Trump issues tariff letters to seven countries
The letters call for tariffs of 30% each on Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka, 25% each on Brunei and Moldova, and 20% on the Philippines.
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The Herald Scotland
23 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Port Talbot moves towards arc furnace future with groundbreaking ceremony
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Steel and the Tata Group, described the moment as an 'important day for Tata Group, Tata Steel and for the UK'. He added: 'At Port Talbot, we are building the foundations of a cleaner, greener future, supporting jobs, driving innovation and demonstrating our commitment to responsible industry leadership.' Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the Government was committed to a 'bright future for our steel industry' (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The Government has backed plans for the new £1.25 billion electric arc furnace at the Tata steelworks with a £500 million investment. The switch-on is due to take place in 2027 as part of the push towards greener production. Tata insists the move will cut Port Talbot's emissions by 90%, while ensuring the future of steel production in the town. The plant's last blast furnace was shut down in September 2024, with 2,500 workers to lose their jobs in the aftermath. The new electric arc furnace will be able to process scrap steel, but is not able to make virgin steel as a blast furnace can. Some MPs have said workers in South Wales have been let down in comparison with those retaining jobs in Scunthorpe, where ministers took control of the steelworks to prevent the closure of its blast furnaces. The Government has said the two steelworks were in different situations. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'This is our industrial strategy in action and is great news for Welsh steelmaking, backing this crucial Welsh industry, which will give certainty to local communities and thousands of local jobs for years to come. 'This Government is committed to a bright future for our steel industry, which is why we provided £500 million of funding to make this project possible.' Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said the new furnace would help to realise 'the promise we made to the community, while the development of floating offshore wind, plans for a Celtic Freeport and millions more for local regeneration all mean that Port Talbot has a bright future'. First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan said: 'This is a momentous day for heavy industry in Wales, as the electric arc furnace has secured the long-term future of steel making at Port Talbot. 'Seeing spades in the ground today provides a tangible sign of Tata's intention to continue producing steel in the area, an industry which has provided quality jobs to local people for generations.' Steelworkers' union Community described the groundbreaking ceremony as 'bittersweet'. Community assistant general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said: 'This bittersweet day is a consequence of the devastating closure of the blast furnaces, but importantly a future for Port Talbot steelmaking is being secured. The workforce needs the electric arc furnace project to be both a success and a turning point, and we look forward to playing our part to get the new furnace up and running. 'Today should represent the first step towards rebuilding our steel industry and creating new high-quality jobs for our steel communities. Going forward we must see further investment to develop and grow the business, both here in Port Talbot and across all the crucial downstream sites. 'It was also good to see the Secretary of State in Port Talbot today, and we will continue to hold talks with Government on their plans to safeguard and co-invest in our steel industry. The UK needs a strong and resilient steel sector now more than ever, and steel should be the cornerstone of a national industrial strategy fit for the future.'
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
China's exports, imports pick up as Trump tariff deadline looms
BEIJING, July 14 (Reuters) - China's exports regained some momentum in June while imports rebounded, as exporters rushed out shipments to capitalise on a fragile tariff truce between Beijing and Washington ahead of a looming August deadline. Outbound shipments rose 5.8% year-on-year, beating the median forecast for 5.0% growth in a Reuters poll of economists. Imports rebounded 1.1%, following a 3.4% decline in May. Economists had predicted a 1.3% rise. Exports growth slowed to 4.8% in May after surging in March and April, as U.S. President Donald Trump's escalation of his trade war took a toll and the benefits from earlier front-loading faded. Trade ties appeared to have stabilised in June after U.S. and Chinese negotiators agreed to revive a fragile truce reached during talks in Geneva in May. The agreement had been strained before the talks by a series of export controls that disrupted supply chains for key industries on both sides of the Pacific. But as Trump further broadens his global trade offensive with new tariffs on other partners, analysts caution that Beijing could be indirectly hurt by U.S. pressure on third countries used heavily for transhipments of Chinese goods. Trump had recently unveiled a 40% tariff on U.S.-bound transhipments through Vietnam, a move that could undermine Chinese manufacturers looking to reroute shipments and avoid higher duties. The U.S. president has also threatened a 10% charge on imports from BRICS countries, in which China is a founding member, raising further risks for Beijing. China faces an August 12 deadline to reach a durable deal with the White House. Compounding the challenges, tensions with the European Union have also intensified. Ahead of a key summit later this month, the EU accused China of flooding the global market with excess capacity and enabling Russia's war economy. China's June trade surplus came in at $114.7 billion, up from $103.22 billion in May.
The Herald Scotland
38 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Can Glasgow and Edinburgh follow Greater Manchester's lead?
One issue concerning Scottish city-regions, however, is the governance arrangements needed to sustain them. South of the border, Greater Manchester is widely held up as the poster child for the localist turn in sub-national English governance, and the prominence and convening power of Andy Burnham, the directly elected mayor, is now widely cited. Read more: This has led to a recent flurry of media and advocacy concerning the need for directly elected mayors, and combined authority arrangements, here in Scotland. The argument seems to be that, if it works for Greater Manchester, then it will (hopefully) work for the Glasgow city-region too. This is supported by the UK Government position that accountable mayors in England give confidence for further devolution and provide the basis through which to develop new 'local growth plans'. One UK minister considers the mayoral model as a 'good idea', though for 'people in Scotland to decide'. Recent comparisons with Greater Manchester have been drawn by another minister, suggesting that Glasgow is missing out on an economic dividend. Adoption of directly elected mayors warrants a few reflections. First, we should consider that directly elected mayors for Scottish city-regions would be advocating in two directions – to both the UK and Scottish governments. Read more: If we consider innovation policy in the Glasgow city-region, for example, we can see direct UK Government investments (innovation accelerator), Scottish Government initiatives (tech scalars), and joint developments (investment zones). This makes the operating environment for a mayor somewhat more complex. Second, we may consider what evidence we have on the impacts of mayors driving economic change in other localities, and this does not appear to be clear cut. John Tomaney from UCL previously noted that the argument for mayors has rested on 'more or less persuasive anecdotes drawn principally from the US experience and the limited experience in London'. Greater Manchester has experienced radical change in many senses, however, relative to the Glasgow city-region, transformation is yet to clearly appear in the productivity data. Of course, we may need more time to see such productivity change, and it should be noted that the mayor still works within a very centralised arrangement there (despite the steps made). Read more: Third, we could perhaps start to consider the fundamental building blocks of effective urban governance. Arguably, this can be considered in terms of accountability, capacity and direction. Accountability relates to those who provide resource and those who experience the policy impacts. Capacity relates to the ability to manage at a city-region level a greater range of tools and policies. Direction relates to the fact that city-regions cannot do everything, so objectives need to be set that can be plausibly delivered against (localities in the UK have few powers compared with localities in other jurisdictions). Add to that trio the need to build city-region identities over the long run through bottom-up change; arguably, indeed, this is the key lesson from Greater Manchester. Read more: Together, this gives a set of principles by which to consider if a mayor, or strengthened city-region working in another form, would offer advantages in service of further city-region devolution. None of the above seeks to divert attention from other concerns, such as transitions to net zero, which have a particular regional imprint, or the prospects for our rural economies; simply, the governance futures for city-regions in Scotland warrants a concerted focus. There is a concern that our city-regions risk being somewhat stuck between differing UK Government and Scottish Government developments, with only piecemeal attempts at co-ordination between them. If the debates about Scottish city-regions fail to become anything more than a political football, the prospects for the Scottish economy will be diminished in turn. David Waite, School of Social & Political Sciences, University of Glasgow.
