It has been a monumental week for UK trade, as the country struck long-awaited agreements with both India and the US.
There were further suggestions of tariffs from the White House, meanwhile – this time on films – and a new set of sanctions on Russian oil from the UK government.
The big picture: The UK has had a blockbuster week for trade deals, first striking a major new trade agreement with India before achieving a tariff reduction agreement with the US.
The deal comes after years of negotiation, and was hailed as “the best deal India has agreed” on trade by business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds. The Indian government said it would “boost jobs, exports and national growth”.
Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said the deal was “a strong example of what can be done when good will and mutual benefits between trading partners are clear”.
The UK’s deal with the US on trade this week was less fully-featured than the one agreed with India, but did achieve the reduction of tariffs on UK automotive exports to the US from 27.5% to 10%. The government called it a “landmark economic deal” that would protect “thousands of British jobs in key sectors”. You can read our full write-up on that one here.
Good week/bad week: It was a good week for those looking to share their views on supply chains with government – they now have the chance to do exactly that after the International Trade & Investment All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) launched an inquiry on business experiences with supply chain shocks, with a view to helping government support them in future. You can complete the APPG’s survey here.
It was a less positive week for the UK’s film industry, which could soon be swept up in the consequences of Trump’s mooted 100% tariff on non-US films, after the US president said “we’re making very few movies now”. A study found in 2023 that over half of US film and TV production spending went outside the US, but former ITV chair Peter Bazalgatte raised a pertinent question: “In what sense can you put a tariff on a Netflix show made in the UK and distributed worldwide over the internet?”
How’s stat: £18bn – that’s the value of cargo carried by over 100 Russian oil tankers now being targeted for renewed sanctions by the UK government over their use in avoiding existing restrictions, according to a report by the BBC.
The week in customs: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) issued a statement on the Common User Charge (CUC) this week. It notified traders that CUC rates will “remain in place for a short period” as the government conducts a review of them. More details on the current charging structure can be found here.
Quote of the week: “The UK always treated us with great respect. The template of 10% [tariffs] is probably the lowest. We’ve had a very special relationship with them – I won’t do that kind of deal with cars unless people show me there’s a car comparable to a Rolls Royce. This is a good commercial for Rolls Royce.”
US president Donald Trump explaining his motivations for lowering the tariffs on UK car exports in the White House yesterday.
What else we covered this week: The King’s Awards for Enterprise winners for 2025 were announced earlier this week, with a range of international trade prizes handed out – alongside complimentary Chartered Institute memberships. You can learn more about the winners here.
The US administration opened formal talks with China this week, marking what could be the first step towards de-escalation of the ongoing trade war between the two nations. There was also engagement between Trump and Mark Carney, Canada’s newly-elected prime minister, who emphasised his country was “not for sale”.
Our latest Commodity in Focus feature looked at steel, and why it is coming under increasing scrutiny at a time when the UK’s ability to produce the metal has been under threat.
We had both free and member-exclusive insights on what the upcoming UK-EU summit could entail for the relationship between the country and the bloc, with Chartered Institute expert Fergus McReynolds looking at how they could come into closer regulatory alignment.
True facts: Pope Leo XIV, who was elected yesterday, will contend with a €30m annual trade deficit on the Vatican City balance of payments. He has, however, been somewhat critical of the current approach at the White House, so tariffs appear likely to be off the table.
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