Liberation Day 2025, with the announcement of President Trump’s US tariffs regime, was an event which rearranged the chess board of global trade. Threats by the President in early 2026 to impose new tariffs on eight allies who were opposed to his proposed takeover of Greenland only added fuel to the flames.
No longer assured that all the chess pieces would ever begin in the same prescribed position or be able to move according to their prescribed patterns, countries and blocs began to deepen their own defensive positionings and adapt to playing chess in a different way.
The UK government is giving businesses the opportunity to weigh in on the development of its own trade toolbox, as it seeks to protect them from trade threats and other acts of economic coercion.
The EU’s trade ‘bazooka’
The EU had already developed an Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), nicknamed the ‘bazooka’, in 2023 and began discussing whether to deploy it against the US following its territorial threats towards Greenland. The ACI gives it the power to formally identify instances of economic coercion by a non-EU country and react with countermeasures such as restricting services, withdrawing Intellectual Property (IP) protections and removing the right to apply for government contracts.
This instrument had initially been developed in response to Trump threats made during his first presidential term, to impose tariffs on European countries that collected digital services taxes. Another example of economic coercion concerning the EU was China’s imposition of trade restrictions on Lithuania in June 2021, after it declared it would improve its trading relationship with Taiwan.
Although the EU is yet to use the ACI, trade experts have reported that the instrument has acted as an effective deterrent, with claims made by European policy officials that no similar acts of economic coercion have been attempted by China since it came into force.
Other anti-coercion measures
Other countries have been looking at instituting their own anti-coercion tools or, more broadly, reviewing their economic security frameworks. Brazil, in 2025, introduced an Economic Reciprocity Law, which gives the government the power to take countermeasures such as suspending trade and investment concessions or suspending obligations relating to IP rights.
Closer to home, it was announced in last year’s Trade Strategy that the UK government would consider what powers it needs to protect the UK from adverse economic pressure. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is currently consulting on the topic.
It may be hard to visualise immediately what adverse economic pressure looks like, but DBT provided a few examples for respondents to the consultation, including: unexplained customs delays at the border, the sudden imposition of arbitrary border procedures for imported goods or services and threats to withdraw loans and investments which businesses might rely on in a certain territory.
Contribute to the UK’s consultation
The importance of engaging with this consultation cannot be overstated. This is not ideological swashbuckling and, while the aim of such tools is firstly to provide a deterrent, there is also a realisation that one day there could be a need to deploy protective measures.
For the UK to have its own suite of protection means that powers could be exercised where acts of adverse pressure could cause severe harm to the UK, specifically to the competitiveness of UK businesses.
Questions range from asking respondents to consider whether they agree that the government should respond to acts of adverse economic pressure, to evaluating which acts of adverse economic pressure would justify using the proposed powers. There is also space to consider whether there is anything missing from the consultation completely, in terms of wider considerations.
Deter global trade ‘bullies’
Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant spoke to Global Trade Today of the importance of “free and fair trade” to the UK’s economy, adding that “we want to ensure that open markets aren’t distorted by those who try to use trade as a weapon”.
“We don’t want bullies in the global trade playground putting pressure on British businesses, workers or families.”
He said that the consultation “asks whether the UK needs additional, last‑resort tools to defend against acts of adverse economic pressure if diplomacy alone isn’t enough”.
“Strengthening our economic resilience, and by working closely with our international partners, we can help keep the UK open, secure and standing up for free and fair trade.”
Get in touch
As the old adage goes ‘prevention is better than cure’ and we are therefore encouraging both members, and the wider trading community, to engage with this consultation meaningfully.
Members can write to me at publicaffairs@export.org.uk with their reflections, funneling them to government via the Chartered Institute’s response, or they can respond directly to the consultation online.
If you are looking for advice on building your organisation’s resilience, particularly in terms of protection against cyber threats and understanding how to proactively manage risks, why not have a look at the Department for Business and Trade’s Economic Security Advisory Service for more information.
