The suspension of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea could ease challenges in commercial shipping, new export funding available for firms in the North East and a raft of US agri-deals with South and Central American countries, as food inflation continues to bite.
The big picture: A major turning point in global shipping this week, as Houthi rebels have announced they won’t be launching further attacks on commercial shipping transiting through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, while the Israel-Palestine ceasefire holds.
In a letter to a Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, published online, the Houthi’s military chief of staff Yusuf Hassan al-Madan wrote that, they “will reinstate the ban on Israeli navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas” if Israel “resumes its aggression against Gaza”.
Over the past two years, Houthi attacks on commercial vessels have claimed nine mariner lives and sunk four vessels. The threat led to most shipping firms rerouting goods via the Horn of Africa, which has increased delivery times and upped shipping costs.
Good week/bad week: Good news for firms from the North East keen to export, as new local schemes are offering funding and advice.
Grants of up to £10,000 are available for large and small businesses in Tees Valley to cover the cost of overseas marketing and international trade shows. The government-backed Tees Valley Export Fund has a £500,000 pot, with an application deadline of 25 November.
The new North East Accelerate Fund and North East Elevate Fund are providing a combined £70m in funding for “at least” 470 local entrepreneurs and small firms over the next 15 years.
Launching the funds, North East mayor, Kim McGuinness, said that small businesses are “the beating heart of our economy”.
“By opening the new North East Funds for applications, we’re giving local entrepreneurs and business owners the support they need to create jobs and drive real opportunity in innovative businesses across our towns and trading estates.”
Sticking with the UK – bond markets have bucked against the latest Budget drama, as government sources report chancellor Rachel Reeves will make a U-turn on widely anticipated income tax rises in her upcoming Autumn Budget.
For weeks, the manifesto-breaking move has seemed increasingly certain, with the rumoured fiscal ‘black hole’ the Labour government need to plug estimated to be as high as £30bn. Reeves was perceived to be laying the groundwork in a pre-Budget, ‘scene-setting’ speech in which she refused to rule out raising taxes.
However, the Treasury’s independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, has offered more favourable estimations of the fiscal gap – between £15bn and £20bn. According to Bloomberg, this is the reason for the change of tack, rather than fears of political backlash.
How’s stat? 20%. That’s the amount of climate loans that have been directed to the poorest 44 countries, as the Guardian reveals that wealthy nations, and high emitters China and Saudi Arabia have substantial climate finance.
The findings come as the COP30 climate conference gets underway in Brazil. Members can read our review of the first week’s action at the outset, as well as other green trade news.
Quote of the week: “In the near term, I think we’re just going to let the market figure out how much beef it needs.”
Is he talking meat or tariff spats? That’s one US trade official speaking to Politico about the latest US trade deals with four Central and South American nations, targeting agri-products in a bid to curb increasing US food inflation.
Beef, coffee and bananas are among the goods from Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala, as food inflation topped 3% in recent months, straining American budgets. The 10-15% tariffs levied by the US on those nations’ other exports will remain in place.
Officials allied with the president downplayed the role of tariffs in upping inflation.
One anonymously told Politico that the price of goods like coffee and cocoa “have been turning up for a long time”.
The week in customs: HRMC announced that the Customs Data Report Service became available at 3pm yesterday (13 November).
The service enables users to request reports comprised of customs data held by HMRC, helping firms to monitor import and export activity over time, review declarations submitted on their behalf and check the accuracy of customs declarations they’ve submitted themselves.
A private beta of the service that ran between August and November led to 169 reports being downloaded over 94 sessions.
What else we covered: There was a deep dive into UK energy export ambitions in this week’s Trade Insights, with a look at the market forces currently thwarting net exporter aims.
The latest Export Control Brief included updated guidance for freight forwarders on detecting Russian sanctions evasion and Chartered Institute advice on best practice.
Chartered Institute experts Andy Bridges and Roger Marshall answered common member queries on export licences and compensation for border delays in our most recent instalment of Ask the Experts.
True facts: A joyful re-import to Northern Ireland, as puffins were sighted on the Isle of Muck in Country Antrim for the first time in 25 years.
Their return follows an almost decade-long campaign to improve the environment, including eradicating brown rats and limiting the vegetation that allows the predator to thrive.
Speaking to the BBC, Ulster Wildlife’s nature reserves manager Andy Crory said that "seabirds face immense challenges globally, with 24 of the 25 breeding species at risk of local or global extinction”.
"So, while a handful of puffins on a tiny island may seem small, this moment is huge – it proves that seabird restoration works."
