thriving start-up scene through our AI Opportunities Action Plan, ut also, our quantum industry and our world-leading economic institutions. And it means doubling down on our resilience reducing supply chain vulnerabilities and ensuring national security risks inform the approach to driving growth in key sectors.

With the National Security and Investment Act well established and the Procurement Act coming into force last month the UK has set out our framework for economic security.

There will be difficult decisions to be made but our investment in managing the risks renders us better able to reap the rewards because a strong economy is the best guarantee of security.

When I look around this room, I see all the answers we need to how Britain can and will succeed in this new era.

Let's not be shy.

We are the world's largest net exporter of financial services.

We are the second-largest exporter of professional and business services.

Now I used to be a lawyer, and I know that Britain remains the country where the world wants to solve its legal disputes.

The third-largest exporter of creative industries,

Our trade is worth almost two-thirds of our GDP.

And despite the new mood of economic nationalism our openness is what remains a strength.

And on my travels, admiration for the UK resounds.

Because this is one of the easiest places in the world to set up a business.

Because our corporate tax rate is the lowest in the G7.

Because we have the most attractive Intellectual Property framework in Europe.

Because we have 90 world-class universities – 4 in the global top 10.

Because we could secure announcements of £68bn of investment at a summit like the one the Prime Minister chaired just last October.

Because we are the top provider of green finance products and services worldwide.

And because we have a defence sector ready to boom on the back of new investment.

I'm sure you will agree that is a compelling story for us all to tell the world.

But to realise our growth mission, we need to deepen the links between those in this room and the civil servants in Whitehall so that we can better seize opportunities abroad – together.

Let me tell you how I am doing that within the Foreign Office.

The review of economic diplomacy which I commissioned concluded that to deliver the long-term change needed to raise living standards across the UK we needed to work not only harder, but smarter.

The 21st century diplomat needs a very different set of tools from their forebears.

Greater economic and technological expertise at all levels.

More links with high-growth sectors.

Far deeper understanding of the UK's nations and regions, as well as sub-national economies overseas.

There are some good examples of this happening already including through close collaboration with the BCC's own global network.

But as part of this government's efforts to make the state more efficient and focused I want to deliver a new and systematic approach to driving growth within the FCDO.   

Because my starting point is that foreign policymakers and business need a far higher quality of conversation and exchange.

So I am today launching a quarterly Lancaster House Business Engagement Series where my top Ambassadors and experts will regularly share insights with the UK's top international businesses to hear your experiences and challenges and address them.

And, like Trade Commissioners, those same ambassadors will deliver domestic roadshows at least once a year meeting the mayors and regional businesses most relevant to their markets.

From the next financial year all ambassadors in priority markets will be assessed against their delivery of trade and investment wins overseas. 

From now on I have told my ambassadors that they should give equal weight to their contacts in business as well as in and politics.

From now on all ambassadors in our most significant markets will work much more closely with regional Trade Commissioners to deliver on priority opportunities across the Industrial Strategy's growth-driving sectors producing Strategic Economic Growth Plans identifying key deliverables in each market and implementing them via Growth Mission Boards drawing together cross-Departmental teams at Posts.

And this in turn will help determine how this Ministerial team puts its support behind generating more deals and partnerships such as Canal Plus's decision to float on the London Stock Exchange or our Tech Security Initiative with India.

And this delivery abroad needs to be backed by an equivalent strategic hub in London which is why today I am establishing a Geopolitical Impact Unit in King Charles Street explicitly tasked with sharing our latest geopolitical insights and thinking with you.

A one-stop shop for you to access the best thinking inside of the FCDO but also charged with integrating your understanding of trends and challenges into our policy.

Because I know that in 2025, every successful CEO is a form of Foreign Secretary and the team around them know what it means to be diplomats.  

When I need to understand key countries I've found it's often you in business that know the key players best, that sense the risks first, that see the opportunities clearest, and can provide the most unvarnished advice.

Yesterday sitting in my office with Bernie Mensah, president of International for the Bank of America, I was reminded of that incredible insight.

This new geopolitical unit will be designed to make sure that your insight and our insight are made more than the sum of their parts.

I am in no doubt that delivering on all of these changes will require both a serious upskilling and a sustained cultural transformation which requires far greater fluidity and exchange and interchange between my department and the businesses which you represent. 

So today, I have written to the CEOs of some of the UK's largest firms offering to send diplomats on placements to each of them building on existing examples of placements at firms like Barclays and Octopus Energy and offering each of them the opportunity for members of their teams to spend time gaining experience in the FCDO.

And I am pleased to confirm that as part of this new programme, we are planning to second a diplomat to the UK's largest aerospace, defence and security firm, BAE Systems.

Today, I am also announcing a new Diplomatic Advisory Hub within the British Chambers of Commerce.

Working alongside DBT's Business Growth Service, the Hub will explicitly ensure SMEs across the country can access the same geopolitical advice and support that is available to multinationals.

And finally, to strengthen the ties between our posts and British business overseas I am delighted to accept on behalf of my Heads of Mission the BCC's offer for all Ambassadors and High Commissioners to be Honorary President of their host's Chambers of Commerce

I hope you will agree that this amounts to a comprehensive programme not only for my own Department's approach to economic diplomacy but in the Government's commitment to deliver long-term change alongside you for the benefit of the British people.

It will require a serious upskilling and sustained cultural transformation.

There are no quick fixes.

This work will be ongoing, cumulative and sometimes tough.

That is why it we have described our project as a mission to use this period of profound global upheaval as a catalyst for a profound transformation and a decade of national renewal.