I can today announce to the House that the Government are taking the next step in delivering a flagship intervention of the industrial strategy, by launching a consultation to seek stakeholders’ views on the proposed approach and eligibility for the new British industrial competitiveness scheme.
In recent years, British industries have faced some of the highest industrial electricity prices in Europe. In the industrial strategy, the Government committed to bringing British industrial electricity costs more in line with other economies in Europe to level the playing field for British businesses for particular growth sectors.
The new scheme will reduce electricity costs for manufacturing frontier industries within the industrial strategy’s growth sectors—the IS-8—and foundational manufacturing industries that provide key inputs to the frontier industries which meet a certain threshold of electricity intensity. The scheme aims to reduce electricity costs for over 7,000 eligible businesses by up to £40 per MWh from April 2027.
Eligible businesses are to be exempt from paying the indirect costs of the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market. The consultation seeks views on the proposed approach and how businesses eligible for the scheme should be selected.
By bearing down on costs across the energy system, we expect to deliver the BICS and ensure that the scheme is delivered in line with our wider priorities to deliver affordable power for businesses and households. For example, the proposals in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s recent consultations on RO/FiT indexation, if implemented, could contribute to that goal.
This is a Government who are not agnostic about the fate of British industry and British manufacturing. Given a fair business environment, our industry and our workers can out-compete any others in Europe and most across the world.
We do not believe that the industrial capability of Britain should be solely at the whim of the international market or foreign Governments. Instead, our industrial strategy is a marked departure from the hands-off approach of the past, seeing the UK Government working in close partnership with UK industry to support private sector investment and growth—just as other developed economies have done and continue to do.
This scheme is just one of these steps under our new approach to support British businesses to remain globally competitive. I encourage hon. Members contact businesses in their constituencies that stand to benefit from our British industrial competitiveness scheme and to make their views known before the consultation closes on 19 January.
On 20 and 21 November, I attended the ninth meeting of the Commission of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in Melbourne, Australia, where a number of issues were considered by CPTPP Ministers.
As the trade strategy published earlier this year outlines, CPTPP is designed as a living agreement, meaning it is designed to adapt to developments in the wider global economy. It does that through regular reviews of its rules to ensure they are up to date—the CPTPP general review—and through bringing in new economies via the accessions process. More generally, CPTPP provides a platform for a diverse group of major economies to come together and discuss how to deepen and extend the reach of high-standards trade.
Costa Rica Accession Working Group
At the CPTPP Commission meeting in November 2024, CPTPP Ministers, including the UK, formally decided to begin an accession process with Costa Rica, establishing an accession working group.
As part of this, the Government launched a public engagement period that ran from 29 November 2024 until 24 January 2025 to understand business, civil society and public views and insights regarding Costa Rica’s potential membership. This is supporting the Government’s approach to negotiations.
Today the Government have published their new critical minerals strategy.
Growth is the No. 1 mission of this Government, and the modern industrial strategy is central to that mission. This critical minerals strategy follows on from the June publication of the industrial strategy, which confirmed critical minerals as a foundational sector for a number of growth-driving sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries and defence.
It sets out our long-term plan for securing critical minerals to drive economic growth and the clean energy transition, harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream processing and recycling, which builds on the UK’s distinct pockets of mineral wealth and deep mining history. The UK has Europe’s largest lithium deposit, in Cornwall, as well as one of the largest nickel refineries in Europe, which is in Clydach, Swansea. It also has one of the largest sources of tungsten globally; and the only western source of rare earth alloys used in the magnets found in wind turbines and F-35 fighter jets. Optimising domestic production and collaborating strategically with international partners will create well-paid jobs and boost UK resilience.
The strategy sets our ambition on domestic production, recycling and diversifying our sources of imports. Together they provide a clear direction that guides progress and clearly signals the UK’s ambition to realise its long-term vision for critical minerals, supporting the wider industrial strategy.
Defence is a key growth-driving sector as identified in the industrial strategy. A secure supply of critical minerals is crucial not just for economic growth, but also to national security. To ensure this, the Government will also consider establishing mechanisms to build resilience in our defence sector. This includes considering stockpiling by industry of critical mineral resources through Government procurement mechanisms—helping in this way to ensure that our supply chain is fit for the future and for our national security.
Ministers agreed that Costa Rica’s accession negotiations are near conclusion, and the accession working group will continue discussions expeditiously and report back this December, aiming to conclude the accession process in a timely manner.
Costa Rica’s accession can bring further wins for UK businesses and exporters through further liberalisation of international markets, while also strengthening geo-political ties with key partners.
Future Accessions
The more that CPTPP expands, the greater the economic and strategic benefits to the UK. Expansion of CPTPP brings new economies into the orbit of high standards trade and enhances the opportunities available for British businesses.
To date, nine economies have applied to join CPTPP, following the UK: Costa Rica, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uruguay and, most recently, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.
CPTPP parties have identified four aspirants that are in line with the Auckland principles—namely, Uruguay, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Parties have decided to commence an accession process with Uruguay, and will commence with the others in 2026, if appropriate. This will not prevent the consideration and discussion of other accession requests.
To maintain the pace of CPTPP work, in addition to meeting this December, parties intend to meet again in the first half of 2026, with a view to taking further decisions as appropriate.
The expansion of CPTPP remains a priority for the UK, as outlined in the trade strategy, and we look forward beginning the accession process with Uruguay, expanding the reach of high-standards, rules-based trade.
EU and ASEAN dialogues
Earlier this year, CPTPP parties decided to work towards dialogues in 2025 with the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. These dialogues directly deliver on the trade strategy commitment to further strengthen the crucial relationship between major trade blocs, as well as providing a strategic platform to support an open, rules-based international trade system.
On 20 November, the inaugural dialogues took place in Melbourne, with European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič attending in person alongside CPTPP Ministers for the EU-CPTPP dialogue. Statements outlining outcomes have been published on gov.uk.
Discussions were positive, constructive and forward looking. All participants reiterated commitments to the rules-based international system and the importance of ongoing co-operation.
The dialogues also provided an opportunity for participants to explore tangible areas for potential future joint working, including in UK priority areas of digital trade, supply chain resilience, and World Trade Organisation reform. The UK strongly supports the continuation of these collaborations at political and technical levels, delivering on the ambitions discussed in these inaugural dialogues.
CPTPP general review
The UK considers that CPTPP is already a well-functioning, high-standards agreement. None the less, we see this first CPTPP general review as a good opportunity to keep the agreement up to date in certain key areas.
As a result, the UK and CPTPP parties agreed a package of outcomes and next steps from this CPTPP general review, designed to ensure that the agreement delivers for business.
The parties will now commence negotiations from early 2026 on upgrading and enhancing the agreement in the key areas that have been identified, including on some of the UK’s industrial strategy priorities: electronic commerce and trade in services, customs administration and trade facilitation, competitiveness and business facilitation, and trade and women’s economic empowerment.
To further enhance the implementations and operations of the agreement’s high-standards provisions, we will finalise development of further initiatives identified in the general review report, including investment, state-owned enterprises, innovation, gender mainstreaming, economic coercion and market-distorting practices.
The outcomes of the Commission meeting pave the way for increased opportunities for UK businesses, supporting economic growth.
CPTPP is one of the largest free trade areas in the world, and a platform for the UK to collaborate with a diverse group of major economies to extend the reach of high-standards trade. The UK officially acceded to CPTPP almost a year ago, in December 2024, and I welcome the progress we have made with other CPTPP countries during the UK’s first year as a party.
I look forward to keeping the House updated on future CPTPP developments.
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Alongside support from the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, following the spending review 2025 we have up to £50 million to support critical mineral projects pioneer research and scale up innovation, which in turn will strengthen our supply chains. Further details will be announced in 2026.
The Government have engaged widely through the development of this strategy, working in partnership with industry, experts and the devolved Governments across the UK.
I am placing a copy of the strategy in the Libraries of both Houses.