Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss a new trade agreement aimed at alleviating the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
She is looking to intensify negotiations over a trade deal that would see a reduction in the tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, though she will not be negotiating directly with Mr Bessent.
Her visit comes at a time when published insolvency notices show that more than 1,100 businesses across the UK have faced winding-up orders in the first fifteen weeks of 2025.
And this week bosses from automotive, manufacturing and energy have warned MPs about the effect of Trump tariffs.
They say they will start cutting jobs “within weeks” unless the government can strike a deal to safeguard the UK economy from Donald Trump’s trade war, industry leaders have told MPs.
At the same time it has been announced that the UK’s private sector went into decline for the first time in 1 1/2 years, as new export orders fell at the fastest rate in almost five years, in a sign that trade wars are taking their toll on the British economy.
Weaker demand from international markets weighed on business activity in both the manufacturing and service sectors, according to a closely watched survey.
At 48.2 in April, down from 51.5 in March, the headline ‘flash’ reading from S&P Global was below the 50 mark (that separates expansion from contraction) for the first time since October 2023. While signalling only a modest rate of decline, the latest reading was the lowest since November 2022.
Let’s hope Ms Reeves’ efforts in the US will bring some good news.
British businesses need it.