The US has suspended its UK tariffs as of today on goods from scotch whiskies, machinery, cashmere, and yes – cheese and pork. The suspension will last for four months, during which time the sides will negotiate a long term solution to the US-EU Boeing Airbus dispute. This is exclusively a US-UK deal, US tariffs remain on EU goods…
Trade Secretary Liz Truss took a risk by unilaterally lifting UK tariffs to the US – which opposition parties heavily criticised her for – now the move has paid off. Guido understands that it was only as a consequence of good faith lifting UK tariffs that the US came to the negotiating table and lifted theirs too. Meanwhile the EU has sat on their hands and tariffs still apply to them…
Clearly this sort of deal would be impossible as a member of the EU, trapped behind its common external tariff and sluggish commissioners. Read the Brexit-enabled UK-US joint statement here…
Guido can reveal that the Trade Department has appointed a string of three new non-executive board members. These appointments are the latest in a string of sound picks, joining the likes of Daniel Hannan and Tony Abbott at the department. The new non-exec members are…
Guido learns that they will make up a refreshed non-executive board, appointed directly by Liz Truss, joining current members Sir Stephen O’Brien, Noel Harwerth, and Andrew Hood who is taking on the role of lead non-executive board member. Current non-executive board member Julie Currie is standing down – being replaced by Dominic Johnson as Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.
Guido understands that the free-trading, free-marketeer appointments will push the idea that outside the EU, Britain can push new frontiers in areas like tech, services and advanced manufacturing. Their membership on the board is designed to help steer the department to establish Britain as a major force in global trade – as well as deepen trade links with like-minded nations. DIT is rapidly earning a new nickname amongst SpAds… the Ministry of Sound…
Lis Truss is continuing her rule of appointing trade advisors she knows will annoy all the right people, as a swathe of free market think tankers have been appointed to the government’s refreshed Strategic Trade Advisory Group (STAG), including the ASI’s Matt Kilcoyne, the IEA’s Mark Littlewood and the CPS’s Robert Colvile. The former being one of the 21 new members, the latter two comprising half the body’s new experts…
STAG is a “forum for strategic discussion between government and industry experts, with members representing the views of businesses & workers from across the UK” including non-wonks such as the CBI’s director-general, the FSB’s chairman and the deputy general secretary of the TUC. Guido hopes his think tank friends are prepared for weeks of daily questions from Kay Burley about their appointments…
The new membership list in full:
The ongoing spat between Emily Thornberry and Liz Truss has turned up a notch as Guido can reveal the Shadow Trade Secretary complained to the Government over the airing earlier in the month of a letter sent to her office from Whitehall highlighting the hypocrisy of Thornberry’s one-sided transparency drive. Guido now learns Emily actively complained about the leak, despite her own correspondence having mysteriously ended up in the press before. Liz Truss has just responded with this scorching reply…
“You complain that the Guido Fawkes website published the letter from Graham Stuart. It is entirely appropriate that such debates on transparency issues are able to be reported by the independent free press — not least given you have previously had no hesitation in unilaterally releasing your correspondence to me to the press. Scrutiny and transparency cuts both ways.”
Read the Secretary of State’s reply in full below:
As per Guido’s story a couple of hours ago, Boris has gone ahead with Tony Abbott joining the UK’s new top post-Brexit trade board. The list in full:
You’re either in front of Guido, or behind…
The Government is facing pressure over the expected appointment of the former Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, to the Board of Trade, to help lead the UK’s new free trading mission post-Brexit in a similar way to which he championed free trade while Prime Minister of Australia. Left-wing news outlets have been hitting out at Abbott over old quotes and his Catholic faith. Guido thought he would balance the record with ten reasons to appoint Tony Abbott.
If this Government backs down this will be yet another U-turn for an administration increasingly seen as weak and doddering after a muddled summer. Boris should not buckle to media haranguing. Sticking to his guns and appointing Abbott, as Number 10 clearly planned to do, would start to turn the tide on the accusations of indecision.
