This week marks the reintroduction of US President Donald Trump’s global tariff rate of 10%, the EU’s pursuit of greater trade defence and a poor showing for the UK auto sector.
The big picture: Uncertainty surrounding tariffs returned to the fore this week.
The 10% global tariff rate Trump initially pledged last week came into effect on Tuesday (24 February), with US trade representative Jamieson Greer later confirming that the administration was seeking legal recourse to implement the higher 15% tariff rate the president later threatened last weekend.
Currently, Trump is relying on Section 122 of the US Trade Act 1974, which allows the introduction of a blanket levy on all imports for up to 150 days.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Greer implied some success on the part of countries like the UK, which lobbied to retain the 10% rates they negotiated last year, explaining that the administration is seeking to introduce both 10 and 15% tariffs, to achieve “continuity” with the previous regime, ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court last week.
Elsewhere, Brussels pushes on with its ‘Made in Europe’ legislation, set to drop next week.
Murmurs from the continent suggest French officials will be attempting to block UK inclusion in the programme. Continuing a national penchant for cake proverbs, one anonymous diplomat told Politico that in leaving the EU, the UK can’t expect “to have its cake and eat it, too”.
There's more on the bloc's attempts to shore up its domestic industry below.
Good week/bad week: One country which hasn’t see its export confidence dented by tariffs is South Korea.
A ninth consecutive month of export increases appears to be on the cards, as it continues to field growing demand for semiconductor chips globally to support the ongoing AI boom.
Exports were up 47.3% on the previous year, according to Bloomberg – itself a substantial increase on the 34% year-on-year rise recorded in January.
A bad week for Aston Martin, the iconic British carmaker has announced cuts of 20% to its 3000-strong workforce. Speaking to the BBC, a spokesperson said that “extremely disruptive” US tariffs and “extremely subdued” demand in China.
This reflects the wider picture presented by the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In its January snapshot, SMMT noted “weak markets beyond Europe” were driving exports down, which fell just over 10% on the previous month.
The SMMT said that the US is the second-largest importer of UK cars, followed by Japan and China – all of which experienced “double-digit” declines this month. By contrast, car sales to the EU, the sector’s biggest export market, rose 7.8%.
SMMT said this “reinforc[es] the need for free and fair trade and market access across the Channel”.
How’s stat? 18.3m tonnes per year. That’s the EU’s proposed tariff-free quota on steel imports – a 47% reduction on the previous figure.
‘Trilogue’ talks between key Brussels’ institutions: the European Commission (EC), European Parliament and Council of the EU, began this week to negotiate a new quota and duty rate for steel imports to address stiff global competition.
Quote of the week: “What SMEs need is holistic, end-to-end support: identifying the right markets, understanding regulatory requirements, navigating customs procedures, accessing finance and, crucially, understanding how different trade agreements affect their specific product or service.”
Maidenhead MP and Liberal Democrat’s spokesperson for trade and investment Joshua Reynolds, on the support he believes government should be providing to encourage more SMEs to export, shared exclusively with Global Trade Today.
The week in customs: Traders are encouraged to take note of changes to HMRC’s new Get Customs Data for Import and Export Declarations Service.
The service – released earlier this month – enables users to request reports about their customs data from HMRC, based on import and export data from the Customs Declaration Service.
The Joint Customs Consultative Committee shared a notice containing updates to the report format, made in response to user feedback. It also highlighted and upcoming change slated for 1 April, which will enable users to generate reports on movements made using a Northern Ireland (XI) Economic Operators Registration Identification (EORI) numbers.
What else we covered: UK SMEs shared how upcoming changes to the EU’s ‘de minimis’ relief, which removes duties and other customs obligations for low value imports, are set to impact their ability to export into the bloc
Elsewhere, the EU was also under the microscope in a Trade Digest feature, as we examined the latest news on Mercosur and the race to host the EU Customs Agency (EUCA).
Finally, a more thorough account of the US Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s tariff regime and what this means for exporters in this Trade Insights feature.
True facts: Sunday marks St David’s day – the patron saint of Wales. While tasty exports like lamb and leeks might first come to mind, the country’s highest-value exports last year were actually machinery for transport and energy.
Nonetheless, we’ve compiled a list of commodity codes related to the most iconic Welsh exports here.
