The world’s capitals are waiting for news from Washington DC, as president Donald Trump is expected to announce his next set of tariffs on goods entering the US.
Elsewhere, the UK’s car finance industry faces a critical Supreme Court hearing, while UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, celebrates his fifth year as leader of the Labour Party.
Liberation Day?
Wednesday (2 April) looms large as the next milestone in the ongoing saga over Trump tariffs arrives.
The US president is set to announce the next set of taxes on goods entering the US, terming it ‘Liberation Day’ in his Truth Social posts.
Already, he has stated that 25% tariffs will be applied on auto imports into the US, telling NBC News he “couldn’t care less” if car prices rise due to the tariffs.
He has also hinted at “reciprocal tariffs”, without giving further details of what these could mean. In recent comments he said that the tariffs would “start with all countries”, not just those that have trade imbalances with the US.
Downing Street said that Trump and Starmer had a “productive” discussion last night (30 March) on a possible UK-US deal, as Westminster works to keep the UK out of Trump’s crosshairs.
Digitalisation webinar
Tariff volatility continues to cast a shadow over the UK and global economies, but digitalising cross border trade processes could help to mitigate the impact of the Trump administration-led trade war.
That’s according to a new report from the International Chamber of Commerce, which we’ve reported on here.
The ICC’s claim that digitalisation could generate approximately £250bn for the economy will likely be a key talking point at a free webinar from the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade on Wednesday 2 April, starting at 2pm BST.
The webinar will feature the Chartered Institute’s digitalisation lead, Ilona Kawka, alongside Sean Copeland, the founder of software firm Boex.
You can sign up for the event here.
Auto finance
The auto industry will be in the news this week, as the UK’s top court hears whether or not consumers could sue the motor finance industry for billions in damages, in the case of Johnson v FirstRand Bank.
Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that hidden commission payments made to car dealers were illegal, exposing the finance industry to billions in possible compensation claims.
The case was brought by three claimants, who bought cars on hire-purchase agreements. The dealer not only made a profit, but received a commission from the bank from which a finance deal was agreed.
The claim is, essentially, that the dealers owed the consumers a duty to disclose the commissions.
At a time when the auto industry is facing domestic pressure, many are now worried that car finance firms could face billions in pounds worth of claims. Chancellor Rachel Reeves attempted to intervene in the case but was blocked by the Supreme Court.
Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the parliamentary Treasury Committee, described the situation as "one unholy mess", due to the lack of transparency.
The hearing is scheduled for three days (1-3 April), with a final decision due later in the year.
Five years of Starmer
This Thursday (4 April) also marks the fifth anniversary of Starmer becoming Labour leader. On 4 April 2020, he beat Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the opposition.
The barrister and former head of the Crown Prosecution Service had only been in politics since 2015, when he was elected to parliament for Holborn and St Pancras, assuming leadership of the Labour party following its crushing loss at the 2019 election.
Since then, he has led the party back to government, winning one of the largest landslides in history, and is now facing his fourth Conservative leader in Kemi Badenoch.
Starmer’s premiership has come at a point where he has had to balance his relationship with the Trump White House with his desire to re-build relations with Europe, following a fractious few years for the UK-EU relationship following Brexit.
He is set to host the first Organized Immigration Crime Summit today, as part of the government’s efforts to reduce irregular migration and crackdown on people-smuggling gangs. Ministers from 40 nations are due to attend.
In other politics news, the Welsh Liberal Democrats start their spring conference. David Chadwick, the Lib Dems Welsh spokesman, and Lib Dem leader in the Welsh assembly, Jane Dodds, are set to speak.
Other dates for the diary
- Monday: End of Ramadan
- Tuesday: Copa Libertadores group stage starts
- Wednesday: Meeting of EU defence ministers
- Thursday: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders monthly sales and registration figures released
- Friday: Welsh Liberal Democrat conference and five year anniversary of Sir Keir Starmer becoming Labour leader
- Saturday: US deadline for Chinese group ByteDance to divest TikTok
- Sunday: Changes to Employer National Insurance Contribution take effect
Member exclusive
