EU UK negotiations

Resetting UK–EU trade

Sep 17, 2025 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Five years on from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and with the 2026 review fast approaching, the UK and EU have a chance to move beyond firefighting and design a trading relationship that works in today’s economy.

A new Parliamentary report from the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade sets out a practical roadmap to turn trade friction into advantage, by prioritising digital connectivity, trusted cooperation and real-world fixes for businesses, especially SMEs.

Exports in services have grown, but goods trade, and particularly for smaller exporters, still hits too many barriers. The Institute proposes a coherent package of measures that reduces cost and complexity at the border, unlocks mobility and skills, and aligns climate and industrial policies so supply chains can invest with confidence.

h4b>The Institute’s eight recommendations

1) Streamline borders and customs

  • Build interoperable UK–EU digital trade corridors to remove duplication and delays.
  • Create a Common Security Zone to simplify newer safety and security requirements.
  • Align the UK’s Trade Strategy with the EU Customs Reform programme to deliver a seamless user experience.

2) Make SPS trade predictable

  • Implement the Common Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Area via a joint SPS committee (as trailed at the 2025 summit).
  • Work directly with industry to fix recurring pain points in food, plant and animal movements.

3) Modernise rules of origin

  • Simplify and harmonise product-specific rules in the TCA.
  • Enable diagonal cumulation with shared FTA partners.
  • Consider UK participation in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention to increase sourcing flexibility.

4) Deepen regulatory cooperation

  • Use outcome-based equivalence and dynamic alignment where it matters most.
  • Strike targeted “side deals”, including mutual recognition for conformity assessment, and collaborate on emerging areas such as AI and digital trade.

5) Link carbon and energy frameworks

  • Link UK and EU emissions trading schemes and align CBAM approaches.
  • Broaden energy cooperation to support secure, affordable decarbonisation.

6) Back Northern Ireland’s dual-market role

  • Build on the Windsor Framework to deepen trade, energy and mobility links.
  • Position Northern Ireland as a practical model of friction-reduction that benefits both sides.

7) Enable skills and mobility

  • Launch a reciprocal youth mobility scheme and explore re-entry to Erasmus+.
  • Accelerate mutual recognition of professional qualifications in high-impact sectors.

8) Align industrial and digital policy

  • Establish a UK–EU Industrial Cooperation Council to coordinate investment, innovation and regulation.
  • Add a dedicated digital trade chapter to future-proof the partnership.

The last five years have shown that technical workarounds are not enough. SMEs need consistent rules, fewer duplicative checks and clearer pathways. By sequencing border simplification, SPS certainty and origin reform, policymakers can cut costs quickly while building a platform for long-term competitiveness.

What success would look like

  • Lower cost-to-export for SMEs through simplified formalities and interoperable systems.
  • Faster, more predictable food flows via an SPS framework that solves problems at source.
  • More resilient supply chains thanks to compatible rules and modernised origin provisions.
  • A digital-ready TCA that reflects how firms actually trade in 2026 and beyond.

From rules-of-origin compliance to fast-changing customs requirements, our experts deliver integrated and automated solutions that simplify compliance, cut costs and keep your trade moving.

To learn about our automated CuDoS platform and how we can help you navigate the evolving UK–EU trade environment with confidence, please EMAIL our Managing Director Andrew Smith today.

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Gold’s Record Surge Amid Falling Dollar: A Global Signal for Trade and Transport

Sep 3, 2025 | , , , , ,

On the 2nd September Gold surged past $3,500 per troy ounce, setting a historic high that resonates beyond financial markets. While often seen as a safe-haven asset, this dramatic rise reflects deep global economic shifts, alongside the depreciation of the US dollar, which underpins much of international trade and commodity pricing.

For supply chains and global logistics, the gold surge is both a symptom and a signal of changing risks and market dynamics.

What’s Driving the Surge?

The US dollar has weakened significantly in 2025 due to a mix of monetary policy easing, geopolitical uncertainty, and controversial tariff policies. As the dominant currency for fuel purchases and trade contracts, the dollar’s decline impacts prices and costs widely. This weakening makes gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, spurring demand and driving gold prices higher.

Geopolitical Tensions and Trade Policies
Ongoing geopolitical conflicts and rising protectionist measures, including tariffs and trade disputes, heighten uncertainty. These factors disrupt supply chains and drive investors and central banks to increase gold reserves as a hedge.

Central Bank Accumulation
Emerging market central banks are aggressively diversifying reserves away from the US dollar towards gold and other currencies to reduce vulnerability to dollar volatility, tightening gold supply and further weakening the dollar.

As the dollar falls, commodities priced in dollars – including oil, gas, and bunker fuel – often rise in dollar terms. This dynamic raises costs for importers and exporters outside the US, despite relative currency strength.

Implications for Trade and Logistics

The dual pressures of currency volatility and geopolitical tension make traditional trade routes and cost forecasts unreliable. Shippers face higher insurance costs, regulatory compliance burdens, and risks of disruption.

The interaction between rising commodity prices and a falling dollar means that importers in Europe and the UK may see costs rise despite their currencies strengthening against the dollar, due to sticky contracts and global market adjustments.

Building resilience is critical. Flexibility in routing, diverse supplier networks, and dynamic contract currency management become essential. Data-driven forecasting and financial hedging strategies can help mitigate currency and commodity price risks.

Strategic Takeaway

Gold’s record-breaking rise amid the US dollar’s fall is more than a financial milestone, it is a barometer of systemic economic stress and changing global monetary dynamics. 

For global trade and logistics leaders, this signals the need to:

  • Monitor geopolitical, economic, and currency developments closely.
  • Invest in supply chain resilience against cost inflation driven by commodity and currency fluctuations.
  • Adapt contracts and sourcing strategies to manage exposure to dollar volatility.
  • Embrace flexible operations and agile financial management to navigate an increasingly volatile global trade environment.

In 2025, the intertwined rise of gold and fall of the dollar underscore a new era where resilience and adaptability in supply chains and trade finance are not optional, but essential.

Effectively overcoming the complexities of currency fluctuations, commodity price volatility, and geopolitical risks demands timely insights and expert guidance. Metro continuously monitors global markets, interest rate movements, currency shifts, evolving trade regulations, and supply chain disruptions to help you de-risk operations and unlock strategic opportunities.

Make confident, informed decisions with Metro’s dedicated support. EMAIL Laurence Burford, Chief Financial Officer, for tailored advice on trade insights, risk management, and optimising your supply chain resilience.

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US Tariffs Reshape Global Supply Chains

Sep 3, 2025 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The wave of new US tariffs has triggered a recalibration across global trade and supply chains. While markets initially reacted with relative calm, the cumulative impact of the Trump administration’s layered tariff regime, now reaching more than 60 countries, is beginning to reshape sourcing strategies, cost structures, and trade flows worldwide.

The latest measures, including punitive tariffs of up to 50% on imports from India, and Switzerland, and a standardised 15% levy on most EU goods, follow months of negotiations, with the UK and US agreeing an Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) on 8 May, as a framework for tariff reductions to 10% and sector-specific cooperation.

While the EU, UK and some other nations have secured temporary reprieves or reduced rates, others are facing some of the steepest trade barriers since the 1930s. Despite legal challenges and ongoing court reviews, the ‘reciprocal’ tariff framework remains in force until 14 October to give the administration time to appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Supply Chain Implications

With the average US tariff rate climbing to 15.2%, up from a pre-Trump level of just 2.3%, importers are confronted by significant new costs and operational uncertainties. Many rushed to ship goods before the new levies took effect, temporarily insulating American consumers from immediate price increases.

However, the landscape is growing more unpredictable. With distinct, sector-specific tariffs on items like semiconductors, consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals forthcoming, importers face ongoing uncertainty around landed costs and logistical planning.

And while the legality of “reciprocal” tariffs continues under judicial review, it adds yet another layer of risk for firms engaged in international trading.

The structure of the new tariff regime is multi-layered. A base rate of 10% applies to most imports, with steeper levies of 15% to 41% on countries with trade surpluses or those targeted for geopolitical reasons. Sector-specific duties on copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and critical minerals are being introduced in stages, with transshipment clauses aimed at preventing circumvention.

India, Switzerland and Brazil have emerged among the hardest-hit economies, with duties on some goods now matching or exceeding those applied to China. 

The outlook for trade with China remains fluid. A 90-day truce has paused the imposition of previously announced three-digit tariffs, with further talks expected before the November deadline.

However, a new provision introducing a 40% tariff on suspected transshipped goods, potentially targeting Chinese exports routed through third countries, has introduced added further complexity for supply chain managers.

The EU, UK, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea, appear better positioned to weather the storm, with existing trade agreements and temporary negotiation windows providing some insulation. Yet, some of these buffers are time-limited, and broader economic impacts are still unfolding.

As tariffs shift the relative cost of sourcing and importing, businesses are actively reviewing their global footprints. For many, the focus is now on building resilience through diversification, friend-shoring, and regionalisation. However, continued tariff uncertainty is delaying investment decisions and complicating long-term planning, especially for industries reliant on integrated global supply chains.

US Tariffs are reshaping global trade. Whether you’re evaluating exporting or sourcing options, reviewing landed costs, or considering tariff engineering, EMAIL our managing director Andy Smith to discuss your exposure and build a future-proof compliance strategy.

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Supply Chain Leaders Wary of Unprecedented Risks

Aug 19, 2025 | , , , ,

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) has published its Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, and the findings paint a sobering picture for global supply chains.

Procurement leaders are reporting their highest-ever levels of concern about disruption, with anxieties around shipping costs, fuel prices, and the risk of shortages intensifying as tariff battles and geopolitical shocks reshape trade flows.

The survey shows record disruption warnings for both the short and long term. On a 1–7 scale, short-term concern rose to 4.57, up from 4.36 in Q1, while 12-month concern increased to 5.03, also the highest on record. According to CIPS CEO Ben Farrell, procurement professionals are “operating in uncharted waters” where disruption is no longer a possibility but a certainty and the only unknowns are when and where it will strike.

Logistics is once again at the top of the risk list. Nearly a quarter of procurement leaders now expect shipping and transport costs to rise by more than 10%, placing supply chains under further strain. Fuel and petroleum-based inputs were ranked equally high, while pharmaceuticals, food, and metals were also highlighted as categories facing sharp increases. The concern is not just about higher costs but about continuity of supply, with CIPS economist Dr John Glen warning of a “perfect storm” created by tariff upheaval and Middle East instability that threatens to squeeze already stretched logistics networks.

Geopolitics remains the dominant source of risk. More than half of survey respondents pointed to conflicts in the Middle East and the disruption of shipping routes, while concern over the US–China trade conflict has surged to 36%, up sharply from 25% in Q1. When asked to rank their organisation’s broader worries, 66% cited political or geopolitical instability. The highest level ever recorded in the Pulse survey. Supplier fragility and logistics disruption also climbed, while inflation fell as a top concern, suggesting a shift from price volatility to fears over actual availability.

In response, procurement leaders are continuing to pursue strategies such as supplier diversification, stockpiling, and longer contracts. But confidence in these measures is beginning to weaken, with scores slipping since Q1, perhaps reflecting a sense that resilience planning is reaching its limits. As one respondent remarked, “From shipping lanes to silicon chips, no category is safe from disruption.”

The message from the Pulse survey is clear: procurement professionals remain the early warning system of the global economy, and right now, their alarm bells are ringing louder than ever.

With disruption expected as a certainty rather than a possibility, knee-jerk reactive measures are no longer enough. What procurement leaders need is real-time visibility, control, and agility across every stage of their supply chain.

Metro’s proprietary platform, MVT, unifies procurement, freight, inventory, and logistics into one connected system. By tracking milestones in real time, integrating with ERP and sales platforms, and enabling data-led decisions, MVT gives businesses the insight and agility to mitigate risks before they escalate.

Backed by Metro’s global reach, sector expertise, and fully integrated services, MVT is the backbone of scalable, future-ready supply chains, helping organisations navigate tariff upheaval, geopolitical shocks, and rising logistics costs with confidence.

EMAIL Andrew Smith, Managing Director, to discover how MVT can give you total control of your supply chain.

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