Secretary of State for International Trade
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Department for International Trade
Style	International Trade Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (UK and the Commonwealth)
Status	Secretary of state Minister of the Crown
Member of	Cabinet Privy Council Board of Trade
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Seat	Westminster
Appointer	The Crown on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At His Majesty's Pleasure
Formation	13 July 2016
First holder	Liam Fox
Abolished	7 February 2023

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The Secretary of State for International Trade, also referred to as the International Trade Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for International Trade and UK Export Finance.^[1] The incumbent was a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the office's inception, the incumbent has concurrently been appointed President of the Board of Trade.

The office holder worked alongside the other International Trade ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for international trade. The secretary of state is also scrutinised by the International Trade Select Committee.^[2]

The final officeholder was Kemi Badenoch, following her appointment by Prime Minister Liz Truss in September 2022; she was subsequently reappointed by Rishi Sunak in October 2022.^[3] In February 2023, the position was abolished, with its duties merging with those of the Business Secretary to become Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

Responsibilities

Corresponding to what is generally known as a commerce minister in many other countries, the international trade secretary's remit includes:

• Forming new free trade agreements for the United Kingdom
• Managing the development of freeports across Britain
• Maintaining current trade agreements with other countries
• Supporting British businesses with international trade^[4]

History

The office was created by Prime Minister Theresa May shortly after she took office on 13 July 2016, following the 2016 EU referendum. The office's powers were taken from the trade functions of the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills,^[5] which was recreated as the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy^[6] as part of a wider government reorganisation.

While the office of Secretary of State for International Trade provided trade services in the post-EU-referendum period, other departments and offices continued to play a role, e.g. DEFRA provided services to the EU and beyond.^[7]

List of secretaries of state

Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative

Secretary of State for International Trade

Secretary of State			Term of office		Party	Ministry
		Liam Fox[8] MP for North Somerset	13 July 2016	24 July 2019	Conservative	May I
​						May II
		Liz Truss[9] MP for South West Norfolk	24 July 2019	15 September 2021	Conservative	Johnson I
						Johnson II
		Anne-Marie Trevelyan[10] MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed	15 September 2021	6 September 2022	Conservative
		Kemi Badenoch[10] MP for Saffron Walden	6 September 2022	7 February 2023	Conservative	Truss
						Sunak