US mulls $3.1bn of new tariffs on UK and European goods June 24, 2020 The US is weighing up new tariffs on $3.1bn (£2.5bn) of exports from the UK, France, Germany and Spain as trade tensions between the Trump administration and Europe rise again. The US Trade Representative (USTR) wants to impose new tariffs on European exports including olives, beer, gin and trucks, while increasing duties on certain products [...]
Tory MPs call for trade bill overhaul amid fears over UK’s reliance on China May 14, 2020 Two dozen Tory MPs have called for a revamp of the UK’s trade bill amid concerns that Britain is too reliant on China for imports to critical national infrastructure. The group, which includes former Brexit secretary David Davis and party leader Iain Duncan Smith, today penned a letter to trade secretary Liz Truss urging the [...]
This pandemic may lead to more trade barriers, but is that such a bad thing? March 25, 2020 The current crisis dominates everything, from trade to everyday life. But, within a relatively short space of time, it will pass. What next? What will be the “new normal” after coronavirus? A key policy aim across the west for many decades since the Second World War was to reduce barriers to international trade. But it [...]
Brexit and international trade policy leader joins EY’s trade team March 2, 2020 | City Talk EY has strengthened its International Trade and Brexit team with the key appointment of leading global trade specialist, Sally Jones. Specialising in trade policy, from both a global and Brexit perspective, Sally joins EY as partner and trade policy leader, having previously worked at Big Four competitor, Deloitte. Sally has worked with clients across multiple industries [...]
An inclusive market economy is well within reach post-Brexit February 13, 2020 In his Greenwich speech last week, the Prime Minister persuasively set out how the Brexit process must carry with it a Canada-style free trade agreement, resting on the “indispensable principle of comparative advantage.” For Boris Johnson, this means embracing free trade to raise living standards and lift people out of poverty, while casting aside the [...]
Whisky trade bodies unite in call to end ‘punitive’ transatlantic tariffs January 28, 2020 Whisky trade associations from both sides of the Atlantic have called on the UK and US governments to end what they described as “punitive” tariffs on spirits. The chief executives of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) said the countries should “urgently find a negotiated solution [...]
RCEP or CPTPP: Will Asia finally agree a trade deal? January 14, 2020 It is occasionally worth revisiting where Asia is with its expansive and highly complex trade negotiations, given that one can often get lost in the acronyms and fanfare of the latest set of talks. The first major attempt, an agreement with 11 signatories called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) or TPP11 — [...]
Cut the pessimism, free trade is a huge opportunity for the UK December 6, 2019 The irony of the Brexit debate has always been that, while the value of continued trade with the EU is (quite rightly) regarded as of great importance, the potential of Britain being able to make our own trade deals around the world has been virtually ignored — or worse, demonised. Let’s start with the US. [...]
DEBATE: Has Fever-Tree lost its fizz as growth in the UK slows down? November 21, 2019 Has the fizz gone out of tonic water maker Fever-Tree as growth in its core UK market slows down? Joe Healey, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, says YES. Fever-Tree has had a good run, but investors are likely to be tetchy going forward. The drinks phenomenon has struggled in its main UK market [...]
South African drinkers get their whisky fix with post-Brexit trade deal September 11, 2019 The whisky will keep flowing in Cape Town’s bars and restaurants even after Brexit as the UK initialled a trade deal with South Africa and its neighbours. The economic partnership agreement, which has been agreed in principle, with the Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique will give British business access to a major African market. [...]