Kemi Badenoch: Britain is an island of dynamism like Manhattan

Kemi Badenoch will sell Britain as an island of “dynamism and ingenuity” like Manhattan as part of a pitch to boost transatlantic trade.

The International Trade Secretary’s visit to New York comes a week after Liz Truss admitted that there was little chance of a free trade agreement with Washington in the next few years.

In her first speech in the role, Ms Badenoch will tell 400 US executives and investors that Britain is “going for growth” and is an “innovation nation”.

She is expected to say: “The UK is going for growth in a big way, and we want American partners to join our growth story and benefit from it.

“We’re keeping corporation tax at the lowest in the G20 at 19 per cent. We’ve announced low tax investment zones all around the country, with liberalised planning laws in some sites, where it’s quicker and easier to build and get things done, and we’re enhancing and extending the tax reliefs available for investors in growing firms.

“Just like Manhattan, we’re an island full of dynamism and ingenuity. And the message I want to send here in the Big Apple is that we’re the nation with big ideas. And we want even more of you to be a part of it.”

She will make her comments at the Atlantic Future Forum, a major transatlantic trade and security summit aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in New York harbour.

Her two-day visit to the city will include back-to-back meetings with US investors, and she will also hold first talks with Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, to discuss unlocking barriers to trade and tackling unfair practices by foreign states.

Ms Badenoch will highlight the opportunities being unlocked at state level following the signing of memoranda of understanding with Indiana and North Carolina, designed to cut red tape facing UK businesses exporting to the US.

The UK is working towards further memoranda of understanding with Oklahoma and South Carolina in the coming months and seeking to progress talks with other states this year.

A source close to Ms Badenoch said: “The Big Apple is the heart of American commerce. Decisions taken there can mean billions of dollars being invested in the UK, which creates high-paying jobs and boosts our economy.

“That’s why Kemi is flying out to look these investors in the eye and promote Britain as the most innovative, creative economy in the world.  The government’s exciting new pro-growth agenda means there is no better time than now than to invest.”