It’s been another week where the agenda has been dominated by the ongoing war in the Middle East. The conflict has threatened supply chains and pushed commodity prices higher, with no clear endpoint in sight.
The big picture: The week has been a tumultuous one in international trade.
The leading story is the Middle East, with the continuation of the war between the US and Israeli against Iran and its proxies, and the escalation of attacks on shipping.
Even this morning (13 March), explosions were reported in Tehran, as Israel said it was launching “wide-scale” wave of strikes. Dubai, Oman and many other nations are caught in the crossfire, with attacks on energy and trade infrastructure targeted.
In comments translated by BBC Persian, Iran’s recently elected Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said he would still use the "lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz" and promised “avenge the blood of the Iranians” who have been killed.
Yesterday, at least three ships were reportedly struck by missiles around the Strati of Hormuz, with fatalities reported. At least three on the Mayuree Naree, a dry bulk vessel, are still missing.
“In over 25 years of covering shipping I cannot remember a period anything like the last 12 days,” said veteran journalist Marcus Hand of the chaos and violence hitting maritime trade.
Both US President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have given mixed messages on the endgame, adding to fears by analysts that the conflict will continue with no prospect of peace.
Oil prices have continued to rise and fall as Trump twice hinted that he could bring the war to a conclusion soon, only to say the complete opposite hours later.
Trump also sought to revise his tariff regime earlier in the week. US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced a new set of Section 301 investigations under the Trade Act 1974, targeting the EU, China and Mexico among others.
Greer said that he was aiming to finish the investigations ahead of the expiry of the current 15% rate, which Trump imposed on foreign partners after the US Supreme Court ruled that the policy was illegal.
Another investigation was launched this morning, this time on forced labour practices in the supply chains of over 60 nations. The list included many partners of the US, such as the UK, EU, Israel and Argentina, as well as other nations like China, India and Vietnam.
The USTR office said that the investigations would look at the alleged failure of these countries to control the import of goods made with forced labour and whether this amounted to an unreasonable or discriminatory burden on US commerce.
Good week/bad week: It’s been a good week for U2, among others. The Irish band received a European Order of Merit for their “significant contributions to European integration” on Wednesday (10 March) from the European Parliament.
Paul David Hewson (AKA Bono), David Howell Evans, Adam Charles Clayton and Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr all became Members of the order, joining human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk, Greek NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and scientist Sandra Lejniece.
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were made distinguished members of the order, while Moldovan President Maia Sandu and former Irish President Mary Robinson became honourable members.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves received some bad news this week after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the UK economy stagnated in January. While services grew by 0.2%, and production grew by 1.3%, construction output collapsed by 2% over the same period. A 0.2% GDP growth was predicted by economists.
The data was taken before the outbreak of war in the Middle East, with continued warnings from economists that the spike in energy prices and supply chain disruption could hit the UK economy.
How’s Stat? Gulf oil producers have lost an estimated US$15.1bn in energy revenues since the start of the latest Middle East conflict, Kpler analysts told the FT.
The Week in Customs: HMRC is seeking feedback on gov.uk guidance around the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), with a deadline of Friday (13 March).
Anna Doherty, the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade's Customs Advisory Practice director, warned that the government is increasing its customs compliance enforcement and gave advice on how to prepare for a customs audit.
HMRC also warned that customers moving goods between Great Britain or Rest of World and Northern Ireland may start to see error messages on their Customs Declaration Service (CDS) declarations from 13 April 2026.
According to the agency, where this happens declarations will need to be amended or re‑submitted before goods can move and the declaration can be completed. This change affects goods that require license or certificates from other government departments, such as CHEDS, Certificates of Inspections or ODS licenses.
A wide variety of updates on export controls and sanctions. The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) announced new guidance on controls for the Belarus sanctions regime:
The ECJU also updated the Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for the Typhoon military project.
The government also published its cross-agency approach to sanctions enforcement, following a May 2025 review. The document pulls together the strategy on compliance and sanctions, as well as all the defining the government’s decision-making process.
What else we covered: DBT's head of free trade agreement utilisation, David Jonstone, told a Global Trade Live webinar that the UK-India deal “expected to increase trade between the UK and India by over £25bn by 2040”.
Global Trade Today also analysed how the ongoing war is impacting various commodities, including food, energy and metals, as Commodity in Focus returns.
Insurance companies have insisted they will still provide coverage to Middle-East bound vessels, despite shipping concerns that policies were being cancelled or facing steep price hikes.
Global Trade Today’s latest Trade Digest covered Latin America, as Venezuelan oil exports rise and Brazil approved the EU-Mercosur deal.
True facts: This week in 1881, footballer Andrew Watson made history as the first Black footballer to win an international cap.
Watson played for Scotland on 12 March 1881 in a 6-1 over England, featuring three days later in a 5-1 win over Wales on 14 March. Almost a year-to-the day later, he won his third and final cap when he captained Scotland to a 5-1 on 11 March 1882.
The son of a Scottish sugar planter and Guianese woman, Watson played fullback for legendary English amateur side Corinthians and Scottish side Queen’s Park FC. At Queen’s Park, he won several Scottish cups, becoming the first known Black player to win a major trophy, and later turned professional for Bootle, in Liverpool.
He was also the first Black administrator, according to the Scottish FA, when he became Parkgrove FC’s matchday secretary in 1876. At Parkgrove, a non-dissolved club from Glasgow, he played alongside Robert Walker, who some sources say may have been Scotland’s first ever Black player.
Aruthur Wharton, born in Ghana to a Scottish-Ghanaian family, is thought to be the first ever Black professional player, having played goalkeeper and winger for early giants Preston North End, Sheffield United and Darlington FC and turning pro for Rotherham Town in 1890. However, some sources suggest that it may have in fact been Watson, when he played at Bootle, that turned professional first.
