Global Trade Live: The UK-EU reset one year in – what we know so far

Will Barns-Graham is the executive editor and content lead at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade.

An experienced global trade journalist and event content specialist, he has been the host of the Chartered Institute’s industry-leading Global Trade Live webinar for almost a decade and is the lead editor of its Global Trade Today newsletter. He has also hosted, led agenda design and facilitated panels at various industry events, including the Import Export Show, Multimodal and the International Food and Drink Event.

Will has also been the lead content contributor on several collaborative projects with governments and business organisations in the UK and overseas. This includes the ‘Open to Export International Business Awards’ which resulted in the Chartered Institute being named a Small Business Champion by the World Trade Organization and the International Chamber of Commerce.

He is a NCTJ-qualified journalist, having gained a distinction on the Press Association’s Level 3 Diploma. He has also gained an MA in Social Anthropology from SOAS and a BA in Philosophy and Theology from the University of Oxford.

A qualified and accredited customs professional, Anna is a leading international trade and customs specialist and commentator, having worked as a practitioner before joining the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade in April 2023.

She represents the Chartered Institute at industry and government forums, while advising public and private sector clients on trade compliance and customs facilitations.

A regular speaker at UK and European events and at government working groups, Anna is industry chair of HMRC’s Joint Customs Consultative Committee, its forum for consulting with key trade stakeholders on customs procedures and regulations and represents the Chartered Institute at the EU - UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement Domestic Advisory Group.

With expertise in interpreting UK and EU regulations and their impact on business, Anna’s current focus is on the changes within the customs landscape, including the UK’s Border Target Operating Model, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) as well as the EU customs reform.

Before joining the Chartered Institute, Anna was customs lead at a major UK manufacturing retailer, developing its customs compliance policy and processes for post-Brexit trading.

Sean McGuire is Europe and International Director at the CBI. In his role, he leads the organisation's European and international activity, including its work on the EU-UK relationship and transatlantic relations, and co-ordinates the CBI's international trade agenda.

Having served as the first Chair of the UK Domestic Advisory Group, the civil society consultative body established under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Sean now represents the UK business community as Vice Chair.

He also leads a number of EU policy campaigns of strategic importance for UK business, including on trade, climate change, services, and digitalisation.

As Europe and International Director, Sean oversees the CBI's international relationships, including its membership of BusinessEurope, the B7 and B20 (the G7 and G20 business groups), and Business at the OECD. He also leads the CBI's international strategic partnerships and oversees relationships with sister federations worldwide.

Grace began her career working in Parliament as a policy researcher for MPs. She went on to work for Edelman Global Advisory in its London-based public affairs team, supporting a range of clients including those in the food and drink and technology sectors. As UK Public Affairs Lead for the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, Grace works with both members, and colleagues across the Chartered Institute, to identify barriers to trade and put forward policy solutions. Grace is also secretariat for the UK’s first E-Commerce Trade Commission, convened by the Chartered Institute, that has been created to encourage and support businesses to trade and export online. She is passionate about advocating to policymakers regarding measures which help businesses trade more efficiently, competitively and sustainably.

Madelaine Tuininga currently works at the EU delegation to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland as Minister Counsellor for Trade Affairs. Between 2007 and 2024, she held various management positions in the Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission. Areas included the trade and sustainable development agenda (labour, environment, climate, human rights, responsible business conduct) in autonomous (EU measures), unilateral (Generalised System of Preferences), bilateral (free trade agreements) and multilateral setting (World Trade Organisation, OECD, G20, G7); trade defence investigations; market access; and industrial sectors, raw materials and energy covering policy development, market access activities, negotiation and implementation of the trade agenda in these areas. She was coordinator and market access negotiator for free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile and Mercosur (1998-2003) and for WTO accessions (Russia) (2004-2006). Before joining the Commission (1995-1998), she worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands where she was policy officer for the US and Canada and for some WTO dossiers (intellectual property and government procurement). Madelaine Tuininga holds a law degree from the University of Amsterdam.