UK Trade News September

UK Trade News- September

Since the end of August, there have been significant developments to UK Trade. New regulations, embargoes and trade partnerships have all occurred this month.

UK joins the CPTPP

The CPTPP (the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) is a trade bloc worth £9.8 trillion. It had 11 members prior to the UK’s ratification into the agreement. These members are: Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Chile. Brunei, Malaysia, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Vietnam.

This agreement removes over 99% of tariffs on goods with industries such as Automotive, Machinery and Food and Drink.  This deal has helped the UK secure 2 new bilateral trade deals with Malaysia and Brunei, bringing new potential markets.

This deal will bring over £2 billion a year to the UK economy, since full ratification on 1st September.

UK sanctions Israeli settlements and Iran.

As the turmoil continues in the Middle East, the UK has now placed sanctions on new Israeli settlements that break international laws. This comes after a joint statement from 12 nations across Europe and North America. 

UK have also placed further sanctions against Iran, targeting primarily energy and oil resources. This will come into effect on 29th September.

Delays to UK air freight

Across the UK, there was significant delays to UK flights, both passenger and cargo based. This came after signal delays across the UK, with Liverpool, Manchester and London all being affected. Flights across these regions were largely delayed or cancelled entirely. Work across these airports was conducted to repair schedules for air freight flights.

UK Food and Drink Industry Suffers

The UK food and drinks market has seen the lowest export of UK goods since 2000. This comes after an increase in tariffs from the US and post Brexit struggles. This along with Government decisions to reduce tariffs on manufactured foods to help ease the cost of living crisis has significantly increased import rates in comparison. Calls from the Farmers’ Unions have called for the government to put measures in to protect the domestic market. Domestic producers are facing increased competition due to these cheaply imported goods. 

Increased calls to rejoin EU

10 years after the Brexit vote, latest YouGov polls show that 628 out of 632 constituencies in the UK want to rejoin the European Union. This along with pressures from both national and international politicians encouraging PM Andy Burnham to set a long term plan for re-entry. This has been further encouraged following talks of Canada becoming a potential associate member. Andy Burnham met with the Canada PM in Trinity’s home city Liverpool, where he also encouraged closer ties with the EU. 

Whether the UK rejoins remains hypothetical for now, however the benefits and desire keep growing.