Mainstream media continues to miss the key “climate and trade deal” story. See Carrzee.org

See Peston, a great “follower journalist” at ITV:

On #Peston last night, the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds in effect confirmed that today’s UK tariffs deal with the US will see the UK Treasury change the digital services tax – the 2% revenue tax on the likes of Amazon, Meta and Alphabet – in response to pressure from… https://t.co/eFdISZpX0Q

— Robert Peston (@Peston) May 8, 2025

My May 6 story:

Hit Trump where it hurts; Mega tariffs on social media will make Europe great again (that’s MEGA, too) (1)

Robert Peston: The UK’s soon-to-be announced tariff deal with the US matters hugely for two reasons.

First, it is the first since Trump announced his coercive global tariffs on the whole world.

So it will be a template for further such deals with bigger manufacturing nations and areas like Japan and the EU.

Second, it can only be judged against the yardstick of how much the UK has been forced to improve its terms of trade with the US in response to the American president’s gangsterish bullying.

The prospect of the UK being seen as a net winner from a deal that would abuse the meaning of “free trade” are nil.

The question, soon to be answered, is how far we have surrendered – on access to the UK for US farmers, on reducing the tax for the likes of Google and Amazon – to save the bacon of our motor and steel manufacturers.

Politically in the UK for the prime minister I am not sure how it will play out. British voters don’t like Trump.

They won’t want Starmer to have capitulated to him.

NOTES

The India link is here:

India-UK Trade Deal ‘the Most Ambitious India has Ever Done’, UK says; will a flurry of deals around the world now happen, including India-USA? (2)

Here is evidence from today that there is collaboration across groups …a global deal on trade and climate protection can be done!

India govt:

Quad Concludes Simulation Exercise to Advance Indo-Pacific Logistics Network

 May 08, 2025

From April 28 to May 2, the Quad partners (Australia, India, Japan and the United States) convened at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii for a Tabletop Exercise, a simulation to launch the Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN). IPLN is an initiative that enables Quad partners to leverage shared logistics capabilities in the Indo-Pacific to support civilian response to natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the region.

2. Together with the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, the IPLN reflects the Quad’s commitment to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific and highlights the value of strengthening practical cooperation to address regional challenges.

New Delhi
May 08, 2025