Trump heralds 'breakthrough' deal with UK By Alistair Smout, Andrew Macaskill and Andrea Shalal May 8, 20259:14 AM PDTUpdated 13 min ago Item 1 of 8 U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about a trade deal with the U.K., in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis [1/8]U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about a trade deal with the U.K., in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Summary Companies Starmer calls it a 'historic day' Deal opens 'a tremendous market' for the US - Trump Deal is first since Trump launched tariff war Baseline 10% tariff on UK goods to remain, Trump says LONDON/WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced a "breakthrough deal" on trade that leaves in place a 10% tariff on goods imported from the UK while Britain agreed to lower its tariffs to 1.8% from 5.1% and provide greater access to U.S. goods. The agreement announced by Trump from the Oval Office marked the first since Trump triggered a global trade war with a barrage of levies on trading partners following his return to the White House in January. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report This Ad "It opens up a tremendous market for us," Trump said. "This is a really fantastic, historic day," Starmer said by teleconference. The United States has been under pressure from investors to strike deals to de-escalate its tariff war after Trump's often chaotic policymaking upended global trade with friends and foe alike, threatening to stoke inflation and start a recession. Top U.S. officials have engaged in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since the president on April 2 imposed a 10% tariff on most countries, along with higher rates for many trading partners that were then suspended for 90 days. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report This Ad The U.S. has also imposed 25% tariffs on autos, steel and aluminium, 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 145% tariffs on China. U.S. and Chinese officials are due to hold talks in Switzerland on Saturday. WARM RELATIONSHIP With the British economy struggling to grow, the tariffs had added to the pressure on his government. Jaguar Land Rover (TAMO.NS), opens new tab paused its shipments to the U.S. for a month and the government was forced to seize control of British Steel to keep it operating. The deal will reduce U.S. tariffs on British auto imports to 10% from the current 27.5% according to a UK statement. The lower rate will apply to a quota of 100,000 British vehicles, almost the total exported to the U.S. last year. U.S. tariffs on imports from the struggling UK steel industry will fall to zero from 25%, while British tariffs on U.S. ethanol will fall to zero from 19%. 00:12 Who will be the next pope? Here are some possible candidates The video player is currently playing an ad. Both sides have agreed new reciprocal market access on beef – with UK farmers given a tariff-free quota for 13,000 metric tonnes. There will be no weakening of UK food standards on imports. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Britain is expected to announce a purchase of $10 billion worth of U.S.-assembled Boeing aircraft, although a White House graphic referred to "aircraft parts." In turn, Lutnick said that the U.S. will allow duty-free imports fo Rolls-Royce RR.L jet engines. Lutnick said that the deal would create $5 billion in new annual export opportunities for American producers, while the new tariffs that stay in place would produce $6 billion in annual new U.S. revenue. While seeking a deal with the U.S., Britain had refused to lower its food standards, which are closely aligned with the European Union. However, Britain's farming trade union has said that some U.S. producers who do not use growth hormones or antimicrobial washes could be given greater market access. Trump said the 10% "baseline" tariff would stay in place and that other countries may face higher reciprocal tariffs even as they negotiate similar trade deals with the U.S. Details were scant on tariffs on UK pharmaceuticals imports, which could damage AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab and GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab, although a White House fact sheet said the deal would create a secure pharma supply chain. Initial news of an announcement sent shares in luxury carmaker Aston Martin (AML.L), opens new tab up 10%, while British retailers with operations in the U.S., including JD Sports (JD.L), opens new tab and Primark owner AB Foods (ABF.L), opens new tab, also rose. TRADE TIGHTROPE Starmer's government has been seeking to build new trading relationships post-Brexit with the U.S., China and the EU without moving so far towards one bloc that it angers the others. Economists and one FTSE 100 chief executive said the immediate economic impact of a tariff deal was likely to be limited but that trade agreements in general would help long-term growth. Britain struck a free trade agreement with India this week. There are also domestic political risks. Polling shows the government remains deeply unpopular, making any move to cut taxes on multi-national tech companies a big risk. Britain's digital service tax, levied at 2% of UK revenue for online marketplaces, would continue unchanged. It was expected to raise about 800 million pounds ($1.1 billion) this year, but companies such as Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab have passed the cost on to customers through ad surcharges and higher selling fees, respectively. "The American, Indian and other deals we can do will be really important to the long-term economic health of the UK but don't expect them to result in overnight euphoria," the CEO said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Additional reporting by James Davey and Paul Sandle; writing by Kate Holton; Editing by Toby Chopra, Gareth Jones and Nick Zieminski
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AntisemitismCanada In 2026, Tulsa And Panama Are Courting Canadian Jews As Antisemitism Redefines The Cost Of Staying As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels across Canada, Jewish families and professionals are quietly reassessing their futures, and some are being actively courted elsewhere. Ron East By: Ron East December 31, 2025 SHARE A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options as antisemitism intensifies and confidence in public protection erodes. (Image: Illustration.) TORONTO — For generations, Canada sold itself as a country where Jews could thrive without constantly looking over their shoulders. That assumption no longer holds for a growing number of Canadian Jews, particularly in the aftermath of October 7 and the months that followed. What has changed is not only the number of antisemitic incidents. It is the atmosphere. Public hostility has been normalized. Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centres operate under permanent security protocols. Anti-Jewish intimidation is increasingly framed as political expression. Enforcement is inconsistent. Accountability is rare. When Jewish life requires constant risk assessment, mobility stops being a luxury. It becomes a rational act of self-preservation. That reality helps explain why, in 2026, two very different destinations, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Panama, are appearing with growing frequency in serious conversations among Canadian Jews who have the means and flexibility to move. This is not a panic migration. It is a strategic recalculation. Canada’s new warning lights Jewish Canadians represent a small fraction of the population, yet account for a vastly disproportionate share of reported hate crimes. This is not a perception problem. It is a documented pattern. More troubling than the statistics themselves is the message many Jews hear in response: concern, sympathy, and context, but little deterrence. Protests that spill into harassment are tolerated. Jewish institutions are targeted repeatedly. Antisemitism disguised as antizionism is parsed endlessly rather than confronted directly. The result is a slow erosion of confidence in the state’s willingness or ability to enforce equal protection. When a community moves from assuming it belongs to hoping nothing happens today, the social contract has already been fractured. It is within this context that Tulsa and Panama are not merely attracting attention but actively courting. Lech Le’Tulsa and intentional Jewish welcome Tulsa is not presenting itself as a refuge city. It is presenting itself as a place that wants Jewish life to grow. In 2026, that effort has taken concrete form through Lech Le’Tulsa, a Jewish-focused relocation initiative designed to attract Jewish families, professionals, and entrepreneurs to the Tulsa area. The program combines relocation assistance with intentional community building and access to Jewish infrastructure. The name is deliberate. Lech Lecha, the biblical call to go forth and build a future, is not branding by accident. It speaks directly to a Jewish historical instinct that understands movement not as retreat, but as agency. Lech Le’Tulsa offers what many Canadian Jews increasingly feel is missing at home: A clear signal that Jewish presence is welcomed, not merely accommodated Immediate access to synagogues, schools, and Jewish communal life A civic environment where Jewish identity is not treated as a liability The financial incentives matter, but the social architecture matters more. Tulsa is offering a landing ramp. It is saying, we are prepared for you to arrive. That clarity stands in stark contrast to the ambiguity Canadian Jews experience when their safety concerns are acknowledged but endlessly deferred. Panama and the appeal of optionality Panama represents a different but equally rational response to insecurity. For Canadian Jews with international mobility, Panama offers residency pathways tied to investment, business activity, or long-term economic contribution. It also offers something increasingly valuable: optionality. Panama has an established Jewish community, a comparatively lower cost of living, and an immigration framework that openly courts skilled and capital-carrying residents. For some, it is a permanent relocation. For others, it is a second base, a contingency plan, or a future passport pathway. What matters is not the destination itself, but the logic behind the choice. When Jews seek second options, they are not rejecting diaspora life. They are applying historical lessons. Jewish continuity has always depended on redundancy, resilience, and the ability to move before crisis becomes catastrophe. The Zionist lens Canadians prefer to ignore Zionism does not deny the legitimacy of diaspora life. It insists that Jews must never be dependent on the goodwill of others for safety or equality. That lesson was written in blood long before the modern State of Israel existed. Israel institutionalized it at a national level. Individual Jews apply it on a personal level. When Canadian Jews explore Tulsa or Panama, they are not abandoning Canada in anger. They are responding rationally to warning signs. They are building leverage. They are ensuring their children have options. This is what Zionist consciousness looks like outside Israel. It is quiet, pragmatic, and unsentimental. An indictment Canada should take seriously Tulsa and Panama are not superior societies. They are intentional ones. Tulsa is saying, we want contributors, and we are prepared to integrate them. Panama is saying, we want residents and investment, and we have clear legal pathways. Canada, too often, is saying something else entirely: we are sorry you feel unsafe, but the politics are complicated. A serious country does not treat antisemitism as a public relations challenge. It treats it as a threat to civic order. That requires enforcement, deterrence, and moral clarity, including the willingness to name antisemitism even when it hides behind fashionable political language. Until that happens, Canada should not be surprised when Jews quietly explore exit ramps. The bottom line In 2026, the fact that Tulsa and Panama can plausibly court Canadian Jews is not an oddity. It is a warning. When antisemitism reaches levels that fundamentally alter how Jews calculate their futures, movement becomes strategy. History teaches Jews to act before apologies arrive too late. Canada still has time to reverse this trajectory. But time matters. And Jews, having learned this lesson repeatedly, are no longer inclined to wait.
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