Axe the EU’s import tax to save consumers money February 25, 2025 More than five years on from Brexit we are still sticking to EU rules that see Brits paying over the odds for branded goods that manufacturers are happy to sell cheaper elsewhere, says Martin Howe KC This month we have seen rising inflation and the threat that the Bank of England will have to defer [...]
America first means Britain needs a customs union with Europe February 18, 2025 Whatever one thinks of Brexit, industrial goods were always the area where it made least sense for Britain to go it alone. And now that it’s clear Europe can no longer rely on America, deepening cooperation on defence production is a no-brainer, says Will Cooling It has only been four weeks since Donald Trump’s second [...]
UK economy hit by slump in exports to EU February 13, 2025 According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK exports fell 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, the third consecutive month of decline.
Steel tariffs: No10 won’t say if Trump wrong to impose import charges February 11, 2025 Downing Street has refused to say whether Donald Trump is wrong to impose 25 per cent tariffs on the UK’s steel exports to America. Trump’s executive order scrapped exemptions for the UK and all other countries, with all steel and aluminium exported to the States to face tariffs from March 12. Speaking from the Oval [...]
Starmer’s EU-US high-wire act risks stumbling… February 5, 2025 From headaches over Europe, to managing Sino-philes vs sceptics, the job of a prime minister – particularly when it comes to foreign policy – can often resemble something of a high-wire act, usually minus a safety net. Get it wrong, and the consequences could be severe, but pull it off, and the rewards are plentiful. Enforcing [...]
Brexit is ‘settled’, Sir Keir Starmer says amid calls for customs deal with EU February 2, 2025 Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected suggestions the UK will rejoin the EU, saying the decision is “settled” as he faces calls to broker a customs union with the bloc. The Prime Minister will meet European Council leaders on Monday as he continues efforts to “reset” Britain’s relationship with the trade bloc. The focus [...]
President Trump threatens to double tax rates for foreign firms January 22, 2025 Donald Trump has threatened to double tax rates for foreign nationals and companies in the US in what he said was a bid to hit back at “discriminatory” duties on American firms. The President set out a memo on his ‘America first’ trade policy on Monday which referred to an almost 100-year old element of [...]
Badenoch refuses Reform merger as she says UK ‘getting poorer’ January 16, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has said Britain is “getting poorer” and “living off the inheritance” of past generations, as she refused any suggestion of a merger between the Tories and Reform UK. The Conservative leader made her first speech of 2025 in central London on Thursday. She focused on the past mistakes of her party in what [...]
Brexit hit to UK trade not as bad as first thought December 18, 2024 The negative impact Brexit had on UK trade may have been softened by big firms adapting to EU barriers, fresh research from a top London university has shown. A report from the Centre for Economic Performance, linked to the London School of Economics, found that “in the short run, aggregate trade proved moderately resilient” to [...]
UK becomes first European nation to join CPTPP trade bloc December 14, 2024 Britain will become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Sunday.