Kemi Badenoch hailed new figures showing Brexit Britain is now the world’s fourth largest exporter of goods and services.
The Business and Trade Secretary said the UK is “punching above its weight on trade” after moving up from seventh place the year before.
The revised figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development show that Britain was behind only China, the US and Germany in 2022.
Ms Badenoch said: “These new figures show how the UK is punching above its weight on trade, and is on track to reach our ambition of exporting a trillion pounds of goods and services a year by 2030.
“The appetite for world-class UK produce continues to grow and this Government will keep supporting our brilliant businesses, helping to create more jobs, pay higher wages and grow the economy.”
The UK overtook France, the Netherlands and Japan to take fourth position after coming seventh in 2021.
Britain’s high position in the global rankings is due to the strength of services exports which hit a record £470billion last year.
It comes as trade barriers estimated to be worth over £15billion to UK businesses over a five-year period have been removed since the start of 2022 making it easier to export goods and services.
Meanwhile, Britain has struck more than 70 free trade agreements since leaving the EU.
The UK is poised to join a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc later this year in the biggest post-Brexit deal to date.
Britain is the first European country to become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which is made up of 11 countries including Canada, Australia and Japan.
There are also more trade deals on the horizon including a bumper pact with India and an updated tie-up with Turkey.
