At the start of this week, the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade launched its biggest annual event in its history - the Empowering Global Trade Conference 2026.
Taking place at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre on 17 November, the conference will gather policymakers, regulators, business leaders and trade professionals to discuss this year's themes of building resilience, navigating uncertainty and securing growth
In more headlines of the week, the EU made good progress on its support for Ukraine, the Russian economy looked increasingly vulnerable to sanctions pressure and Mexico approved the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The big picture: The EU has finally approved its long-stalled 20th sanctions package on Russia and a €90bn loan for Ukraine at a government meeting in Cyprus, after Hungary dropped its long-standing veto.
In a joint statement, President of the European Council António Costa, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy all celebrated the loan and the sanctions package, also talking of continued progress on EU expansion and the possibly of Ukraine joining the bloc sooner than expected.
The victory for von der Leyen and Zelenskyy comes partly as a result of domestic politics. Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s defeat last week by a more Brussels-friendly Peter Magyar paved the way for the vote to pass. Although Magyar has not yet been appointed as PM, Orbán’s change of vote came only after his defeat at the ballot box.
Even with this victory, the EU turns its attention to the US. All three major EU institutions – the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission – are in talks on finalising the EU-US trade deal.
However, despite the US’ ambassador to Brussels telling Politico that “a deal is a deal”, several capitals within Europe are pushing safeguards to the deal. Additionally, a preliminary partnership deal on critical minerals is expected to be signed today (24 April).
Good news/bad news: Good news for the UK’s trade deals. Mexico has finally ratified the UK’s entry into the CPTPP. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced the ratification yesterday (23 April), with trading terms coming into effect from 22 June. Mexico’s trade minister had previously said that he wanted to “relaunch” stalled trade talks between the two nations.
However, it’s been a bad week for another of the UK trade deals. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on the UK, if Westminster does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms.
Speaking to the press in the Oval Office on Thursday (23 April), Trump said “we’ve been looking at it and we can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK, so they better be careful.”
How’s stat? 30% rise – the increase in condom prices by Malaysia’s Karex, the world’s largest producer, caused by the knock-on effects of the US/Israel-Iran war.
Quote of the week: “If you (the government) do not urgently adopt financial, economic and other measures, by autumn a repeat of what happened in 1917 awaits us. We don't have the right to repeat that. Let's take some decisions.”
Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of Russia’s Communist party, issuing rare criticism of Russian President Vladmir Putin and his government, as sanctions continue to pull the Russian economy further into a recession.
Deal of the week: UK Export Finance (UKEF) announced a partnership with Finance for Forces. According to a press release, the new partnership helps veteran-led businesses access export finance, with financial support including working capital guarantees, bond support and export insurance.
Week in customs: Business were warned that failure to comply with new ELO requirements for freight movements across the English Channel might cause delays to their goods crossing the border.
Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade Customs Practice director, Anna Doherty, talked traders through updated processes for declaring proof of origin, following the latest iteration of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), and on new information about both the UK and EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The World Customs Organization released tables correlating the 2022 and 2028 editions of the Harmonized System (HS).
Export control updates: The government has released updated guidance on end-use controls setting out guidance for UK businesses to understand how these sanctions work.
Other things we covered: As well as the unlocking of the EU’s loan to Ukraine and Russian sanctions package, the EU debated its approach to Israel. Only days after Orbán’s defeat, Brussels looked to gain another opponent in newly elected Bulgarian PM Rumen Radev.
Voices from industry have warned the public not to get their hopes up about the impact of the upcoming UK-EU ‘reset’ agreement on food prices.
The Trump administration launched its system for processing refunds for the tariffs it was found to have imposed illegally last year.
True facts: Rolls-Royce is the most ‘iconic’ British trademark, according to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
The IPO revealed the UK public’s most iconic trademarks, to celebrate the 150 year anniversary of trademark registration in the UK. Also in the top 10 were the BBC, Cadbury, Twinings and the Transport for London roundel.
The first ever registered trademark occurred on 1 January 1876, when Bass & Co registered its red triangle label for its bottled beer. Over 400 trademarks remain active from the Victorian era, including Bovril, Drambuie and Bird’s Custard Powder.
