The EU and Japan have signed a mammoth free trade deal, creating the world’s biggest economic area, and the biggest trade agreement either has ever committed to. The deal covers a 3rd of the world’s GDP and will act as a timely counterweight to Trump’s tariffs on trade into the US which included 25% tariffs
New research has suggested that British businesses are more optimistic about trading with the EU than last year, despite recent stumbling blocks surrounding Brexit. The survey, conducted annually by OFX, found that 62% of 500 business owners felt confident about doing business outside of the UK, with 46% of SMEs saying Brexit had no effect
They say there’s never a dull week in politics, but it’ll take one heck of a week to top the one we’ve had so far. Within the last seven days, we’ve had the Chequers agreement, an agreed-upon way forward within the Cabinet. But just days later and we’re listening to a new Brexit secretary and
A new study has found that Britain’s fastest-growing export partners are Switzerland and China. The research, commissioned by Wyelands Bank, found that countries in the Asian Pacific dominate the growth charts with Switzerland topping the chart. Overall, China leads in terms of projected growth with an additional $886m in trade expected on-top of $24.6bn last
It seems to be one of the longest running international jokes – Britain has bad food. That thinking may be true with tourists, but for international businesses, demand for British food and beverages is stronger than ever. In fact, global appetite for British food and drink has continued to strengthen by over 10% in under
A new report from the Department for International Trade has found that a large portion of British small and medium-sized businesses aren’t open to exporting their products due to a lack of confidence in their own capacity and capability. The research, which quizzed firms with annual turnovers of over £500,000, found that smaller businesses are
The World Cup in Russia has officially begun with the host nation kicking-off in style with a 5-star and five-goal performance. All the talk in the run-up to the World Cup has been about how prepared the nation is to host such a tournament and, most importantly, the safety of those travelling into the country
(Photo: Robert Sharp / English PEN) An end date for a proposed ‘backstop’ plan for trade with the EU following Brexit has been published following a day of political turmoil at Number 10 after crunch meetings between David Davis and Theresa May. The backstop plan puts in place a proposal for a temporary customs arrangement
US tariffs on imported steel and aluminium have come into force, affecting EU, Canadian and Mexican markets. The tariffs, which were originally announced in March this year but delayed in implementation for some US allies, officially came into effect from 1st June with US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross confirming a 25% tariff on steel and
Increasing global demand has seen Japan’s exports rise for what is expected to be the 17th month running to April this year. With final performance to be confirmed, initial data suggests that exports grew over 8% last month compared to April 2017 and a 2% increase compared to March. Trade surplus, as a result, reached