Department for Business and Trade

Not to be confused with the preceding Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy or the preceding Department for International Trade.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT)^[1] is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a cabinet reshuffle under the Rishi Sunak premiership. The new department absorbed the functions of the former Department for International Trade and some of the functions of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.

Department for Business and Trade

Old Admiralty Building, Westminster
Department overview
Formed	7 February 2023
Preceding agencies	Department for International Trade Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Type	UK Government Department
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Old Admiralty Building, Admiralty Place, London, SW1A 2DY
Secretary of State responsible	Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade President of the Board of Trade
Department executives	Gareth Davies, Permanent Secretary Tara Smith, Chief Operating Officer
Child agencies	Competition and Markets Authority Trade Remedies Authority Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service British Hallmarking Council Competition Service Small Business Commissioner Industrial Development Advisory Board Low Pay Commission Regulatory Policy Committee Companies House Insolvency Service Central Arbitration Committee Competition Appeal Tribunal Trade and Agriculture Commission British Business Bank Certification Officer Financial Reporting Council Groceries Code Adjudicator and the Pubs Code Adjudicator Independent Complaints Reviewer Land Registration Rule Committee Office of Manpower Economics Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies UK Export Finance
Website	gov.uk/dbt

The department is headed by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, assisted by a number of junior ministers. The incumbent is Jonathan Reynolds.

Background

Foundation

The department was established on 7 February 2023. It combines the business-focused responsibilities of the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with the former Department for International Trade (DIT). The ministers and senior civil servants from DIT were carried over to continue leading the new department.

The creation of the new department was described by Downing Street as an opportunity to provide "a single, coherent voice for business inside government, focused on growing the economy with better regulation, new trade deals abroad, and a renewed culture of enterprise at home".^[2]

Responsibilities

The department's focus was outlined by Downing Street as follows:

• Delivering economic growth opportunities across the economy.
• Backing business by improving access to finance and delivering a pro-enterprise regulatory system;
• Promoting British businesses on the global stage and attracting high-value investment, including through high-quality Free Trade Agreements with India and other priority partners.
• Promoting competitive markets and addressing market distorting practises to support growth whilst protecting consumers;
• Championing free trade;
• Ensuring economic security and supply chain resilience;
• Supporting economic growth and innovation by making the most of Brexit freedoms and removing unnecessary regulatory burdens;
• Delivering legislation on setting minimum service levels for priority public service sectors and to review, reform, retain, and/or repeal retained EU law by December 2023.^[2]

Scrutiny

Since 26 April 2023, the work of the department has been scrutinised by the Business and Trade Select Committee of the House of Commons. This is a renaming of the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, which absorbs the responsibilities of the dissolved International Trade Committee.^[3][4]

History

The department was responsible for finalising negotiations for the UK's to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in April 2023, a free-trade agreement (FTA) between 11 countries around the Pacific Rim: Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan. It successfully concluded an agreement after two years of negotiations.^[5][6]

In April 2021, The Lord Grimstone of Boscobel established the UK Investment Council under the DBT to enhance UK inward investment and inform the trade policy of the UK by providing a forum for global investors to offer high-level advice to the government.

In May 2023, the Minister for Investment, The Lord Johnson of Lainston, became the first UK government minister to visit Hong Kong since 2018, and the first since the imposition of a new national security law by Beijing in the Special Administration Region.^[7]

In May 2023, the department announced that it had commenced negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with Switzerland.^[6][8]

Ministers

The DBT ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold:^[9]

Minister	Portrait	Office	Portfolio
Jonathan Reynolds MP		Secretary of State for Business and Trade President of the Board of Trade	Overall responsibility for the department. Responsible for leading on departmental strategy and delivering on the department's responsibilities. Also responsible for engaging with business across government, and for making necessary public appointments. The Secretary of State is responsible for leading UK government representation during free trade agreement negotiations, outlining mandates, and making decisions. The Secretary of State also leads UK government representation at meetings of the World Trade Organization, and at ministerial meetings of the G7 and G20 where the Secretary of State is further responsible for developing and maintaining the UK's overseas business network.[10] As President of the Board of Trade, the Secretary of State is responsible for leading engagement with the whole of the UK on the UK's global trade and investment agenda. The role is held concurrently with his position as Secretary of State for Business and Trade.[11]
Douglas Alexander MP		Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security	Trade strategy; free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations; UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) Implementation; Digital Trade Agreements; UK Conformity Assessment (UKCA); Mutual Recognition Agreements; Windsor Framework; investor treaties and disputes; investor screening; UK Internal Market ; trade defence; bilateral trade relations; World Trade Organization (WTO), G7, G20, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Commonwealth; trade remedies; tariffs and disputes; global supply chains; economic security; Export Control Joint Unit; sanctions; Trade Remedies Authority
Sarah Jones MP		Minister of State for Industry	Advanced manufacturing; automotive; aerospace; defence; consumer goods; chemicals and plastics; construction; infrastructure; maritime and shipbuilding; steel; materials and critical minerals; Industrial Development Advisory Board
Poppy Gustafsson, Baroness Gustafsson		Minister of State for Investment	Responsible for the Office for Investment; promoting the UK to investors and businesses around the world and attracting more investment into the UK.
Gareth Thomas MP		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Services, Small Business and Exports	Local growth; small businesses; Post Office; scale-ups; retail and hospitality; Professional and Business Services; access to finance ; Ukraine reconstruction; export; strategy; export support service; outward direct investment; trade missions, shows and campaigns; Osaka Expo; UK Export Finance (UKEF); trade envoys; British Business Bank; Small Business Commissioner
Justin Madders MP		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets	Employment rights; regulation; consumer protection; competition policy; subsidy control; corporate governance; Smart Data; audit; insolvency; postal services (including Royal Mail); corporate minister (SR/Business); Low Pay Commission; Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas); Companies House; Competition and Markets Authority; The Insolvency Service; Competition Service; Competition Appeal Tribunal; Central Arbitration Committee; Certification Officer; Office of the Regulator of; Community Interest Companies; Groceries Code Adjudicator; Pubs Code Adjudicator; British Hallmarking Council; Financial Reporting Council; Regulatory Policy Committee
Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation	Business policy in Lords legislation

See also

• Department for International Trade – preceding body from 2016 to 2023.
• Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy – preceding body from 2016 to 2023.
• Department of Trade and Industry – UK government department with a historically similar function from 1970 to 2007.