Government scraps trade show support for UK fashion exporters
UKFT said it had worked companies and the government to ensure the grants are used in the most effective way and that household names such as Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood and Christopher Raeburn had been launched at such events.
It has written to Graham Stuart MP, minister for exports at DIT, and Stephen Barclay MP, chief secretary to the treasury, to request an urgent meeting and clarification of the government plans.
Adam Mansell, CEO at UKFT, said: “During the pandemic and the approach to Brexit, we were baffled to see that the UK was the only European country not to increase its support for export businesses. Support was effectively mothballed for 14 months while the Treasury reviewed the TAP scheme. The decision to cancel TAP without having a viable alternative is catastrophic as we start to come out of the pandemic.”
In 2014, the British Footwear Association (BFA) warned that funding to help companies increase exports and visit trade shows through TAP had been reduced by up to 30%. At the time, TAP was helping British footwear companies attend Project Sole New York, GDS, Magic/ Platform Las Vegas, the MICAM, Sole Commerce New York and MICAM Shanghai.
