Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from 1 August, reports Sky News. The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US. Trump has also imposed a 30% tariff on goods from Mexico, according to a post from his Truth Social account.
Meanwhile the EU’s retaliatory tariffs on US exports have been delayed again, reports the BBC. The countermeasures, which were due to start on Tuesday, came in response to US President Donald Trump’s initial import taxes on steel and aluminium. The EU’s retaliation, which would have hit € 21bn worth of US goods, was first suspended in March. This break has been extended until early August, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference on Sunday.
Morrisons has told ‘idling’ shop floor staff they will no longer be allowed access to stockrooms as the supermarket races to boost customer service ratings, the Telegraph reports. The supermarket has written to staff saying that new restrictions will mandate which of them are allowed in backrooms, to ensure it had “the right colleagues in the right place to deliver the best service to customers at all times”. Only authorised managers and staff will be allowed to enter stores’ warehouse areas from August.
The Bank of England is ready to make larger cuts to interest rates if the jobs market shows signs of a pronounced slowdown, The Times reports. The governor of the bank, Andrew Bailey, told the newspaper there was “consistent” evidence of businesses “adjusting employment” after Rachel Reeves increased employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs). He said Britain’s economy was growing behind its potential, opening up “slack” that would help to bring down inflation, which is expected to rise above 3.4% when official figures for June are published this week.
Louis Vuitton has said the data of some UK customers has been stolen, as it became the latest retailer targeted by cyberattackers, reports The Guardian. The retailer said an unauthorised third party had accessed its UK operation’s systems and obtained information such as names, contact details and purchase history. The brand, which last week said its Korean operation had suffered a similar cyber-attack, told customers that no financial data such as bank details had been compromised.
The company behind brands including McVitie’s biscuits and Jacob’s crackers is to pump millions of pounds into its UK operations in an effort to “supercharge” growth, according to The Times. Pladis has revealed it will plough £68 million into its British business, with the bulk to be spent on its manufacturing sites in the northwest, including Stockport, Carlisle and Aintree. Pladis, which owns United Biscuits, said the cash would be used to increase capacity, capability and productivity by modernising infrastructure in its factories and launching more automated production lines.
Kraft Heinz, the US food group, is preparing to break itself up, spinning off a large part of its groceries business into a new entity that could be valued at as much as $20 billion, according to The Times. The remaining company would focus on its faster-growing sauces and condiments brands including Heinz Tomato Ketchup and the Dijon mustard brand Grey Poupon.
The decision comes after the company in May said it was considering several options to reverse its persistent underperformance, reports the Financial Times. One of the plans being considered includes spinning off much of its traditional grocery portfolio.
Talks to rescue Britain’s biggest bioethanol plant are on a knife-edge after the government offered only a partial bailout focusing on the production of carbon dioxide used in fizzy drinks and to preserve food, The Times reports. Vivergo, which is owned by FTSE 100 company Associated British Foods (ABF), is set to close in two months unless a taxpayer rescue can be agreed.
More small businesses expect to downsize or shut up shop than grow over the next 12 months, reports The Times, citing a survey by one of the UK’s most influential trade bodies. Of those surveyed, 27% of owners expect their businesses to either close, shrink or be sold in the coming year, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Only 25 per cent believed their businesses would expand.
Britain’s heatwave is ‘burning the economy’, says a piece in The Telegraph, which begins by focusing on Rob Davies’ dairy and arable farm in Herefordshire. “Grass is a very important crop for us, and our grass yields currently are down by about 50pc,” says Davies. “Maize is also looking to be around 50% down.” His struggles are only one example of the many ways hotter temperatures are affecting Britain’s economy, with visits to shops down 1.8% last month.
Shareholders in the owner of Boots have voted overwhelmingly in favour of being taken over by an American private equity firm, creating uncertainty over the future of the high street pharmacy chain, according to The Times. About 96% of votes cast by shareholders approved the takeover of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) by Sycamore Partners in a $10 billion deal, a fraction of the $100 billion the US pharmacy chain was worth a decade ago.
A fried chicken war broke out in the UK after two American restaurant chains hired private detectives and lawyers to fight over Britain’s fast food future, according to the Telegraph. Legal papers seen by the newspaper reveal a bizarre battle in which lawyers grappled with the popularity of “Southern comfort food” and even asked whether “James Bond could become obsessed with Nashville hot chicken”. The dispute was triggered by a “cult” American fast food chain’s recent expansion into the UK to meet the nation’s growing appetite for fatty foods.
The boss of the pub chain Greene King has called for changes to business rates to remedy “unfairness” that he said added to financial pressures on the struggling pubs industry, according to The Guardian. Nick Mackenzie, Greene King’s chief executive, said the business rates system of property taxes should be changed to a tax on profits. The trade body the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said last week it expected pub closures at a rate of more than one a day during 2025.
Pubs are struggling to turn a profit despite the sunny weather as Labour drags its heels on tax reform, reports the Daily Mail. Drinkers are flocking to beer gardens for a pint but industry leaders say business rates mean takings are being drained away – despite pledges by Labour to change the system. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has piled on further pain with a rise in employer national insurance contributions that took effect in April.
Manufacturing output across all UK regions is back above pre-pandemic levels for the first time. The Times cites a report published on Monday from the manufacturing lobby group Make UK and accountants BDO which underlines the bounce-back from Covid, when grounded airlines, a lack of demand and supply chain disruption brought some factories.
The boss of coffee giant Lavazza has said hedge funds are to blame for pushing up the price of a morning brew, according to the Daily Mail. Giuseppe Lavazza said speculation by the big financial firms was responsible for the vast majority of the surge in prices on wholesale coffee bean markets. He said: ‘Hedge funds are really big players and they make a lot of difference, especially in the volatility of the market and the uncertainty of the market.’
The Bank of England will monitor the use of cash payments amid fears that vulnerable groups risk being excluded, the Telegraph reports. Threadneedle Street officials are set to intervene after MPs warned more checks were needed to ensure people can still pay with cash in public places, such as coffee shops, leisure centres and on public transport. There are currently no legal requirements in the UK for businesses or organisations to accept cash.
Wimbledon has experimented with creating a mocktail in the style of Pimm’s, in response to growing demand for alcohol-free options at the championships, according to The Guardian. The club has introduced Stella Artois’ booze-free beer on draught and mocktails made from non-alcoholic sparkling wines and spirits amid the move towards sobriety among gen Z.
The Co-op plans to expand one of its shops in the Seven Dials area of Brighton, and in doing so will boot out two small, local businesses, says The Guardian, which has spoken to an independent wine seller facing closure. It comes despite the nearest other Co-op being just 200m away.
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