It’s the final day of the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool, and the headlines this morning were dominated by the prime minister’s keynote address yesterday (30 September.
Sir Keir Starmer gave a speech taking the fight’ to Reform UK, according to various national media outlets. There was also a significant nod to apprenticeships and a mention of further “tough decisions” to come ahead of the upcoming Autumn Budget.
We cover the main talking points and analysis in today’s ‘Day in Trade’ digest, alongside updates on a possible UK deal with Greenland for critical minerals, the shutdown of the US government and an announcement on the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).
Starmer takes on Farage and globalisation
The prime minister’s speech at party conference is always a significant moment in the political calendar, and this year was no different. Following a running theme of the conference, Starmer addressed the rise in the polls of Reform UK, saying that a “fight for the soul of our country” had begun, which is “every bit as big as rebuilding Britain after the war, and we must all rise to this challenge”."
He reiterated his long-held belief that his government’s “defining mission” is to grow the economy and mentioned the centrality of the recently launched Industrial Strategy in hopes of achieving this. He said his administration would work with industry to unlock barriers to growth, including cutting through “blockers” and “mindless bureaucracy that prevents enterprise”.
He also critiqued globalisation, saying the UK had placed “too much faith” in it, allowing wealth to be “hoarded by just a few communities”. He said his government’s mission was to establish “wealth creation in every single community”.
However, he acknowledged that his government faced further “tough decisions” ahead of the upcoming Autumn Budget. "We asked a lot at the last Budget - I know that," he said. "And the tough decisions will keep on coming."
Skills needed, says trade chief
Starmer’s speech also included a pledge to increase investment in skills training for 16–19-year-olds. He dropped the target for 50% of school leavers to attend university, instead saying that two-thirds of school leavers should go to either a university or undertake a gold standard apprenticeship.
Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, highlighted this as a key point in Starmer’s speech, saying that the businesses he speaks to often pinpoint access to skilled workers as a “key hurdle”.
"Yesterday's announcement by the prime minister on driving more investment into 16-19 education - including the creation of new technical excellence colleges - is a step in the right direction,” he said.
“For a long time, greater parity has been needed between all educational routes and the new ambition that two-thirds of young people should go either to university, or take on a 'gold standard' apprenticeship, finally gives apprenticeships the recognition they deserve.”
You can read Forgione’s response to Starmer’s speech in full here, and you can find out more information about apprenticeships in international trade and logistics here.
Reeves and Kyle also address conference
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ speech also positioned the next election as posing the country with a “stark choice: investment or decline”.
She also reiterated her ‘securonomics’ thesis, saying “our first year in power was about fixing the foundations; our second must be about building a renewed economy for a renewed Britain”.
She highlighted how the government had taken action to protect key UK sectors, including a £1.5bn loan to support Jaguar Land Rover following its recent cyber breach, taking control of British Steel, and measures to support shipbuilding in Belfast, Fife and Devon.
Regarding trade, Reeves noted the government’s new Trade and Industrial Strategies, as well as new trade deals with India, the EU and US. She also referenced that the UK had recently secured £150bn in overseas investment from the US.
The new business and trade secretary, Peter Kyle, also highlighted the new Industrial Strategy in his conference address and mentioned the importance of the Small Business Plan.
Regarding trade, he said that it was important to forge strong international relationships, even with countries with which the UK has “honest disagreements”. And, in a continuation of messaging from the minister from his previous role as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Kyle said that AI will have significant role to play in his efforts to support UK businesses.
“Let me say to the scientists, the entrepreneurs, the wealth creators – if your country doesn’t want you, Britain is a country that welcomes the best and the brightest,” he concluded.
UK close to Greenland minerals deal
A possible boost for Reeves and Kyle may be coming by way of a new critical minerals partnership with Greenland. Figures close to negotiations have told Politico that the government is “on the cusp” of unveiling the deal which will go “beyond critical minerals”.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade told Politico that “securing our supply of critical minerals is vital for our industrial strategy, economic growth and clean energy transition”, and said that the government will soon be publishing a new Critical Minerals Strategy.
US government shutdown
The US government has shut down after Congress failed to reach a new funding agreement before a midnight deadline this morning. Under US law, federal agencies are required to halt operations whenever Congress fails to pass legislation. This is the first US government shutdown since 2018.
The Democrats withdrew support for a Republican stopgap to keep agencies running till 21 November due to disagreements over Medicaid cuts and health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which are due to expire at the end of the year.
“The shutdown will have a wide range of effects on government services and potentially the US economy,” the Guardian reports. Services that could be affected are varied, including national parks, travel and food safety inspections.
“The shutdown is projected to furlough 750,000 federal employees, halt the release of economic reports, disrupt air travel, and suspend scientific research, incurring a daily cost of [US]$400 million,” according to the Independent.
DCTS
The government yesterday published a ‘DCTS: Goods graduation notice’ informing businesses where “preferential tariffs on imports from standard preference tier countries will be suspended from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028”.
Anna Doherty, customs practice director at the Chartered Institute, noted that while it is only certain imports from India and Indonesia that are affected, and the impact of the changes may be limited, it could mean changes to some industries.
“For a lot of the goods from India and Indonesia, the preferential rate, while lower than the Most Favoured Nation rate, is generally not reduced down to zero anyway. However, for some products, we see rate changes in the range of 3 to 4% at quite a short notice, where orders may have already been placed for delivery in 2026” she said.
“Of course, some of these goods may be subject to preferential rates under the new UK-India free trade agreement, once it enters into force but the date for this is not yet known,” she added.
Other news in the headlines
- Shop prices increased at their fastest rate since spring last year over the month of September, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium reported in the FT
- EU authorities seized around €3m in cash from a Greek customs broker following a “probe into VAT fraud linked to Chinese organised crime”, also in the FT
- EU policymakers are considering how “€140bn in frozen Russian assets can best support Ukraine’s war against Moscow”, Politico reports
Yesterday in trade
- Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant told UK businesses that they should expect more trade deals from the government, at a Chartered Institute panel session at Labour conference
- Trade policy and technology experts discussed how AI can enable key measures within the UK Industrial and Trade Strategies on a Chartered Institute webinar
- US President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on overseas films and a new 10% import duty rate for timber and lumber products
Read all of yesterday’s trade news here.
