With our North American friends, we are proving that trade is not a zero-sum game

All eyes will be on Westminster tomorrow as parliament prepares for a crunch vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

We must remember, however, that the world is not stopping for Brexit, even if it continues to dominate the headlines back at home.

That is why I am today starting my first overseas visit since taking office, looking to strengthen trade and investment ties with North America.

The UK must seize new opportunities around the globe in order to ensure that the City remains a leading international financial centre.

Trade between the UK and Canada, the US, and Mexico is worth more than £200bn, and there are still many areas where we can strengthen these relationships.

I will be banging the drum for innovative British businesses, natural partners for our North American friends. I will also be sharing how the City, as a global financial hub, can support their ideas and plans for growth.

There are huge opportunities for British firms across these markets, particularly in fast-growing sectors like fintech and green finance, but also across financial and professional services more broadly.

In Vancouver and San Francisco, my focus will be on promoting digital innovation – a central pillar of my “Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today” programme – with an emphasis on fintech.

I will be joined in Silicon Valley by a range of British businesses for meetings with the likes of Facebook to identify new opportunities for collaboration.

There is no reason why the UK cannot be home to the next Google or Amazon, given our creative energy and rapidly growing cluster of tech expertise.

Fintech already generates £7bn for the UK economy, and employs over 44,000 people across the country. In 2017 alone, £1.2bn of fintech venture capital was raised here. The Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory sandbox is also helping fintechs to bring their products to market.

For the final leg of my visit, I will travel to Mexico City to engage with the new presidential administration, which took office earlier this month. I will also explore partnership opportunities with our Mexican counterparts in green and infrastructure finance, both of which are areas where Canada leads the world.

Of course, the wider trade environment has been challenging in recent times. As such, it was positive to see that the US, Mexico, and Canada formally ratified a revamped trilateral agreement deal earlier this month.

This new deal will replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement, which underpins more than one trillion dollars in annual trade between the three countries.

This provides tangible proof that positive cross-border deals can be struck, despite harsh rhetoric and tough negotiations.

I hope to see progress on this front after Brexit, and I am confident that we can capitalise on our position as an innovative financial and digital centre.

The US, Mexico, and Canada are natural partners for the UK in the years ahead. Together, we can prove that trade is not a zero-sum game.