This week marked a possible turning point on the US’ trade approach to Russia amid its continuing war in Ukraine, the launch of a new hub for women in trade in the UK and the availability of tickets for this year’s Import Export Show.
The big picture: Russia is coming under renewed economic pressure from the West over its war in Ukraine, as the EU sets out new sanctions on the country’s oil exports following trade threats from US president Donald Trump earlier in the week.
Writing on social media platform X, EU foreign affairs representative Kaja Kallas called the new EU package “one of its strongest sanctions package against Russia to date”, reducing the price cap the G7 has placed on Russian oil exports to US$47.6 per barrel from $60. It also targets “105 more shadow fleet ships” and “their enablers”, while “limiting Russian banks’ access to funding” and sanctioning a Russian oil refinery based in India.
It follows Trump’s suggestion on Tuesday (15 July) that the US could place “very severe tariffs” on Russia as well as “secondary tariffs” on countries continuing to trade with Russia, after attempts at a peace agreement have repeatedly foundered. Trump remarked:
“I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done, and I always hang up and say, ‘Well, that was a nice phone call’, and then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city.”
Good week/bad week: The launch of the new Women in Trade Hub (WiTH UK) offered a “community for women in trade, bringing together existing resources while being responsive to the needs of female entrepreneurs”. It promises to give “visibility and accessibility” to those in the sector, according to the University of Warwick’s Rebecca Wilde.
Less encouraging were the latest numbers posted by the UK economy, including a 0.1% contraction in GDP and a surprise bump in inflation. You can take a glance at the five stats that paint a picture of the country’s activity here.
How’s stat? US$400m. That’s the value of direct investment the US government contributed to become the largest shareholder in the country’s only rare earth-producing company: MP materials.
Those from the mining sector have criticised the move as the kind of state intervention more typically seen in China, whose dominance in rare earths prompted the government’s bid.
Quote of the week: “It’s been another year of rising geopolitical tensions and trade protectionism, particularly with Donald Trump’s tariffs. This year’s conference will include a variety of formats, from keynote panels to interactive policy roundtables to practical workshops.”
Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade head of events Charlie Laycock on the return of the Import Export Show this year on 19 November. You can get early-bird tickets for the major trade conference here.
The week in customs: Yesterday, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) launched a new set of online forms for “submitting licence applications, reporting suspected breaches and other key reporting such as frozen assets”. OFSI called it a “significant step forward in our drive to modernise and streamline our services”.
Other news you may have missed: Our latest Trade Insights feature looked at how intellectual property law shapes the course of trade in pharmaceuticals – particularly pertinent at a time when the US is set to impose new tariffs on the sector.
The EU and China were again at loggerheads over apparent unfair trade practices in the Asian nation’s economy. That and more on the latest developments in Chinese trade featured in our Trade Digest earlier this week.
We had the latest on Trump’s tariff programme, including a possible “refinement” to the recent UK-US deal that reduced tariffs ON UK-made goods. Steel could be among the goods reviewed as Trump plans a visit to Britain.
True facts: One of the world’s furthest-travelled imports sold at auction this week for $5.3m in New York. A 54-pound rock from Mars, discovered in the Sahara Desert in 2023 after a meteor strike launched it on a 140m-mile journey to Earth, went up for sale. US tariffs have yet to be imposed on the Red Planet.
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