Dear John,

In the week where tariffs were escalated (kind of), MPs were recalled for an emergency debate as pressure rises to nationalise British Steel, and Bedford got its Florida moment, here is your Weekend Wire…

You looking at Xi?

Who could have predicted that a global tariff war would cause mayhem and lead to further escalation of ill-will between China and America? At the time of writing, an important precondition for all commentary for the next three and a half years, the Trump administration is charging an 125% import tax on all Chinese goods with Beijing returning the favour.

Trump has blinked first, on Wednesday night the President announced that the higher rates of reciprocal tariffs would be delayed by 90-days for all countries, excluding China. Across the world countries breathed a sigh of relief, the EU President Ursula von der Leyen was particularly pleased that the bloc's tariffs were reduced from twenty to ten percent, ending (for now) the prospect of a 25% tariff on all American goods entering the Single Market. That means the UK and the EU are now on the same 10% tariff rate on exports and a 25% import tax on all cars heading over the Atlantic, what was that about a Brexit benefit? Despite the pause on higher levels of tariffs, the universal ten percent tariff remains for almost all countries except, bizarrely, Belarus, Cuba, Russia, and North Korea.

Chinese Premier, Xi Jinping has proposed that the EU and China work together to stand up to Trump’s tariffs. During a meeting with Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez,  Xi argued that “China and the EU must fulfill their international responsibilities, jointly safeguard the trend of economic globalisation and a fair trade environment, and jointly resist unilateral and intimidating practices”.Far from hurting Beijing with his stringent tariffs, Trump seems to have emboldened China and put  greater Sino-EU integration back on the table.

With the unreliability of this American administration, the prospect of future tariffs and an incredibly volatile stock market,Best for Britain is campaigning fo deep alignment with the EU on goods and services, insulating the country from the worst of Trump’s tariffs, and achieving Reeves’ goal of economic growth across the UK in one fell swoop. 

What goes down might go up?

It has been a helter-skelter week for the stock market, the carousel of tariffs had dizzied traders across the world. From Tokyo, to London and New York, markets continued to fall until Trump announced his u-turn which led to a surge in global  markets.

However,  controversy surrounds the trading patterns of some of Trump’s closest advisors and billionaire friends during the chaos with  suspicions that insider trading may have occurred. The President posted on his Truth Social platform that it was ‘a great time to buy’ just hours before he made his tariff u-turn.

Democratic senator Chris Murphy wrote on X that an “insider trading scandal is brewing. Who knew ahead of time and how much money did they make?”. Fresh from a tour with Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for all members of Congress to disclose any stock market activity over the last 24-hours. 

The deadline for members of the House and Senate to disclose information regarding their personal trading is May 15, stand by for some potentially interesting revelations...

Steeling a march

The week began with news that two Scunthorpe steel blast furnaces could face closure  and ended with an announcement that MPs would be recalled from recess for an emergency debate on the future of British Steel. 

Jingye, the Chinese owner of the company, is thought to be preparing to cut their losses after revealing that British Steel was returning a loss of around £700,000 a day. The company claims to have invested more than £1.2 billion into British Steel since 2020.

The government is now considering nationalising the company as talks to find an emergency solution with the Chinese company stalled. Amid pressure from Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on all steel imports to America, one of the largest export markets for British Steel, Jingye have said that the blast furnaces are ‘no longer financially sustainable’. 

At Tuesday’s Liaison Committee, the prime minister reaffirmed his commitment to steel production in the UK. The political ramifications have been accelerated by the the race for Lincolnshire’s first directly elected mayor on 1 May, with former Tory minister, Andrea Jenkyns standing for Reform UK. Nigel Farage visited Scunthorpe on Tuesday and called for British Steel to be nationalised. Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, rejected calls for nationalisation arguing that any such measures must be ‘the last resort’.

Who needs Florida when you have Bedfordshire?

Speaking of resorts, we are getting a new one! It has been a tough week for Starmer and Co, playing dodgems with tariffs and navigating Trump's funhouse of magic mirrors, but the announcement of a new amusement park by the American giants Universal is sure to have raised a smile in Number 10.

The new park will open in 2031 and is expected to bring 8.5 million visitors in its first year of operation. The government has said that the new park will generate around £50 billion for the economy and create 28,000 jobs in construction and hospitality. The Chancellor has called the investment “a vote of confidence in Britain as a place to do business”, while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has played up the investment in the context of “one of the most tumultuous few weeks in global markets”.

The park is set to include iconic brands such as James Bond, Paddington and Lord of the Rings, so prepare the marmalade and get out those martini glasses!

Upcoming Westminster Hall Debate - We need your help!

Andrew Lewin MP, Chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission - set up by Best for Britain - has secured a debate in Westminster Hall on the UK’s trading relationship with the EU for the 24 April at 3pm. 

With the debate taking place just weeks before Starmer hosts European leaders in the biggest step in his EU-UK reset, it is of vital importance that we make sure as many MPs as possible attend this debate. And so we need your help! Using our HeyMP tool you can write an email to your MP in less than a minute. Every email, letter or message plays a crucial role in raising the profile of the importance of our trade with the EU. 

This debate is one of the last chances your MP will get to highlight the importance of a closer trading relationship with Europe for boosting the UK economy  and protecting British jobs at a time of great uncertainty.

Thank you for all of your support.

Leading Britain's Conversation

On Friday morning, Best for Britain CEO, Naomi Smith gave a tour de force summary of all things related to the UK-EU reset and why the Prime Minister must go further.

The Lord Gove-th and taketh away

Michael Gove is the latest figure from the 14-years of Conservative stagnation and underperformance to be ennobled. It was announced that he will take his seat in the upper chamber after being rewarded in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours. Jeremey Hunt, James Cleverly and Grant Shapps were among those to be knighted in the honours list.

Cringe Column 

On Friday, it was announced that the UK economy unexpectedly grew by 0.5% in February. Let's hope for more happy surprises this weekend!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sunshine!

Joshua Edwicker

Content Officer

Best for Britain