The Week in Trade: A new trade approach for the UK, US and China economic indicators and digital trade agreement

The trade plans of the new UK government leads our news round-up for this week for this week, after a Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade webinar looked at how Keir Starmer’s administration?could approach trade .

Elsewhere, there was an account of likely US presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ record on trade , a recap of the lessons from another Chartered Institute webinar on currency exchange in international trade, and a report from the Federation of Small Businesses that found SMEs need more support to export.

The big picture: Supporting a wider industrial strategy should be a core aim of the new UK government’s approach to trade, said speakers at a Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade’s webinar on its potential direction this week.

Among those speakers was Marley Morris, an associate director for migration, trade and communities at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

He said that “the UK is in desperate need of a new ambitious trade strategy” – one that supports the new government’s goal of growth with a different approach to the EU that seeks deeper cooperation between the bloc and the country.

Chartered Institute public affairs lead Grace Thompson noted that the new government appears to be addressing one other aim raised by Morris: the need for the UK to integrate its trade policy with its approach to “wider diplomatic challenges”.

In its manifesto, the Labour Party promised a closer working relationship between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

Elsewhere in the session, Chartered Institute trade and customs specialist Matt Vick addressed the volume of shocks to the global and UK economies and trade over recent years, while former Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade (DIT) John Alty explored the role of the civil service in implementing the new government’s thinking on trade.

You can watch the full session back here .

Good week/bad week: A good week for the US economy, as new data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that it grew at a 2.8% annualised rate in the second quarter of the year. It significantly beats economists’ predictions of a 2% rate, and is double the 1.4% rate of the first quarter, as noted by the FT .

Oil prices dropped on Thursday (25 July) in an indication of weak consumer demand from China, according to Reuters . It is the latest number raising concerns over consumer confidence in the Asian nation following weak core inflation data earlier this year .

How’s stat? 91 – the number of countries who yesterday (26 July) signed up to adopt new World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on trade digitalisation. You can read our full write-up on what the change means here .

The week in customs: HMRC’s Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC) announced two new document codes for traders working with livestock.

It follows the implementation of the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024, which has banned “export of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and equine animals for slaughter or fattening for subsequent slaughter” from Great Britain to the EU or third countries. The two document codes are for the only two exceptions.

The ‘Attend an Inland Border Facility (IBF)’ online service is to be removed on 29 July. As noted by the British International Freight Association (BIFA), no action is required by traders, but “hauliers should always ensure their drivers have the correct reference numbers on arrival at the IBF”.

What else we covered this week: We launched our new, member-exclusive series of regional Trade Digests and analysis with an India Trade Digest looking at, among other news, the new technology security agreement between India and the UK.

A letter from EU finance ministers argued this week that sanctions on Russia are working to limit the country’s ability to wage war in Ukraine. More needs be done and sanctions need to be expanded, they added .

Our member-exclusive Commodity in Focus series took a look at uranium this week , as renewed interest in nuclear power is putting upward pressure on prices.

We looked back at five things we learned from the recent Lunchtime Learning webinar on free trade agreements (FTAs) and how they can impact supply chains.

True facts: Yesterday marked 68 years to the day since the Suez Crisis began, when Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal from the UK. Trade now, as then, is affected by crisis in the region, with revenue from the canal falling on the back of the ongoing Red Sea Crisis.

Posted by: Benjamin Roche