Category Archives: International trade

UK must stop ‘walking on eggshells’ over post-Brexit deal, says BCC chief

Posted on by

British Chambers of Commerce director general calls on politicians to improve ties with EU and strike better deal

The UK’s current trade deal with the EU is not working and the country must stop “walking on eggshells” around the issue of building closer ties with its biggest trading partner, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is expected to say.

At the annual BCC global conference in London on Thursday, Shevaun Haviland will say that the UK must forge closer ties with the EU and the next government should focus on improving trading relations to grow the economy.

Continue reading...

Victoria signed MoU with Israeli defence ministry to share ‘opportunities’ from ‘global tensions’

Posted on by

The 2022 agreement intended to foster trade relations and ‘support greater collaboration on defence industry objectives’, documents reveal

The Victorian government quietly signed an agreement with Israel’s defence ministry to capitalise on “global tensions” and countries wanting to “protect their national interests” militarily, internal documents reveal.

The 2022 Memorandum of Understanding, signed before the Israel-Gaza war, was intended to foster trade relations and “support greater collaboration on defence industry objectives”, according to Victorian government documents released under freedom of information laws.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Labor urged to put human rights record before trade as Chinese premier visits Canberra

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese should seek commitments for concrete action in his talks with Li Qiang, campaigners say

Human rights advocates have called on Anthony Albanese to place China’s human rights record ahead of economic and trade discussions in his meeting with China’s second most powerful leader on Monday.

They said it was time for Australia’s Labor government to demand concrete action from China in addressing human rights complaints against it as “statements of concern” were not achieving results.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

China’s panda promise to Adelaide put in black and white as human rights protesters bear witness

Posted on by

Wang Wang and Fu Ni have lived at the city’s zoo for 15 years but are due to head home by the end of 2024

Li Qiang has announced a panda swap for Adelaide zoo, a diplomatic move long anticipated but timed to coincide with the first visit of a Chinese premier to Australia since 2017.

Making the announcement at the zoo, Li said two new giant pandas would replace Wang Wang and Fu Ni, who have lived at the zoo for 15 years as the only specimens of their kind in the southern hemisphere.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Stellantis says it will ‘fight’ for electric car sales rather than hide behind tariffs

Posted on by

The owner of Vauxhall, Jeep and Fiat says it opposes EU measures against Chinese EVs and wants to compete ‘as a global company’

The owner of the Jeep, Fiat and Vauxhall brands has said it will not take a defensive stance in the battle for electric car sales, amid signs of an escalating trade war in the market between Europe and China.

Stellantis’s chief executive, Carlos Tavares, has criticised the EU tariffs on imported Chinese cars announced on Wednesday and said the world’s fourth biggest carmaker preferred to “fight to stay competitive”.

Continue reading...

EU to put tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles as trade war looms

Posted on by

Move, to be applied provisionally from July, would trigger duties of more than €2bn a year

The EU has notified Beijing that it intends to impose tariffs of up to 38% on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, triggering duties of more than €2bn (£1.7bn) a year and a likely trade war with China.

The tariffs will be applied provisionally from next month in line with World Trade Organization rules, which give China four weeks to challenge any evidence the EU provides to justify the levies on imported EVs.

Continue reading...

Post-Brexit ‘mess’ as Italian driver’s lorry held for 55 hours at UK border post

Posted on by

Antonio Soprano says he was told to walk to a McDonald’s for food as there was none at Sevington

An Italian lorry driver has described the UK’s new post-Brexit controls as a “mess” after his lorry was held at a government-run border post for more than two days.

Antonio Soprano, 62, who was stopped while bringing plants into the country from central Italy, said he was offered nothing to eat during his 55-hour ordeal and instead was told by border officials that he should walk to a McDonald’s more than a mile away to get a meal.

Continue reading...

EU expected to impose import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

Posted on by

Experts believe Beijing will retaliate with measures that could hit European exports from cheese to cognac

The EU is expected to notify China that it will impose tariffs on electric vehicle imports this week, firing the starting gun on a potential summer trade war with Beijing.

A formal pre-disclosure of tariffs could happen as early as Wednesday, after a lengthy investigation into China’s state subsidies for its car manufacturing, which is predicted to conclude that massive support continues to be concentrated on the EV sector.

Continue reading...

UK clothing sales to EU plummet as Brexit red tape deters exporters

Posted on by

Small and medium-sized firms badly hit as huge drop in apparel sales helps fuel 18% slide in all-non food exports

UK exports of clothing and footwear to the EU have dived since Brexit, according to a new study that shows the extent to which complex regulations and red tape at the border have deterred firms from sending goods across the Channel.

Exports of clothing and footwear sold to EU countries have fallen from £7.4bn in 2019 to £2.7bn in 2023, helping fuel an 18% slump in sales of all non-food goods exports to countries covered by the EU single market, according to the consultancy Retail Economics and online marketplace Tradebyte.

Continue reading...

World’s largest food awards move judging panel from UK to Ireland to avoid Brexit red tape

Posted on by

Due to new import controls, a judging session for the Great Taste awards is being held outside the UK for the first time in 30 years

The Great Taste awards are a British success story – the world’s largest food awards, celebrating the best products on the planet. But new post-Brexit import controls have forced the organisers to hold a judging panel outside the UK for the first time in the awards’ 30-year history.

On Sunday, judges from the Guild of Fine Foods panel will travel to County Tipperary in Ireland to spend three days tasting products that have become much harder to bring to the UK.

Continue reading...

Putin and Xi announce plans to strengthen military ties in Beijing

Posted on by

Russian leader praises ‘comradely’ talks with Chinese president ahead of concert to mark 75 years of ‘friendship’

Russia and China have announced they will deepen their already close military ties, as Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing on his first foreign trip since being inaugurated for a new term as Russia’s president.

It is the latest in a string of statements and signals that the warm relationship between the two countries is as strong as it has ever been.

Continue reading...

Brexit border IT outages delay import of perishable items to UK by up to 20 hours

Posted on by

Lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers held up by new checks, with retailers rejecting some orders

Lorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU are being held for up to 20 hours at the UK’s busiest Brexit border post as failures with the government’s IT systems delay imports entering Britain.

Businesses have described the government’s new border control checks as a “disaster” after IT outages led to lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers being held for long periods, reducing the shelf life of their goods and prompting retailers to reject some orders.

Continue reading...

Biden announces 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles

Posted on by

White House levy to protect US makers from cheap imports likely to inflame trade tensions

The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of a package of measures designed to protect US manufacturers from cheap imports.

In a move that is likely to inflame trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the White House said it was imposing more stringent curbs on Chinese goods worth $18bn.

Continue reading...

Biden White House to expand tariffs on Chinese trade

Posted on by

President likely to add sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells to range of levies set up under Donald Trump

Joe Biden is expected as early as next week to announce fresh tariffs on Chinese trade, with levies focused on strategic sectors including electric vehicles, in a review of measures first put into place under Donald Trump.

An announcement planned for Tuesday will keep the blanket tax rises introduced by the president’s predecessor but supplement them with targeted levies on industries connected to EVs, including batteries and solar cells, according to reports.

Continue reading...

Brexit plans in ‘complete disarray’ as EU import checks delayed, say businesses

Posted on by

Trade bodies say ongoing confusion about when checks will come in is ‘incredibly challenging’

Businesses have described Britain’s Brexit border plans as being in “complete disarray” after it emerged the introduction of some checks on EU imports will be delayed.

Post-Brexit border rules, due to come into force on 30 April, will require many meat, dairy and plant products from the EU to be physically checked at government border control posts (BCPs).

Continue reading...

Brexit import charges may mean rise in food prices, say trade groups

Posted on by

Fees of up to £145 on EU animal and plant products through Dover and Folkestone begin on 30 April

Trade groups have warned that consumers could see a rise in food prices after the UK government announced the introduction of post-Brexit charges on imports of EU food and plant products later this month.

The government has published details of fees – known as the common user charge – which will apply to small imports of animal products and plants, such as sausages, cheese and yoghurt, entering the UK from the EU through the port of Dover and through Eurotunnel at Folkestone.

Continue reading...

Jump in domestic orders ends two-year UK manufacturing dip

Posted on by

Output improves to 20-month high and job losses slow but global problems continue to restrict foreign orders

A jump in domestic orders helped pull UK factories out of almost two years of contraction last month, according to a leading business survey.

Output from the manufacturing sector improved to a 20-month high in March, marking the end of a period of shrinking activity that started in July 2022.

Continue reading...

China scraps tariffs on Australian wine

Posted on by

Prime minister Anthony Albanese says China’s duties on Australian bottled wine will come to an end from Friday

China has dropped tariffs on Australian wine, a long-awaited decision heralded by the Albanese government as validation of its “calm and consistent approach” with the superpower on a series of controversial trade disputes.

In a statement on Thursday the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, foreign minister, Penny Wong, and trade minister, Don Farrell, said they had been informed that from Friday, China’s duties on Australian bottled wine would come to an end. Australia would, in turn, discontinue its legal proceedings in the World Trade Organization, the government said.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

More than half of UK retailers affected by Houthi disruption, survey shows

Posted on by

Costs are escalating amid delays, according to British Chambers of Commerce research that shows UK exporters have also been hit

More than half of UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships, research by a leading business lobby group suggests.

The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery times, according to the survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

Continue reading...