15 m. ago Trade deal with US could spell end of UK’s bioethanol industry, say bosses

Hundreds of jobs may be at risk as Starmer agrees to remove tariffs on US ethanol, say heads of ABF Sugar and EnsusBusiness live – latest updatesThe British bioethanol industry could collapse as a result of Keir Starmer’s trade deal with Donald Trump, industry bosses have said.The bosses of ABF Sugar and Ensus, the companies behind almost all of the UK’s production capacity of bioethanol – a petrol substitute produced from agricultural products – have said hundreds of jobs in north-east England and Yorkshire could be at risk as a result of the deal. Continue reading...

Economics

36 m. ago Trump – live updates: US strikes trade deal with China as tariffs slashed for 90 days

Tariffs will drop 115 percent after weeks of escalation, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said

Economics

79 m. ago Trump live: US strikes trade deal with China as tariffs slashed for 90 days

Tariffs will drop 115 percent after weeks of escalation, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said

Economics

13 h. ago White House claims China trade deal reached while Beijing hails ‘important first steps’

US announcement comes after treasury secretary touted progress in two days of talks with Chinese vice-premier in GenevaThe White House has announced that a trade deal with China has been struck after two days of talks in Geneva, while Beijing has hailed “important first steps.”The announcement on Sunday came after the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, told reporters that there had been “substantial progress” in talks between his team and that of the Chinese vice-premier, He Lifeng, in Geneva on defusing the trade war between the world’s two largest economies sparked by Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs. Continue reading...

Economics

15 h. ago Trump administration reveals bombshell trade deal with China weeks after tariffs ripped apart world economy

President Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary struck a trade deal with China during negotiations in Switzerland this weekend.

Economics

24 h. ago Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are SAVAGED on SNL in UK trade deal joke

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared happier than ever this weekend as they attended a Beyonce concert to see the singer's Cowboy Carter tour in Los Angeles - with Meghan posting snaps of the pair.

Politics

41 h. ago DAN HODGES: Labour MPs tell me Starmer is facing open rebellion. And I'm stunned at who they'd want to replace him as Prime Minister

Forget the hype surrounding the Trump trade deal, writes DAN HODGES. In the wake of the recent disastrous local election and by-election defeats, the patience of Labour MPs has snapped.

Politics

44 h. ago Starmer’s secret mission in Norway revealed and what it says about his ‘calm, pragmatic, serious’ style

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

Events

47 h. 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

51 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

51 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

51 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

56 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

64 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

64 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

64 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

65 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

65 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

66 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

68 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