Britain sidelined in talks on Carney-backed defense bank
The U.K. Treasury has expressed little enthusiasm for an initiative to provide lower cost loans to finance the armed forces.
www.politico.eu/article/keir...
The EU’s new steel tariffs include a mechanism that would allow the range of products covered to be expanded after six and 12 months, according to a compromise text agreed by the bloc’s institutions, seen by POLITICO.
pro.politico.eu/news/216986
Trump on refunding proceeds from his illegal tariffs: "We're giving a lot of that money back to people that hate our country, so I'm not happy with the Supreme Court"
Emails released on Monday by California’s attorney general show Amazon allegedly colluding with other companies to raise the prices of pet treats, khaki pants, eyedrops and other products sold online
When Reeves began probing changes to the de minimis rules a year ago this month, The Treasury set out that “more needs to be done to tackle the rise in non-market practices that harm working people’s incomes.”
www.gov.uk/government/n...
North American and European governments, the United Nations, university researchers, human rights watchdogs, think tanks and dozens of testimonials from survivors have shown evidence of Beijing’s coercion of Uyghur labor across Xinjiang.
As to the rest of your disputes with the story, in 2021, British lawmakers voted to recognize that China is carrying out a “genocide” in the region, including the “widespread use of forced labor.”
We have additional reporting on that here.
www.politico.eu/article/chin...
As we state in the piece, de minimis was designed to accommodate gifting across borders, not used by e-commerce giants in China to ship directly to consumers. That's why Western nations are now cracking down on it.
The value of cheap goods imported into Britain tariff-free under a customs loophole has more than doubled in the past three years, new data obtained by POLITICO shows.
Scoop: Cheap, tariff-free imports to the UK double to £8 billion
The de minimis loophole has been exploited by Chinese online retailers to avoid U.K. tariffs on goods including clothing and consumer electronics.
www.politico.eu/article/chea...
The Chinese company that spent millions of pounds with Lord Mandelson’s lobbying firm Global Counsel has been accused of taking intellectual property from a United States biotechnology company.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
File photo shows US Vice President JD Vance speaking during a Turning Point USA event at Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia, on April 14, 2026
US President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on April 18, 2026
🇺🇸 🇮🇷 🇮🇱 🇵🇰 US Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation for talks with Iran in Pakistan, a White House official said on Sunday -- shortly after President Donald Trump said he would not make the trip ➡️ u.afp.com/SEEu
Vance, Kushner and Witkoff will travel to Pakistan for further negotiations on ending the war with Iran, as a two-week cease-fire is set to elapse this week without an agreement in sight. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04...
Iran fired at a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Saturday after reimposing restrictions on the waterway in response to a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump wraps up his press gaggle on Air Force One by threatening that if Iran doesn't capitulate to his demands, then "unfortunately we'll have to start dropping bombs again"
Trump deals double blow to the great British pint
The Iran war is putting pressure on CO2 supplies that make beer, after last year’s U.K.-U.S. trade deal was blamed for undercutting British plants producing the gas.
www.politico.eu/article/dona...
Crisis for Starmer as No. 10 denies knowing Mandelson failed security clearance
www.politico.eu/article/no-1...
A pifflingly minor consequence of the latest GDP data is that the wee factoid the government liked to wheel out - that the UK was the fastest growing G7 economy during the first half of last year - is no longer true.
That honour, such as it is, is now Japan's, followed by USA, and UK.
From Wall Street to Singapore, hedge funds have been buying up the chance to claim lucrative but risky tariff refunds from Donald Trump's administration.
Hedge funds are paying rising prices to buy up tariff refunds after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the president's “Liberation Day” duties.
As the Iran War drives up inflation, firms may begin discounting their claims as inflation drives the need for cash.
www.politico.eu/article/hedg...
In an interview on Wednesday, the president said the United States had given the U.K. a “good trade deal” that was “better than I had to,” adding that it could “always be changed.”
www.politico.eu/article/dona...
Hedge funds think they can make a killing on Trump tariff refunds
Financiers in London, New York and beyond eye big paydays as cash-strapped firms sell refunds at a discount.
www.politico.eu/article/hedg...
🇫🇷 🇬🇧 France and Britain will co-host a video conference Friday of countries ready to contribute to a "purely defensive mission" to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the French president's office said.
➡️ u.afp.com/SEYj
EU Observer: EU businesses warn China’s new supply chain law puts firms on collision course with bloc’s rules – ‘some of its “unclear and vague provisions…increases the risk of doing business in or with China,” the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement on Monday (13 April)’
Per YouGov: 56% of Britons say they are opposed to sending the navy to help blockade the Strait, including 38% who “strongly oppose” doing so. Only 23% are in favour.
yougov.com/en-gb/daily-...
Britain is not supporting Donald Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Keir Starmer said Monday.
www.politico.eu/article/uk-b...
The New York Times: Aiming at China, Malaysia puts new restrictions on imported electric cars – ‘The aim is to protect jobs because Malaysia’s own carmakers are now making E.V.s.’
A majority of the British public now believes the United States is a negative force in the world, according to new polling shared with POLITICO as the Iran war continues to strain the transatlantic relationship.
www.politico.eu/article/dona...
New UK steel tariffs ‘threaten’ British manufacturing, steel importers warn ministers.
Letter from Confederation of British Metalforming to the U.K. trade department warns that protections meant to boost homegrown steelworks risk “severely disrupting supply chains.”
www.politico.eu/article/new-...
