Labour minister insists chlorinated US chicken ‘will remain illegal in the UK’
Treasury secretary James Murray says chlorinated chicken ‘will remain illegal in the UK’, in light of Donald Trump’s demands for Britain to allow US chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-laced beef into UK markets in exchange for relief from his sweeping tariffs. Speaking to Nick Ferrari on Friday (4 April), Murray said: “UK food standards are clear that they are not up for negotiation in any deal with other countries.” Chlorinated chicken or chlorine-washed chicken refers to chicken carcasses that have been washed or dipped in water containing chlorine dioxide, in order to kill food-borne diseases such as E coli, campylobacter and Salmonella.
Jane Dalton4 April 2025 14:23
It is now less than 10 minutes until the US markets open.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 3.6 per cent before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 3.4 per cent, falling below the 40,000 mark. Nasdaq futures tumbled 4 per cent.
That follows Thursday’s losses for the three major US indices, which ranged between 4 per cent and 6 per cent, in what marked Wall Street’s worst day since the Covid pandemic five years ago.
Andy Gregory4 April 2025 14:22
Sir Keir Starmer will be holding a series of talks with global leaders this weekend as the world reels from President Trump’s tariffs and European markets plummeted.
Downing Street had made clear that the UK is “disappointed” with the US levies and will be speaking with partners in the coming days as it grapples with a “new era” in trade and a “shifting” economic landscape.
No 10 contradicted the US president’s claim on Thursday that the Prime Minister was “very happy” about the imposition of a 10% import tax on British goods entering America.
Asked on Friday whether that characterisation was accurate, a Downing Street spokesman said: “We’re disappointed by the tariffs that have been brought in.
“Clearly, there will be an economic impact from the decisions the US has taken, both here and globally, but both the Prime Minister and the Business Secretary have been very clear over the last 24 hours that we will continue to act in the best interests of the UK, and we’re prepared to do so.”
The official added: “We’ll be engaging with international leaders over the weekend… The need for engagement with international leaders is clear. It is a changing, shifting global economic landscape.”
Amber Rudd said the Conservatives must not be ‘left behind’ as Sir Keir Starmer establishes a leading position on European defence (Justin Tallis/PA) (PA Wire)
Jane Dalton4 April 2025 14:08
Lots of headlines are focused on global stock markets falling, plummeting, dropping or otherwise trending downwards in fast-moving fashion, writes Karl Matchett.
There are a few rather more specific terms that might be thrown around soon too.
A stock market “correction” is generally accepted as a 10 per cent drop from a recent high point, so if we take a recent high of the S&P 500 at 5842 in early March, it would need to drop to around the mid-5250s to be in correction territory. Yesterday it closed at 5396, so it’s drawing close to around that level.
A stock market “crash” is the more severe version – a 20 per cent or more drop in a day or short space of time.
It’s not time for that type of talk yet, though. The FTSE-100 is down about 6.8 per cent over the past month, so following a rise at the start of the year, it’s actually almost exactly flat now since the start of the year.
Jane Dalton4 April 2025 13:58
A snap poll of 562 members of the Institute of Directors found more than a third of bosses (37 per cent) expect to be hit.
Anna Leach, the IOD’s chief economist, said “a sizable chunk” of leaders wanted greater alignment with the EU.
She added: “At this point, most business leaders are adopting a “wait and see” approach to the tariffs.
“Others are looking to re-locate activity to the States or to trade more with other markets.
“With so much uncertainty surrounding the ultimate end point for tariffs as the UK progresses its own negotiations with the US, it is understandable that businesses will be reluctant to sink time and money into responses which are costly and difficult to reverse.
“But this will only add to the sluggishness in activity we have seen in the run-up to and since the October Budget announcements, and will further undermine growth.”
Jane Dalton4 April 2025 13:37
The Financial Times has warned that, if they endure, Donald Trump’s global tariffs “will go down as one of the greatest acts of self-harm in American economic history”, in a scathing editorial today.
The editorial states: “They will wreak untold damage on households, businesses and financial markets across the world, upending a global economic order that America benefited from and helped to create.
“This was no ‘liberation day’ for America. If Trump gets his way, the US economy will be isolated from the very system that has powered its century-long rise. The whole world will suffer, but it need not follow America’s path.”
And the Wall Street Journal’s editorial labels Mr Trump’s global tariffs an “abuse of power”, urging that “someone should sue to block” them.
It states: “Mr Trump’s tariffs are the biggest policy shock to the world trading system since Richard Nixon blew up Bretton Woods in 1971. As with that decision, Mr Trump is acting with little understanding about the damage his tariffs will cause. The ‘disturbance’ might not be as little as he imagines.”
Andy Gregory4 April 2025 13:23
Sterling has hit a seven-month low against the Euro while also falling against the dollar and the Yen, as China’s retaliatory tariffs against the US deepened a selloff in risky assets.
Among major developed market currencies (G10), sterling tends to be more volatile and sensitive to risk sentiment than traditional safe havens such as the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc, or the US dollar. However, Trump’s moves have raised questions about the safe-haven status of the greenback.
The pound fell 0.6 per cent to $1.3014. It dropped 1.6 per cent against the yen to a fresh five-week low at 187.92.
While looking to the possibility of a UK-US trade deal, investors boosted their bets on future Bank of England rate cuts and are now fully pricing in three 25 basis points in easing moves by year-end – in line with similar market expectations for the European Central Bank.
Sterling hit its lowest level since late August against the euro at 84.84 pence, down 0.6 per cent, although investors have recently sold the common currency on tariff-related headlines.
Chris Turner, head of forex strategy at ING, mentioned two drivers of the euro’s rise against sterling, saying: “The first is that the euro has better liquidity than sterling and will benefit more as investors leave the dollar.”
“The second is that the looming global trade war is proving the greater leveller for rate spreads,” he said, referring to past expectations of a slower pace of rate cuts in Britain.
Andy Gregory, with Reuters4 April 2025 13:14
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the UK government is “determined to get the best deal we can” with the United States.
“Well, of course, we don’t want to see tariffs on UK exports, and we’re working hard as a government in discussion with our counterparts in the US to represent the British national interest and support British jobs and British industry,” Ms Reeves said.
“Those conversations are ongoing at the moment, but we’re determined to get the best deal we can for our country.”
Declining to give a timeframe for when she expected those discussions to bear fruit, Ms Reeves said: “I’m not going to give a running commentary on those discussions. They’ve been ongoing since our prime minister Keir Starmer had a successful visit to the White House to meet President Trump just a few weeks ago.
“Those conversations are ongoing. We want to do everything in our power, and we’ll continue to do everything in our power to get the best possible deal for British industry, working closely with them to protect prosperity and jobs here in the UK.”
Andy Gregory4 April 2025 13:05
To put some of today’s FTSE 100 falls into perspective, it’s worth looking closer at NatWest.
At around a £36bn market capitalisation value, losing 9.8 per cent (as it currently stands today) is a drop of about £3.5bn on the day.
The share price itself is about 55p lower than it was a month ago and, as a side note, as part of an agreed process dating back to the bailout, the UK government has been gradually selling down its stake in NatWest shares – it still held around 11 per cent of the company in November, but by March was down to under five per cent.
NatWest shares are now back to about the level from January, having risen more than 40 per cent across the last year.
Karl Matchett, Business and Money Editor4 April 2025 12:44
Downing Street has pushed back against Donald Trump’s claim that Sir Keir Starmer is “very happy” with Britain’s tariff treatment.
Asked whether it was right to say the prime minister was very happy, a No 10 spokesperson said: “I think you have the business secretary’s words … we’re disappointed by the tariffs that have been brought in.
“Clearly, there will be an economic impact from the decisions the US has taken, both here and globally, but both the prime minister and the business secretary have been very clear over the last 24 hours that we will continue to act in the best interests of the UK, and we’re prepared to do so.”
Andy Gregory4 April 2025 12:39
