48 m. ago How ‘calm, pragmatic, serious’ Starmer hopes to sell frigates to Norway

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox accompanied the prime minister to the defence summit in Norway and saw a prime minister visibly emboldened by his ‘big win’ trade deals with Narendra Modi and Donald Trump

Politics

4 h. ago Backstabbed US auto companies blast Trump’s trade deal with Britain

Trump has put American automakers at a disadvantage with their British competitors, they complain

Politics

5 h. ago Whiplash reversals mean Trump’s erratic trade policy is as clear as mud

The specifics of the administration’s economic masterplan – from strollers to movies to China – change by the dayDecades of economic orthodoxy failed millions of Americans, according to Donald Trump, who marched back into the White House promising to shred the status quo. But the specifics of his alternative – exactly how his administration claims it will make America great again – change by the day.The US president declared this week to be a key milestone of his second term, as he unveiled his first major trade deal since returning to office following accelerated talks with the UK. Continue reading...

Politics

5 h. ago Readers' Letters: Trade deal with mercurial Trump isn't worth a dime

Keir Starmer’s trade deal with Donald Trump didn’t impress a correspondent

Politics

10 h. ago Keir Starmer's EU 'surrender summit' could wreck hopes of UK US trade deal, Tories warn

The Prime Minister - who attended a Joint Expeditionary Force meeting in Oslo yesterday - will discuss a deal at the first UK-EU summit, which will be held in London on May 19.

Events

18 h. ago Starmer declines to rule out tech tax changes as part of future trade deal

The Prime Minister said discussions are ‘ongoing’, but that the agreement announced on Thursday ‘doesn’t cover’ the digital services tax.

Economics

18 h. ago John Rentoul answers your questions on Starmer’s trade deals – and their impact UK’s EU bargaining power

In a live Q&A, John Rentoul answered readers’ questions on Starmer’s trade deals, their impact on the UK’s global future, and their potential effect on relations with the EU

Economics

18 h. ago Is chlorinated chicken safe? Scientists weigh in on risks after UK

Hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken 'will remain illegal' in the UK following a trade deal with the US, but what do experts say about the safety of these food practices

Events

18 h. ago The art of dealing with Donald Trump? Don’t fight him alone | Jonathan Freedland

This week’s trade deal is a boost for Keir Starmer. But a lasting win will only come by joining forces with other nations to resist the US president’s entire destructive agendaDonald Trump wanted Thursday, like every day, to be all about him. He thought the news cycle would be dominated by his sealing of the first US trade deal since he blew a hole in the world economy with the dynamite of tariffs. He gathered his vice-president and several cabinet members in the Oval Office to announce the new agreement – with the UK, as it happens – only for the gaze of the world to be diverted. All eyes were on Rome, where Trump was upstaged by one of the few global players who can outdo him when it comes to putting on a show.Don’t think Trump is not simultaneously wondering how he can use that whole white-smoke thing – perhaps to signal his winning of a constitutionally prohibited third term in 2028 – and worrying that Leo XIV is a serious rival for the commodity he craves more than any other: a...

Politics

19 h. ago Cometh the hour, cometh the Mandelson: UK ambassador rides crest of a trade deal | Patrick Wintour

The Labour veteran looked an awkward choice for the court of Trump, but now the president is holding his hand and complimenting his beautiful accentPeter Mandelson, with his elegant suits, smooth patter and high-end lifestyle, has always had a dark secret: an interest in the minutiae of trade deals, left over from his period as EU trade commissioner, a period when he could bore for Europe on the virtues of the Mercosur trade deal. Alongside his networking skills, and political antennae, it was his knowledge of trade that possibly persuaded Keir Starmer to take the political risk of appointing him ambassador to Washington.A pro-European social democrat with a full record of insulting remarks about Donald Trump’s racism, Lord Mandelson might not have been the obvious man to open previously closed doors in the US administration. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago Voices: If the UK is to grow, Labour must look towards the real trade prize

An agreement with the US, which leaves its 10 per cent tariffs in place, would be eclipsed by a deal that lowered the trade barriers between the UK and the EU, writes James Moore

Events

21 h. ago Labour MPs must realise welfare system ‘needs reform’, says Reeves – UK politics live

Chancellor responds to growing rebellion from more than 40 MPs who have written to the prime ministerMore than 40 Labour MPs have warned the prime minister that planned disability cuts are “impossible to support” and have called for a pause and change in direction.The letter from parliamentarians spanning the new intake and veterans, and from the left and right of the party, sets Keir Starmer up for the biggest rebellion of his premiership when the House of Commons votes on the measures next month.Andrew Bailey has today added his voice to what Liberal Democrats have been saying for years: that we urgently need to rebuild our trading relationship with our closest and most significant economic partners in Europe.This isn’t about revisiting the past, it’s about boosting our economy and deepening cooperation for the future. Despite the government’s US deal, Trump’s trade tariffs are still hitting key British industries and threatening the livelihoods of people across the UK. Continue r...

Politics

22 h. ago How Singalong Starmer got his deal and a bit part in Trump, the Musical | Marina Hyde

Finally, a British prime minister has landed a trade agreement with the US. It’s just a shame it’s not a very good oneA huge day in import-export yesterday, as even Rome’s billion-per-cent tariff on American popes was lifted. The much bigger news, though, concerned the partial easing of recently imposed import taxes on British goods in the form of a starter UK-US trade deal, leaving the biggest little country in the world basking in the glow of an achievement our own prime minister seemed to hint had something of VE Day to it. In Britain, we have an old saying about dejection – “you look like you’ve lost a pound and found a sixpence” – but this was an entirely new spin on that scenario, given we were mostly celebrating being back to paying 10% more tariffs than we were subject to a few weeks ago. Yessss! A sixpence! Good times.Before we get to the specifics of the deal, the theatre. I do find myself increasingly mesmerised by Trump’s Oval Office tableaux, which typically feature him...

Politics

24 h. ago US trade deal a ‘political win’ but will do little for UK growth, say experts

Sir Keir Starmer said the trade agreement struck on Thursday is a ‘historic’ deal, but economists played down the benefits for the economy at large.

Politics

24 h. ago Donald Trump trade agreement with UK a 'great deal' for Scotland that will 'create jobs'

The Scotch whisky industry said the deal represented "welcome progress" to reduce tariffs on exports to the US.

Politics

25 h. ago US beef could be served in London restaurants 'without diners knowing' under trade deal, warns farming boss

The trade agreement allows for 13,000 tonnes of American beef to be exported to the UK

Events

26 h. ago Ministers deny handing Donald Trump's White House a 'veto' over Chinese investment in the UK in the terms of new US trade deal

Darren Jones said reports that the White House would be able to block sources of foreign cash were 'nonsense', the day after Sir Keir Starmer and the president announced a tariff-reduction agreement.

Politics

26 h. ago Trade deal was needed urgently to save 150,000 livelihoods, says senior minister

Darren Jones was resolute about the need for the deal, as he faced suggestions the UK still remains in a worse situation than before tariffs began.

Politics

26 h. ago The phone call from Trump to Starmer that finally led to a trade breakthrough

As his beloved Arsenal suffered defeat, Keir Starmer struck gold with a US-UK trade deal, as Kate Devlin and Millie Cooke report

Politics

26 h. ago What is chlorinated chicken and will it be sold in the UK after Trump trade deal?

The British government said there would be no drop in food standards as a result of the UK-US trade deal

Politics