Three set-piece diplomatic events await in the week ahead, as India’s prime minister is expected to formally sign a trade deal with the UK in London, the US president is flying into his golf course in Scotland for talks with Sir Keir Starmer, and EU leaders tour Asia.
Modi stop over
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the UK this week, with hopes raised that the UK-India trade deal might be formally signed during his trip.
Indian media is reporting that the “legal scrubbing” of the text is ongoing, with officials briefing that the deal is expected to be signed during Modi’s visit. Deputy Trade Commissioner for South Asia at the British High Commission, Anna Shotbolt, told an event in New Delhi that the agreement is projected to boost bilateral trade by billions a year.
Modi is set to travel through both the UK and Maldives between 23 and 26 July as part of a two-nation tour, according to the Indian ministry of external affairs. His visit will also coincide with the fourth test cricket match between England and India, which starts on Wednesday.
Trump tour
As the 1 August tariff deadline approaches, US president Donald Trump is swinging by Scotland on a ‘semi-private’ visit. The president, who claims Scottish ancestry, will be both visiting his golf courses and meeting with UK officials.
White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed that the president would visit Turnberry and Aberdeen between 25 and 29 July. Trump will be meeting with the British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, during the visit, as well as Scottish first minister John Sweeney. However, a meeting with King Charles III will have to wait until a possible state visit later this year.
Leavitt told a press briefing that the meeting with Starmer in Aberdeen would “refine the great trade deal that was brokered between the US and UK.”
European summits
President of the European Council, António Costa, and president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, are due to hold summits with opposite numbers in Japan (23 July) and China (24 July) this week.
A press statement from the EU said that while Costa looked forward to deepening cooperation with Tokyo, it also expected “frank, constructive discussions” with Beijing that would deliver a “fair, balanced relationship”.
In Japan, PM Shigeru Ishiba, is still recovering from his party’s loss in the upper house elections on Sunday (20 July). Ishiba promised to remain as Japan’s leader and negotiate with Trump on US tariffs, even as his Liberal Democratic Party has now lost its majority in both of Japan’s chambers and questions swirl about his future.
von der Leyen and Costa’s meeting in China, with Chinese president Xi Jinping, will likely have a different tone. An EU package of sanctions, issued on Friday (18 July), included two Chinese banks, prompting a furious reaction from Beijing. China Daily published an editorial calling the decision “unjustified and counterproductive” while China's commerce and foreign ministries condemned the move.
UK CBAM Lunchtime Learning
The Chartered Institute is also hosting a member-exclusive Lunchtime Learning webinar this week on the development of the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The Chartered Institute’s customs practice director, Anna Doherty, will lead the session, and will be joined by senior representatives from HMRC and the Treasury who will share updates on the development of the UK's CBAM legislation.
There will be a live Q&A during the session, and members are invited to ask questions ahead of the event, by emailing editor@export.org.uk.
Chartered Institute members can sign up to the event, which is taking place at 12pm on Thursday 24 July, here.
Other dates for the diary
· Monday: Strike ballot opens for senior doctors
· Tuesday: Parliament enters recess for summer break
· Wednesday: International Court of Justice issues opinion on states’ obligations on climate change
· Thursday: World Offshoot day, the date when humans exceed their ecological means within the year
· Friday: First of seven Oasis gigs in Wembley
· Saturday: Recall elections in Taiwan for opposition parliamentary figures
· Sunday: Women’s Euros final in Basel
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