FOOD and agriculture will not be on the table in any trade deal talks with the US, the Business Secretary has said.
Jonathan Reynolds was yesterday trying to reset relations with businesses reeling from the Budget’s £25billion tax raid and fears of a tariff war with America.
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Firms say they will have to freeze hiring and investment decisions, put up prices and potentially cut jobs.
In an interview with The Sun, Mr Reynolds agreed that business confidence had taken a knock and said he knew “there’s been pain in that”.
Labour had styled itself as a pro-business, pro-growth government, but the Budget watchdog has said growth will be lower in five years’ time.
Mr Reynolds said: “In the short term it is a challenging position, but I have absolutely no doubt the UK is going to be one of the most attractive economies in the G7.
“We are committed to openness, to improving our relationship with the EU and the rest of the world, to political stability and using our mandate to make longer term changes, which the country desperately needs”.
Economic figures released yesterday show factory bosses are tearing up their budgets and output has slumped to a nine-month low.
S&P Global market intelligence said that manufacturing firms “of all sizes are experiencing a downturn” due to increasing labour costs and “increased global tensions and protectionism”.
Mr Reynolds said he wanted to talk to the US about trade opportunities “on services and technology”.
But when asked whether Labour would risk irritating farmers further with a trade deal on food he said: “I don’t think there is any desire from consumers in the UK to change our food and agriculture standards.”
Previous US trade talks have broken down over imports of chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef.
Mr Reynolds added that the UK was a “much more globally orientated trading economy than the US” and pointed out that the EU accounts for £800billion of bilateral trade compared to £350billion with the States.
He said: “We’ll be hard-headed about our national interest.”
The Business Secretary met with small business owners in Walthamstow, North London, yesterday to launch the government’s Fair Payment Code to help employers.
The bosses were also told that councils would be given powers to auction derelict high street properties.
Mr Reynolds said: “The physical presence of businesses in the high street is fundamental to the prosperity of a town.”
Nell gets revenge
AN American ex-social care worker is launching a British £50million investment fund “for the people”.
Venture capitalist Nell Daly said Revenge Capital is aimed at female and minority entrepreneurs who had “been discriminated against and weren’t well-networked with access to Silicon Valley”.
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Ms Daly said she set up the firm in London after realising she needed to be in “be in control of the money” to make a difference.
She found figures that less than 2 per cent of capital goes to female founders.
The fund, which is backed by Mayfair Associates, has already invested in firms including Pimentae, a canned margarita cocktail brand, and Glassette, an online homeware marketplace owned by TV presenter Laura Jackson.
Ms Daly said that the fund would help people make “f*** you money”.
The Bear necessity
CINEMA blockbusters Paddington in Peru, Gladiator 2 and Wicked pushed entertainment spending up by 10.8 per cent last month, according to Barclaycard.
The cold snap also prompted a 10.6 per cent rise in spending on airline trips abroad.
But overall card spending slipped by 0.5 per cent, with spending on essential goods purchases down by 3.1 per cent as Brits prepared for a pre-Christmas splurge on gifts.
Supreme rescues Typhoo
A DISPOSABLE vape maker yesterday confirmed it had rescued Typhoo Tea, one of Britain’s oldest tea brands, in a £10million deal.
London-listed Supreme yesterday said that it would pay a total £10.2million to buy Typhoo in a deal that includes stock and debts of £7.5million.
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The deal comes just days after Typhoo tumbled into administration after years of slumping sales, mounting debts and disruption caused by a break-in at its factory in the Wirral last year.
Typhoo, which was founded in 1903, made £20million in sales last year but a loss of £4.6million.
Supreme revealed that Typhoo is the tea of choice for the Ministry of Defence and the NHS.
Supreme, which distributes Elfbar vapes, was motivated to diversify away from vapes ahead of a planned government crackdown on disposable vapes.
It bought a soft drinks business earlier this year.
Topps-y turvy
TOPPS TILES yesterday hit back against an attack from its largest shareholder which accused management of making “costly blunders”.
MS Galleon, which owns a 30 per cent stake in the London-listed flooring firm, accused the business of a “complete failure to adapt to an evolving retail landscape”.
Topps responded with a statement insisting that it was “consistently outperforming the wider market”.
Shares were flat yesterday after losing 18 per cent of their value in the year to date.
BAE on the hunt for apprentices
DEFENCE giant BAE is recruiting more than 2,400 new apprentices and undergraduate roles next year to have a record 6,500 people in training.
BAE said the £230million investment will take its spending on training to £1billion since the start of the decade.
Boss Vaux off
THE boss behind last week’s shock closure of Vauxhall’s Luton factory has abruptly left the car giant after a boardroom row.
Stellantis confirmed that Carlos Tavares was exiting the business a year before his scheduled retirement and alluded to a rift between him and the group’s board and family shareholders.
He has also been aggressive in threatening governments that he would shut factories unless they water down electric car mandates.
The firm employs 1,100 in Bedfordshire.
