The week has brought a major trade deal a step closer to being finalised, more tariff threats from Trump, difficult government decisions surrounding two major UK exporting industries and the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade’s second annual Import Export Show.
Big picture: The controversial, long-negotiated EU-Mercosur trade deals could be edging closer to completion this week.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen flew to Uruguay yesterday (5 December) for the South American trade bloc’s planned summit, with a deal expected to be announced today.
Reuters reports that although a finalised deal is close, securing approval from the EU will be fraught.
France has been a consistent opponent of the deal, while Germany and Spain are strong backers. Across the bloc, farmers have protested cheap imports from South America at a time of heightened regulatory pressure.
The week began with another missive from Mar-a-Lago, as president-elect Donald Trump threatened BRICS nations with 100% tariffs if they try to replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
The BRICS group of nations, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – a self-styled counterweight to the geopolitical clout of the US and its western allies – proposed its own currency at a summit last year.
Good week/bad week: Possible good news for the UK’s beleaguered steel industry, as The Guardian reported on plans to renationalise British Steel and save thousands of jobs.
Our member-exclusive Commodity in Focus feature returned for an update on the industry, including in the US, where incoming president Trump appears to be continuing Biden’s stance on US Steel Corp, moving to block a foreign takeover bid by Japanese Nippon Steel.
Less good news for UK food and drink, as report by the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP) found that post-Brexit customs regulations cost the industry £3bn last year.
Report author, professor Emily Lydgate, told the Independent that diverging standards and regulations between the EU and UK are advancing the decline:
“We’ve found significant divergence in EU and UK agri-food legislation since Brexit. This is more than just new regulation – it’s also differences in ways of setting and enforcing that regulation. This divergence has increased costs and reduced trade to the EU.”
Ahead of the renegotiation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement in 2026, the report advocates for a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement that realigns regulations.
How’s stat? More than one tonne. That’s the amount of fentanyl seized in a single raid at the Mexico-US border this week.
The bust follows Trump’s tariff threats from last week, in which he justified a planned 25% tariff hike on neighbouring Canada and Mexico with illegal migrations and drug trade at their borders.
The week in customs: HMRC has announced that the final features for the New Computerised Transit System Phase 5 (NCTS5) will be launched on 21 January 2025.
It recommends that traders contact their software providers to confirm when they’ll see the changes on their system.
Quote of the week: “The UK has a population of 64m. In the US it’s 350m, in China it’s a billion. There’s going to be someone [in these markets] who wants your product.”
Chris Balmer, commercial director at Inciner8, speaking to ITN journalist and Import Export Show host Nina Hossain.
What else we covered this week: On Tuesday, the Chartered Institute held its second annual Import Export Show and International Trade awards – a day to bring together members of the UK trade community, featuring panel discussions and Q&As from the world of customs, trade and geopolitics.
We covered the show’s session on how a year of elections has reshaped the global trade landscape, the keynote speech from UKEF’s Tim Reid on how the organisation can support businesses to maximise overseas opportunities and this year’s International Trade Award-winners.
Highlights from the event can be viewed here.
True facts: Guinness’ growing popularity this year is straining Christmas supplies, as the BBC reports that distributor Diageo is set to limit sales of the product this month.
While beer-drinking was down between July and October, Guiness sales were up by a fifth over the same period, creating a strain as the festive season gets underway.
Brand owner Diageo has been investing in Guiness’ Dublin brewery, as well as building a second in County Kildare.
A spokesperson said:
“Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in Great Britain.
"We have maximised supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible.”
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