A week of new beginnings sees UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer jet off to Washington for a NATO summit in his first full week on the job, while the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) gets its Chartered status on Wednesday (10 July).
NATO summit
Following his landslide election victory on Friday, Starmer will make his first overseas visit to Washington, where US president Joe Biden will be hosting a three-day meeting of NATO leaders.
On Tuesday (9 July), representatives from all 32 NATO members will be gathering to mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary, amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
World press attention will also be trained on Biden, whose poor debate performances ahead of the US presidential election and perceived ill-health have sparked concerns among his fellow Democrats.
On the agenda is a proposed pledge to standardise specifications for ammunition, particularly artillery shells.
Speaking to Reuters, a NATO official said that greater consistency would enhance military operations:
“A world in which there was one standardised NATO round, where every ally produced the same thing, would be a much simpler world for military commanders.”
Demand for artillery shells has been high since Russia’s invasion, and while numerous firms have been quick to offer exports, differing designs have reaped mixed battlefield results with firing accuracy diminished by increased variation in shells.
Tata talks
Newly appointed business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds has wasted no time in wading into a debate surrounding the UK steel industry
Reynolds has been evaluating the support package the government can give to Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant, which currently has 2,800 jobs at risk amid a move from traditional blast furnaces to less carbon- and labour-intensive green arc furnaces.
The plant had been promised a £500m deal under the Conservative government, contingent on greater provision being made for decarbonisation and Chinese owners Jingye investing £750m.
Reynolds echoed promises made last year that, amid the decarbonisation drive, any new deal would need to safeguard jobs. However, the extent of this protection wasn’t confirmed.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, he said that “a better deal is available”, while still cautioning that “blast furnaces employ more people than some of the newer technologies available”.
The party’s manifesto included promises to make the UK “a green energy superpower”, with money from its national wealth fund earmarked for investment for green steal.
Chartered Institute
Wednesday (10 June) is a significant day for IOE&IT, as it will become the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade.
We’ll be holding a live broadcast at 2pm in which director general Marco Forgione and other leading figures from the organisation will discuss the change and what it means for the Institute.
In recent weeks we’ve heard from IOE&IT members about how the organisation has supported them to trade internationally and what royal recognition means to them.
Modi’s Russia visit
Following Russian president Vladmir Putin’s tour of allied nations – visiting North Korea and Vietnam in quick succession last month – the Russian leader will receive Indian PM Narendra Modi today (8 July).
The pair’s trade relationship is currently defined by Russia’s export of key military parts – mirroring other Asian allies – with India also receiving and re-exporting Russian fuel to western allies since sanctions were introduced after the Ukrainian war.
As the world’s most populous nation and a growing economic force, India plays a pivotal role between East and West.
Courted by Western nations for access to its sizable market, while still a member of the BRICS geopolitical bloc that acts as a counterweight to the West’s global influence and includes Russia and China, it’s assumed a greater role on the world stage in recent years.
Mercosur meeting
Paraguay will be handing presidency of the South American Mercosur group to Uruguay this week during a biannual meeting.
Mercosur’s trade negotiations with the EU were called off at the end of last year, following right-wing Argentinian president Javier Milei’s refusal to ratify the agreement.
Milei will not be joining the Mercosur summit, instead choosing to attends a conservative conference in Brazil, a trend among his international engagements which is concerning Argentinian officials according to the Buenos Aries Times.
“I am worried about a president who goes around the world lecturing on how to save Argentina, instead of applying the art of doing it here and now”, complained opposition politician Rodrigo de Loredo in Congress.
Other dates in the diary:
Monday – GMB ballot opens for union representation at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse
Tuesday – Parliament reopens to elect speaker
Wednesday – OPEC monthly oil markets
Thursday – Monthly estimate of UK GDP
Friday – NOAA Global Climate Report monthly release
Saturday – Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania
Sunday – Nine years since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, was reached
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