Ivan McKee MSP
Written 22 posts
Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise (Previously: Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation)
Minister calls for Scotland’s distinctive needs to be met
11th December 2020
Trade Minister Ivan McKee has written to the UK Government repeating his call for it to pass all monies intended to replace EU structural funds to Scotland. A copy of his letter to Scotland Office Minister Iain Stewart is below: Dear Iain, Thank you for meeting with me on Thursday 26 November to discuss…
Freeports
16th November 2020
Statement from Trade, Investment and Innovation Minister Ivan McKee on freeports: “Freeports cannot and will not offset the damage caused by Brexit, which is taking Scotland and the UK out of the world’s biggest free trade area and single market. “Our ambition for Scotland’s economy is to continue to build a high productivity, high wage,…
Statement on US tariffs decision
13th August 2020
Responding to a decision by the US Government to maintain 25% tariffs on a range of Scottish products, including single malt whisky, cashmere, cheese and some wool items, Trade Minister Ivan McKee said: “Scottish businesses are being hit hard by these tariffs and jobs and livelihoods are now at risk. I urge UK Ministers to…
Redefining Prosperity – speech delivered by Trade and Innovation Minister Ivan McKee on 26.09.19
26th September 2019
Ladies and gentlemen. Ministers. Colleagues. Friends. I am delighted to be in Brussels today to speak about our policy approach to redefine prosperity, in practical terms. I really appreciate the invitation for Scotland to be an active part of the R&I days. And before I move onto the topic of sustainable, inclusive economic growth, let…
Scotland and the Netherlands: European partners
24th May 2019
Despite the ongoing uncertainty over EU exit, the EU remains incredibly important to Scotland’s trading potential. And as our second largest export market, one country which is of particular significance is the Netherlands. Scottish exports to the Netherlands were estimated to be worth £2.5 billion in 2017 – 7.6% of all international exports – and…
Scotland-Norway: An important trading relationship
19th March 2019
Despite the uncertainty over Brexit, Scotland remains open for business and this is something we want the world to know. One country which continues to be of significant importance is Norway so I am in Oslo this week to help build on our strong relationship and continue to develop our economic, political and cultural connections….
Concrete from carrots – now that’s really clever!
31st January 2019
Low CO2 concrete, made with by-products of the carrot industry. Sustainable, nutritional salmon feed generated from by-products from the whisky industry. Just two unlikely examples of the innovative technologies powering Scotland’s burgeoning biotech industry. In a nutshell, turning environmental challenges into opportunities and delivering real results to help us meet our climate change targets. I’m…
Scotland and Poland: European partners
23rd January 2019
Despite the uncertainty over Brexit, Scotland remains open for business and the EU remains our single largest market for international exports. During a recent trade show in Germany, an emerging consortia of Polish Energy majors and trade bodies expressed an interest in learning more about Scottish experience and expertise in planning, developing, and managing major…
Ivan McKee: Steps towards Carbon Neutrality
10th December 2018
We all know the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change – that has been clear for a while now. What is becoming increasingly apparent is the extent to which this offers an economic opportunity for Scotland. Being at the forefront of the global transition to carbon-neutrality means…
Small Business Saturday: small businesses and exports
1st December 2018
Small Business Saturday gives us the perfect opportunity to encourage small businesses in Scotland to think about how exporting could help them grow and for us to outline the help and support that is available if they want to embark on their export journey. Improving Scotland’s export performance is central to growing Scotland’s economy and…