This month's updates from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
► UK Trade in July: William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy, commented on the the latest ONS trade data. Read his comment.
► UK-EU Relations: The BCC attended a speech by Paymaster-General Nick Thomas-Symonds MP outlining ambitions for a UK-EU agreement reducing food and plant trade costs by 2027. Read their comment.
► EU Legislation Discussions: BCC met with Department for Business and Trade's (DBT) EU Unit on forthcoming EU customs and VAT reforms affecting UK firms.
► US Tariffs And De Minimis Changes: From 29 August, US Customs is enforcing duties on postal package of UK origin following abolition of the $800 de minimis threshold. Read the BCC's Insights Analysis.
► US Embassy Meeting: BCC engaged with Embassy officials on the forthcoming State Visit and tariffs on UK goods, including steel and aluminium.
► Open Trade Event In Brussels: William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy, attended the Open Trade event at the UK Mission in Brussels. He also had meetings with EU business groups and other stakeholders on common priorities for UK-EU negotiations on border checks and Emissions Trading Scheme linkage commencing next month.
► Meetings With UK And Scottish Government Officials On UK-EU trade: William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy also had discussions with UK and Scottish government officials in Brussels on the forthcoming negotiations and what business can expect over the coming months.
► Meetings With New Ministers: Shevaun Haviland CBE, BCC Director General, joined roundtables with Peter Kyle MP, Business and Trade Secretary, and Chris Bryant MP, Minister for International Trade.
► EU Policy Engagement: William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy, joined the Department for Business and Trade's (DBT) EU Files Forum on forthcoming customs, VAT and carbon leakage reforms.
► UK-EU Trade Priorities: William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy delivered a keynote at the British-Slovenian Chamber UK-EU Trade Conference in Ljubljana, alongside UK and EU businesses.
► Embassy Meetings: Engagement this week with Japan, Switzerland and Australia on bilateral and US trade developments.
► ICC Origin Policy Commission: William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy took part in the first ICC meeting on reforming rules of origin in goods trade.