It’s been another huge week for tariffs, but there have also been some significant updates for UK trade – including the publication of plans for an expansion to the UK’s largest airport.
The big picture: ‘Shovel-ready’ plans for the expansion of Heathrow Airport with a third runway have been submitted this week, as the government said an expansion – which could be completed by as early as 2035 – could create 100,000 new jobs.
Heathrow has said that the expansion could boost GDP by 0.43%, noting that it is currently the country’s largest port by value. It also said that regions beyond London could benefit, with “around 60% of the economic benefit felt by communities outside” the capital.
Concerns have been voiced by environmental campaigners over the plans, however. Climate charity Possible’s head of aviation, Alethea Warrington, told the Guardian that the expansion would create “a huge chunk of additional emissions, with no way of removing them”.
Heathrow, for its part, said:
“We have made a clear commitment to reaching net zero by 2050 and have a plan to get there. Expanding Heathrow will go hand in hand with our environmental commitments on noise and air quality.”
Good week/bad week: A good week and a bad week at once on US tariffs – depending on who you are.
Copper exporters to the US had a good week, as the Trump administration dialled back their tariff plans for the sector by excluding materials including ores and concentrates from a new 50% rate on the metal. Pipes and wiring will still face the increased rate, but that didn’t stop the price of copper falling 17% on the Comex exchange.
A less positive week for India, Canada and a host of other countries, who today (1 August) face major new tariff rates in line with the deadline set earlier by the White House. Brazil is under a particularly heavy 50% tariff, while Thailand has escaped with only 19%. Canada, faces a 35% rate, though most goods are exempt under a previous agreement.
It is perhaps India, which has a large trade surplus with the US and is now subject to a tariff of 25% as of this week, that could be the most interesting case as the country continues to seek a deal with the US.
How’s stat: £11bn per year – that’s the cost to the UK economy of late payments, most of which are made to SMEs, causing as many as 38 firms a day to close, according to the government. This week, it announced new measures aimed at curbing late payment, with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer stating that it was “time to pay up”.
The week in customs: Our latest Ask the Experts member-exclusive feature examined valuation for goods under temporary admissions, EU VAT and questions around dual use goods. You can read the full story here.
What else we covered this week: The government has recently published a range of detailed strategies for some of the UK’s biggest sectors, and we’ve been analysing what they could mean for businesses and trade. As well as the Life Sciences Sector Plan, we’ve also looked at the strategy for the creative industries and financial services.
Our latest Commodity in Focus feature examined how Trump’s energy agenda is influencing the US’ tariff negotiations with everyone from the EU to South Korea.
That EU deal was perhaps the most consequential of the week’s trade announcements, with the bloc settling for a 15% tariff rate in return for promises of major new European investment into the US.
It has attracted criticism from some in the EU – including former French prime minister (and EU Brexit negotiator) Michel Barnier, who called it an “admission of weakness”. You can read more on that response and the rest of the week’s developments in our live tariff update story.
True facts: It’s 45 years to the day since the first ever win for a woman in an election to be a head of state. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, a teacher, became the fourth president of Iceland in 1985, becoming the longest-serving female head of state in history.
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