The much-anticipated UK-EU summit appears uncertain, as Brussels watches the political turmoil that threatens to upend the current UK government.
Elsewhere, Brussels begins to rethink its relationship with China, ahead of a European Council meeting on 17-18 June, and a senior Canadian leader calls for the US to strike a trade deal during the upcoming Fifa World Cup.
UK and EU summit date uncertain
The future of the EU and UK trading relationship is currently in flux, as a future summit between Westminster and Brussels remains uncertain.
iNews reports that the EU is sceptical about a planned summer summit because of the political turmoil around the future of prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The ‘reset’ summit has long been hailed as a cornerstone of Starmer’s policy on Europe, with discussions on a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal, young person mobility scheme and aligning energy trading schemes ongoing ahead of the meeting.
Trade minister Peter Kyle visited Brussels last week on a charm offensive over steel tariffs and technology, meeting with European Commission (EC) trade chief Maroš Šefčovič.
Kyle said yesterday (8 June) that he envisaged the possibility of a tech deal, styled on the UK-US Technology Prosperity Deal:
“I hope that we can get to the point where we can start not just delivering something of that nature, but deliver things at that speed.”
“On the summit, it’s a matter of matching the agendas. I believe the expectation is still that we would meet in July, but don’t have a concrete date yet,” Šefčovič said at the Brussels Economic Security Forum, where he spoke alongside Kyle.
Separately, the Guardian reports that UK and EU automotive producers have raised the issue of tariffs on electric vehicles, bringing back 2023 memories of the ‘Tariff-cliff edge’ that many factories were facing. The percentage of originating content required for tariff-free trade of car and battery parts is set to rise on 1 January 2027.
Elsewhere, research from Ipsos found that 58% of likely voters would vote to rejoin the EU. Over half the public supported the idea of a new referendum after the next election, with most Britons under the age of 55 supporting the idea of the UK rejoining.
Professor John Curtice told the UK in a Changing Europe thinktank that this was driven by those who did not vote in 2016, as well as leave voters changing their decision.
EU rethinks Chinese trade relationship
European and Chinese officials are shadowboxing over their future economic relationship, as EU capitals start thinking about how to change their relationship with China and protect their domestic industry from purported ‘overcapacity’.
Foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, pushed back against suggestions that the EU is trying to reset its relationship with China, saying that plans for the EU to diversify away from Chinese “over-dependence” would not improve the European economy.
“China-EU trade is not a zero-sum game,” Lin said.
“There is no reason why China and the EU can’t succeed together. The Chinese side is willing and open to working with the EU on trade issues.”
China’s vice minister for commerce, Ling Ji, is set to meet with the EC’s new director general of trade, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, today (9 June) in Brussels. The European Council is readying for talks on how to deal with China next week.
Berlin is seen as the major blocker of tougher action on China, as many German companies have invested heavily in Chinese markets and export a significant amount of goods there. According to the UN COMTRADE database, Germany exported US$94bn in 2024, although this total has been falling for several years.
German ministers have been quick to reject suggestions that the EU take more aggressive action against China in the past. However, European People’s Party group chair Manfred Weber told German press that “either we fight back, or China will cripple parts of our industry.”
Weber, a political heavyweight in his native Germany and a one-time candidate for presidency of the European Commission (EC), also said that the EU must not be afraid to use its trade defences.
There’s also been internal debate over how the EU responds to the decline of its chemicals industry. Politico reports that Brussels is discussing how to react to a wave of Chinese imports, while industry bodies warning of the sector going into “crisis mode” as European production collapses.
‘Do a deal’, Canada tells Trump
Ontario premier, Doug Ford, has pushed for US President Donald Trump to “get a deal” done with his country’s federal government.
“I think we just need to hammer out a deal as quickly as we possibly can,” Ford told the FT during a trip to Washington.
He also said that if he met Trump, he would tell him: “Let’s get a deal. Let’s get it done. He’s a business person. I’m a business person.”
“You sort things out and you get them done because it will benefit the US and all benefit Canada.”
Ford is the premier of Ontario, Canada’s biggest province, and is frequently discussed as a possible Conservative Party leader. An advert run by his provincial government that criticised US tariffs infuriated Trump, and briefly led to the breakdown of talks between the US and Canada.
As reported by Global Trade Today previously, Canada’s sports minister Adam van Koeverden had suggested that the World Cup could be used as a forum for US, Mexican and Canadian leaders to progress talks on the USMCA trade deal.
Other news
· Over 140 Labour MPs issued an open letter to home secretary Yvette Cooper calling for a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank
· The government has extended the opening hours for pubs during the World Cup, with communities minister Steve Reed calling for local councils to deal with “sensible applications quickly” for venues to open later and host special screenings
· Kyle set out plans for a “concierge service” and visa scheme to attract investment into the UK
Yesterday in trade
· The Chartered Institute launched its trade conference agenda, alongside the opportunity to secure ‘early bird’ tickets
· UK construction became the latest sector to voice concerns about reduced steel quotas, with claims that the changes could stifle UK homebuilding
· Kyle highlighted the need for the UK to invest more in home-grown startups, incentivising them to stay in the UK rather than scale overseas, at the outset of London Tech Week
