Today’s (12 May) trade news sees progress on UK-EU reset negotiations that bode well for future compromise, the creation of a parliamentary group committed to challenging the post-Brexit Windsor Framework agreement and oil supply concerns filtering through to drilling activity.
‘Reset’ concession on food and drink
The EU is prepared to forgo alignment in one key area of its food and drink agreement with the UK.
A British official told the Guardian that Brussels will allow the UK to retain its ban on live animal exports as part of any sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.
“We’re confident on this and don’t think it’s going to be an issue but of course negotiations are ongoing.”
A Brussels source also told the Guardian that, under the framework agreement signed in May 2025 at the conclusion of the EU-UK Leader’s Summit, there is scope for the UK to be exempted from EU legislation – particularly where the UK’s rules are stricter.
The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act was passed in 2024. It prohibits the export of animals for the sole purpose of “fattening or slaughter”, and has been claimed as a victory for animal rights by activists.
Negotiations to conclude agreements between the two parties in areas including agriculture, energy and youth mobility are ongoing, with a further summit expected this summer.
Opposition from within
As the UK-EU reset negotiations progress, a new parliamentary group has been formed to challenge the Windsor Framework and the implementation of similar trading arrangements for goods moving between Great Britain and the EU.
Chaired by Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) peer Lord Dodds, the ‘Anti-Windsor Framework Parliamentary Group’, has been formed to challenge the “dire constitutional and economic consequences of the Windsor Framework, Irish Sea Border and imposition of foreign jurisdiction”.
The new parliamentary group aims to see the Windsor Framework “rejected and replaced by arrangements, such as mutual enforcement, which will fully respect Northern Ireland’s position as a constituent and integral part of the UK”.
It also sees the EU-UK relationship reset as a threat to Great Britain, and aims to prevent it experiencing the same “disenfranchisement that afflicts Northern Ireland”.
The Windsor Framework, agreed to by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in February 2023, was brought in to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol, and is part of the UK’s post-Brexit trading system.
It was designed to prevent the introduction of a hard land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Instead, customs requirements were introduced for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, if deemed “at risk” of onward movement into Ireland, and therefore the EU.
At the time, both leaders hailed it as a “new chapter” in joint relations, with Sunak saying it would “smooth flowing trade within the whole UK, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our Union and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland.”
Responding to the formation of the group, DUP leader Gavin Robinson told Cool FM yesterday that the party continues to push the government in Westminster on issues related to the ‘Irish Sea border’:
“We cooperate on these issues all the time in Westminster. We are not hoodwinked. We remain disappointed by the inaction of this Labour government.”
Oil challenges
Warnings that the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz is depleting global reserves of oil and jet fuel.
Saudi Aramco’s chief executive Amin Nasser warned yesterday (11 May) that inventories of gasoline and jet fuel, the “only buffer” amid lost supplies from the closure, could reach “critically low levels” in the months ahead.
Nasser’s comments follow US President Donald Trump’s rejection of the latest Iranian peace proposal, after which Trump said the ceasefire between the two nations was on “life support”.
Ongoing pressures from Iran and energy security concerns have sent many companies back to previously dormant extraction sites, sparking concerns among environmental campaigners.
At the weekend, Norway’s energy minister, Terje Aasland, announced the country would “develop” activity on the country’s continental shelf, as three North Sea gas fields closed since 1998 are scheduled to be reopened in 2028.
The country’s Socialist Left party deputy leader, Lars Haltbrekken, accused the government of “blatantly ignoring environmental advice from its own experts”, given that Norway’s environmental agency has cautioned against reopening the gas fields.
Amid the Trump administration’s relaxation of environmental rules and push for fossil fuel exploitation, the FT reports that several oil companies are revisiting Arctic exploration, with Exxon and Shell looking to Alaska to increase their reserves.
Yesterday the US released another wave of strategic oil reserves in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA). Over 53 million barrels of oil are set to be released from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This follows a supply of 172 million barrels shared by the US as part of the IEA’s largest release of strategic reserves in March.
The US Department of Energy’s assistant secretary of the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, Kyle Haustveit, said:
“These actions continue to move oil swiftly into the market, address near-term supply needs, and ensure that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains strong through the return of premium barrels.”
Dissenting voices
Despite increased fossil fuel prospecting from many of its members, a Nato body recently published a study advocating for the faster adoption of renewable energy sources to maintain energy security.
The Nato Energy Security Centre of Excellence argued that reliance on fossil fuels within defence poses significant challenges.
One Nato official told Politico that by “diversifying the energy sources and routes” the alliance can “not only boost our operational readiness and resilience but reduce dependencies”.
While the recommendations align with the UK energy department’s stance on the issue, with secretary Ed Miliband calling for “the era of clean energy security” to “come of age”, they could further widen the rift between the US and Nato.
In addition to facilitating the expansion of US fossil fuel production, Trump has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of Nato in response to both Russia’s war in Ukraine and his own campaign in Iran.
Elsewhere in the headlines
- A former World Bank president and Trump administration official has criticised China for “stockpiling” food and fertiliser ahead of a meeting between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping later this week
- Five former Carillion executives have been banned by the country’s accountancy regulator after their misuse of a trade finance supply chain facility led to the construction firm’s liquidation in 2018
Yesterday in Trade
- A look-ahead to the King’s Speech
- A preview of Trump’s visit to Beijing
- A reminder to attend today’s Global Trade Live webinar. You can ensure your place on the next instalment, which tackles AI in trade, by signing up here
