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BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
EU-UK trade deal: Ireland 'not exactly celebrating', minister of state says
Ireland is "not exactly celebrating" the new EU-US trade deal, an Irish minister has said, but added that it provides certainty. US President Donald Trump and European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday they have agreed a US tariff on all EU goods of 15%. That is half the 30% import tax rate Trump had threatened to implement starting on Friday. He said the 27-member bloc would open its markets to US exporters with zero per cent tariffs on certain Richmond, a minister of state in Ireland's foreign affairs department, said the deal "gives us that certainty that has been lacking in the last number of months". Among EU countries, Ireland is the most reliant on the US as an export market."We're not exactly celebrating this, it's not a case that this is a good thing but it's probably the least bad option based on what we were facing a couple of days ago, the prospect of a 30% tariff," Richmond told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster on Monday. "The EU is a tough negotiator but this isn't like any trade deal I have ever experienced before, in my 15 odd years of working on EU trade deals. It is what it is and we move on."He added: "We don't want a tariff war, tariffs are a bad thing. We want stability for businesses and we have that today."Trump has wielded tariffs against major US trade partners in a bid to reorder the global economy and trim the American trade der Leyen has hailed the deal, saying it will bring stability for both allies, who together account for almost a third of global EU's top official described the deal as a "framework" agreement, with further technical details to be negotiated "over the next weeks". Speaking of the pharmaceutical sector, Richmond said there was a "case made" that certain medications would be tariff free. "These are some of the areas we will have to dig into, but absolutely we have a lot to work on," he said. "The pharmaceutical sector isn't just really important to a lot of Irish businesses, it must be said it's really important to a lot of American consumers and crucially patients who rely on these drugs too." 'New era of stability' Speaking following the announcement, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said the news of the trade deal is "very welcome".Martin said the fact that tariffs would still be higher than before would make trade "more expensive and more challenging".However, he added that the agreement will bring "a new era of stability" and will "help protect many jobs in Ireland".Speaking to Good Morning Ulster on Monday, former UK ambassador to the US Lord Kim Darroch said: "As an outcome, it's a relief I guess for everyone in the European Union that it's not worse, but this isn't anything for great celebration, this is a backwards step."In 2024, Ireland exported goods worth £60.4bn ($81.1bn) to the commission has the mandate to negotiate trade deals for the entire bloc - but it still requires approval by EU member states, whose ambassadors will meet on Monday for a debrief from the commission.
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
Philippine central bank on track for two more rate cuts in 2025
MANILA, July 28 (Reuters) - The Philippine central bank is committed to maintaining its easing bias and is on course to cut policy rates twice this year, its governor said on Monday, though the timing will depend on economic growth and inflation. "We're still on that same easing cycle," Governor Eli Remolona told Reuters. "We're doing baby steps. That's a good sign, that means we're on track." The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is closely monitoring economic indicators to guide its decisions, including whether to implement a rate cut at its upcoming August 28 policy meeting. He emphasised that weaker-than-expected growth and better-than-projected inflation would be key triggers for further easing. "If the data on growth is worse than we thought, and inflation is better, that would be a good time for another rate cut," Remolona said. "We have to look at the data twice, three times." In June, the central bank lowered its key rate (PHCBIR=ECI), opens new tab by 25 basis points to 5.25%, its lowest in two-and-a-half years, a second consecutive cut to support the economy. Annual inflation has stayed below 2% since March, and the central bank expects the pace of price increases to remain at that level, including in July. Inflation was 1.4% in June. The governor was optimistic growth in the second quarter would be better than the 5.4% expansion in the first three months of the year. The Philippines' trade deal with the United States has reduced uncertainty, and that should bode well for growth, Remolona said. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced new import duties of 19% for goods from the Philippines, slightly below the rate of 20% he threatened earlier this month. "Growth will not slow down as much as before, but there's still residual uncertainty," he said. Still, there are risks that could cloud the country's growth outlook, including tensions in the Middle East, especially surrounding oil prices and regional conflict, he said. In shaping its decisions, the BSP also considers global monetary policy conditions, including the U.S. Federal Reserve's outlook, though the governor said the Fed's influence on BSP's actions has waned in recent years. "It will carry some weight, not a lot of weight, not as much as before," he said, citing a more sophisticated market and the peso's relative strength even without closely matching the Fed's rate path. Remolona also flagged threats to central bank independence as a significant concern, warning of long-term implications. "Wherever the central bank loses its independence, regardless of fiscal policy, it leads to high inflation," he said, adding central banks view what is happening in the United States with "concern". Despite external uncertainties, Remolona highlighted the Philippines' solid domestic fundamentals, including ample reserves, stable remittances and slowing inflation. "Domestically, we're in very good shape," he said.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Defiant salon owner vows to fight 'aggressive' trademark battle with beauty giant L'Oreal over her nkd brand
A defiant salon owner has vowed to fight an 'aggressive' trademark battle with beauty giant L'Oréal, which she claims forced her to close her shop. Rebecca Dowdeswell, 49, has been locked in a legal dispute with the global cosmetics firm and says she has already spent more than £30,000 defending her position. The mother-of-two, from Nottingham, runs the waxing salon 'nkd', a business she first trademarked in 2009; however, the protection expired after ten years, requiring renewal. Under current rules, companies have a six-month window to reapply for a lapsed trademark, but if they miss the deadline, they must start a new application from scratch. Ms Dowdeswell admitted she had put the renewal 'on the list' but said it wasn't 'at the top', calling the decision 'naive'. Her business was forced to shut during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the following two years proving 'so hard' for those in the beauty sector. By the time she reapplied for the trademark in 2022, she was met with a formal objection from L'Oréal. The French company argued that her brand name 'nkd' could cause 'consumer confusion' with its own 'Naked' eyeshadow range. Rebecca Dowdeswell, 49, has been locked in a legal dispute with the global cosmetics firm and says she has already spent more than £30,000 defending her position But rather than back down, Ms Dowdeswell has launched a counterclaim and is now taking on the £233billion firm herself. An Intellectual Property Office (IPO) hearing has now been scheduled to take place later this year, after the unyielding business owner demanded that L'Oréal withdraw several of its own trademark applications. She said: 'I don't feel like I should have been put in this situation in the first place. 'People typically don't challenge them; I've stuck it out. 'We sort of turned the tables and filed actions against them to rescind some of the trademark. We're spelt differently and pronounced differently, which is a huge part of my frustration. 'The UK beauty market as a whole is a massive market. We're not Naked, we're nkd. We're very tied to just waxing and hair removal products. They can get away with it because they're L'Oréal - this is sheer corporate bullying.' She said she had no choice but to fight for her company, which she has invested so much time in. 'It's a trend that you see - they know they have little chance of winning, but they know their pockets are so much deeper than my own. 'You would probably get 90 per cent of companies walking away. I was put in an impossible situation really. I could either walk away from the brand I spent the last 13 years building up or I could defend this and fight this, and it's cost me a lot. 'It has been a huge drain on the financial side but also the impact on myself and my family has been enormous.' Companies have a six-month window to reapply for their trademark after it runs out, or else they have to submit an entirely new application. She said the pandemic delayed her reinstating the trademark, and she was then left frustrated when her application was objected. She added: 'It cannot be fair or right that small companies such as mine are put in this position. 'And if the huge corporations didn't routinely exploit their power and abuse the rules of the UK IPO, knowing that they will likely get away with it due to their sheer size and domination of the market, then this situation wouldn't arise.' L'Oréal claims the nkd branding infringes on their line of Naked eyeshadows, despite the two being pronounced differently. The giant trademarked the Naked name in 2004 but left it unused until they launched their Urban Decay brand in 2010. Ms Dowdeswell added: 'The Naked name is for a wide range of goods which they aren't using. 'We've said this is against the rules of the UK IPO, companies shouldn't trademark against goods they don't use. 'We applied to remove the trademark on goods they aren't using. Like cotton wool, shower gel, deodorants and shaving foams. 'All they apply it against is a subset of makeup - just eye shadow pallets. 'They don't need the trademark on such a wide range of products, it's like a monopoly. 'They have no intention of using it, that's where the abuse of the rules comes in. 'Just because they're a massive company, no one ever stands up to them. 'They first applied for the Naked trademark in 2004. That's 20 years they've had some of these goods trademarked. 'We're nkd and we launched in 2009 - L'Oréal then launched the Urban Decay brand, which has the Naked line in 2010.' A L'Oréal spokesperson said previously: 'We are wholly committed to resolving any misunderstanding there might have been with Rebecca Dowdeswell. 'From the beginning of our exchanges with her lawyers in 2022, we have communicated an offer that supports her business aspirations whilst respecting our longstanding trademark rights.
