Today’s trade agenda includes a significant decision from China that could bolster the World Trade Oganization (WTO), as well as the fallout from yesterday’s significant speeches by US President Donald Trump and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

The UK government is also in “daily contact” with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as the firm grapples with the ramifications of its recent cyber security incident.

China drops ‘SDT’ status

China yesterday announced that it will drop the ‘Special and Differential Treatment’ (SDT) that it has previously been afforded in WTO agreements as a developing nation.

According to Reuters, “some major economies, including China and Saudi Arabia, self-identify as developing countries, granting them access to SDT benefits such as setting higher tariffs and using subsidies”.

This has been a bone of contention with geopolitical rivals such as the US, which has said that there can be no meaningful WTO reform without China dropping the status.

China's Premier Li Qiang announced China will drop SDT in a side meeting at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) yesterday.

"This is a culmination of many years of hard work and I want to applaud China's leadership on this issue," said WTO director general Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

“China’s decision reflects a commitment to a more balanced and equitable global trading system. It sends a strong signal of support for WTO reform and will help foster a more level playing field for all members.”

In development

China has increasingly sought to position itself as a force of leadership at the WTO, particularly following the US’ pivot towards unilaterally imposing wide-ranging tariffs in an breach of WTO rules on unilateral increases in duties.

However, despite dropping the SDT status at the WTO, China’s senior trade negotiator Li Chenggang told a briefing today that China still saw itself as a developing country.

“Geopolitically, the developing country characterisation is important to China’s strategic aims, which place it at the head of a new grouping of ‘global south’ emerging nations opposed to the US-led ‘rules-based’ order,” the FT reports.

Trump’s UNGA moment

China’s announcement was somewhat overshadowed at UNGA yesterday by a headline-grabbing speech by Donald Trump.

The US president criticised the UN as “not living up to its potential” while criticising European countries for what he called the “failed experiment of open borders". He also decried efforts to combat climate change as being the "greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”.

"The entire globalist concept, asking successful industrialised nations to inflict pain on themselves and radically disrupt their entire societies must be rejected completely and totally," he said.

However, the BBC’s report of his speech notes that “the overwhelming majority of scientists and experts agree that climate change is caused by humans, and is real”.

Ukraine backing

Despite the rhetoric, many of the US’ allies will have been reassured by the president’s apparent backing of Ukraine yesterday.

Trump said that the country could win back all the territory that Russia has taken from it in the ongoing war.

“I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Lib Dems refute Trumpism

Yesterday also saw the Lib Dems conclude their annual conference, with their leader, Sir Ed Davey, giving a keynote address.

He said his party was the only remaining block against what he called the “forces of darkness” led by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.

“Trump’s America. Don’t let it become Farage’s Britain,” Davey repeated multiple times, according to the Guardian.

Although short on new policy announcements, Davey’s speech did reiterate his party’s commitment to closer ties with the EU, including a pledge to negotiate a “new customs union” with the bloc.

He also called the UK "the place [where] Hollywood comes to make Barbie, Spider-Man and Mission Impossible, the land of the Lionesses and the home of Formula One".  

Government in dialogue with JLR

A government press release posted yesterday says that it is in “daily contact with JLR and cyber experts to listen to concerns and what support can be provided to get production back online”.

New business and trade secretary Peter Kyle was visiting JLR’s Gaydon headquarters “to show support for the company and meet with supply chain businesses”.

The firm hasn’t been able to resume production since being hit by an initial cyber attack at the end of last month. The firm says that it may not be able to resume production until next month, with some sources telling the BBC that November is a more realistic restart time.

The disruption has led to fears that some of JLR’s suppliers could go out of business, and multiple Labour MPs have written to Politico to say they are concerned by Kyle’s refusal, so far, to provide financial support to the auto firm.

“I know this is a deeply worrying time for all those affected by the ongoing cyber incident and that’s why I visited JLR today to hear from the company, supply chain and workers,” Kyle said yesterday.

“Getting JLR back online as soon as possible is my top priority, providing much needed certainty to workers and suppliers.”

Also in the trade news today

·       The boss of US pharma giant Eli Lilly, Dave Ricks, has told the FT that the UK is the “probably the worst country in Europe” for drug prices and is the latest from the industry to call on the British government to restart negotiations over the ‘Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth’

·       Rachel Reeves has said that the UK is bidding to make it easier to attract global talent at a time when the US is making it harder, the BBC reports

·       New figures from the ONS, published this morning, show that there were 2.73 million VAT and/or PAYE businesses in the UK as of March 2025, a 0.4% rise on March 2024

Yesterday in trade

·       The EU postponed the implementation of new deforestation rules due to technical issues

·       The OECD Economic Outlook Interim Report upgraded growth forecasts for the global economy

·       Concerns were expressed that a US decision to lift sanctions on Belarussian airline Belavia could undermine its wider sanctions regime against Russia

You can read yesterday’s trade news here.