Removing UK’s tariff exemption could hurt small businesses, trade body warns Business Removing the UK’s tariff exemption for low value imports could risk pushing up prices, reduce trade intensity and damage small businesses, a leading trade body has warned. The British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) warning comes amid the government considering the move after the US removed its ‘de minimis’ exemption for certain commercial shipments. The EU [...]
US warns 15 per cent tariffs to come this week Economics US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the administration’s plans for a higher universal 15 per cent tariff could come into effect this week. Bessent said the new baseline tariff rate would come in “likely some time this week” in an interview on Wednesday. The US implemented its 10 per cent tariff rate last [...]
UK needs deeper integration with EU, says Starmer Politics The UK will seek “deeper economic integration” with the European Union and move closer to the single market in more sectors, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister admitted the current “status quo is not fit for purpose” and the UK needs to work closer with the European [...]
UK payments stuck with ‘bolted on’ European regulation, says PSR boss February 2, 2026 The boss of the UK’s payments regulator has said the body’s consolidation with the City watchdog will allow it to ditch overhanging red tape from Europe. David Geale, who heads up the Payments System Regulator (PSR) and leads on payments at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said: “There are bits of payments regulation that have [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Defence and miners miss Trump ‘TACO’ tariff rally January 22, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Yesterday Donald descended on Davos. In a wide-ranging address to the economic elite, President Trump scolded Europe, touted his own successes and doubled down on the “need” to acquire Greenland. Beyond his scathing remarks about Nato peers, the central takeaway from Trump’s over-hour long speech [...]
Trump rows back from tariff threat after scathing Davos speech January 21, 2026 Donald Trump has rowed back from a radical plan to apply tariffs on European countries objecting to his demands to annex Greenland, just hours after launching a scathing attack on the continent’s leaders during a historic address at Davos. In a post on his social media app, the President revealed he had reached a “framework [...]
FTSE 100 rebounds as Trump rules out taking Greenland by force January 21, 2026 Global markets bounced back into the green on Wednesday after President Donald Trump confirmed the US would not use military action to seize Greenland. In his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said: “All the US is asking for is a place called Greenland”. “We never ask for anything and we never [...]
Nato and Europe must be ‘stronger,’ JP Morgan’s Dimon tells Davos January 21, 2026 The world’s most influential banker has said the world is “simply not safe” and called for a stronger Nato and Europe in a chilling warning to the economic elite at Davos. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, JP Morgan’s top boss Jamie Dimon said the eyes of the world “woke up” after Russia’s invasion of [...]
Division in Davos: EU warns tariffs could hit US ‘very quickly’ January 21, 2026 The EU has warned that its retaliatory tariffs could be implemented “very quickly” after President Trump doubled down on his desire to annex Greenland. The EU’s economic commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, said the EU was prepared to respond to US tariff threats, dialling up the risk of an extraordinary clash between the world’s largest economy and [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Trump to rock davos; Stocks dip after inflation January 21, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Inflation spiked above expectations this morning, coming in at 3.4 per cent, according to fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This soared above a poll of economists by Bloomberg expecting 3.3 per cent. “Inflation ticked up a little in December, driven partly [...]