Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce share prices soar as manufacturers welcome US tariff cuts
British manufacturers have welcomed some tariff relief in the new US-UK trade deal, with the share prices of the sportscar brand Aston Martin Lagonda and jet engine maker Rolls-Royce rising.The US has agreed to cut tariffs on cars, jet engines and steel, although the 10% baseline levy will continue to apply to other products exported from the UK, the two governments announced on Thursday.Keir Starmer spoke to Donald Trump from the headquarters of JLR, the UK’s biggest automotive employer and one of the main exporters to the US.The US now has a quota of 100,000 British-made cars per year with a 10% tariff – significantly lower than the 27.5% rate Trump imposed in March, but more than the 2.
5% before he took office.The UK exported about 102,000 cars to the US in 2024, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.Mike Hawes, the society’s chief executive, said the tariff cut on UK car exports was “great news for the industry and consumers”.He had previously said there would be job cuts “within weeks” at the luxury and premium carmakers that rely on wealthy American consumers.“The application of these tariffs was a severe and immediate threat to UK automotive exporters so this deal will provide much needed relief, allowing both the industry, and those that work in it, to approach the future more positively,” he said.
However, he added that the UK should work on a deeper deal to cut trade barriers further,The deal also purported to remove a 25% tariff on British steel exports, which the leading body for the industry said would allow trade to resume,UK Steel’s director general, Gareth Stace, called the announcement a “major relief to the UK steel sector”,However, the group added there were still questions over whether steel derivative products would still be subject to tariffs,A senior steel industry executive said the deal was “clearly very positive”, despite some concerns over the details yet to be announced.
The executive added that being the first to reach a deal would give the UK an advantage over rivals,Another source said they expected further “strings attached”, including restrictions on using Chinese material,Trump said Rolls-Royce engines, used on Boeing 787 passenger jets, would be exempted from tariffs,The share price of Rolls-Royce rose above £8 before dropping back to £7,94, a 3.
7% increase for the day.Boeing’s share price also rose by 4% after the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told a press conference that an unnamed UK company would purchase Boeing planes worth $10bn (£7.5bn).Yet others were left empty-handed.The rest of the aerospace industry was left with little clarity on whether tariffs on aerospace parts would remain at 10%.
One industry insider said there was “cautious optimism” that these tariffs would fall back to the 0% level in place before April.The White House said US companies would get “preferential access” to British parts.Whisky, which accounts for about 2% of UK goods exports to the US, will still attract 10% tariffs.A spokesperson for the Scotch Whisky Association said it still hoped for a “return to the zero-for-zero tariff agreement with our friends and partners in the US whiskey industry as soon as possible”.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionThe UK government also drew a rebuke from the beer industry, after appearing to suggest reducing tariffs on US ethanol would cut the cost of a pint because ethanol was “used to produce beer”.
Ethanol is produced during the brewing process but is not among the ingredients used in beer-making.The Department for Business and Trade later removed the claim from a press release.A spokesperson for the British Beer and Pubs Association said: “We are urgently seeking clarity about the details of the deal as, given ethanol is not used to make beer, we cannot see how this is a win for brewers or pubs.”Stephen Phipson, the chief executive of Make UK, said the UK now needed to work on the comprehensive industrial strategy that business leaders have been calling for since Labour got elected.
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The coach is stepping away from a role in which he won five championships with the Spurs. He will be hard to replace, on and off the courtRaise a glass to Gregg Popovich, the gruff teddy bear who lifted the San Antonio Spurs into the NBA’s elite. After three decades on the Spurs’ sideline, he is stepping back from coaching to become the team’s president of basketball operations. It’s a back-to-the-future move for the 76-year-old: he was the Spurs’ general manager for eight years before he became the team’s coach. (“I’m no longer the coach, I’m El Jefe,” Popovich jokingly declared this week before unveiling a T-shirt with that Spanish title
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Farrell’s Lions squad has the flexibility and talent to be highly competitive | Robert Kitson
At long last, significant smoke has also emerged from the British & Irish Lions’ chimney. Maro Itoje will be leading a 38-strong squad to Australia and a couple of the names on the list would raise any cardinal’s eyebrows. Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith will be heading down under with their head coach, Andy Farrell, clearly keen to make an immediate impact next month.Farrell has chosen a hefty cohort of 15 Irishmen alongside 13 Englishmen, eight Scots and two Welsh representatives, but the inclusion of the 20-year-old Pollock sends a clear signal to Australia that the 2025 Lions will be neither geriatric pussycats nor obsessive slaves to conservatism. The squad should contain enough flexibility to cope with most eventualities and sufficient talent to be highly competitive
Manx Liberty’s wildcards deliver in style to regain British team chess crown
The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) is a bedrock of British chess. Staged over 11 rounds and five weekends from October to May at Midlands hotels, with teams of eight in the top division and six in divisions two to four, it attracts players from club level to grandmaster, many of whom do not compete in any other national event. Its organisation, by the English Chess Federation chief executive, Mike Truran, and a hardworking team of arbiters, is consistently excellent.As expected, the 2024-25 season ended last Monday with a close 11th round match between the favourites and defending champions, Wood Green, and the winners for the two previous years, Manx Liberty. The outcome was a rarity
Lions squad 2025: Farrell unveils 38-man squad with ‘wiggle room’ to add son Owen
Andy Farrell has left the door open for his son Owen to join the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia and called on Henry Pollock to showcase his “cocky” streak after Northampton’s rising star was the standout selection in his squad.Farrell Jr was among the headline omissions from the 38-man group that will be captained by Maro Itoje, with Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith preferred as the fly-half options. Pollock’s selection caps a stunning rise for the 20-year-old who made his Test debut against Wales in March as part of a remarkable breakthrough season with Northampton. Marcus Smith benefits from his ability to play full-back despite falling down the England pecking order.The former England captain Jamie George, the Ireland fly-half Sam Prendergast and the in-form Toulouse flanker Jack Willis are among the other notable absentees from a squad featuring 12 Leinster players
Farrell plays the O2 Arena but Lions squad reveal slips up by ripping off fans
When the scores are tied, there is 50 seconds left on the clock and you need someone who is going to step up and take that drop goal, then Andy Farrell was your man. And when the series is all square with one game left to play and you need someone to give the big speech that is exactly what everyone needs to hear in the last hours before the match, you will not find many better. He may very well turn out to be exactly who you need to lead a group of the 38 best players from Britain and Ireland through a six-week tour of Australia, too.Whether any of this means Farrell is someone you want to pay to see play the O2 Arena is another matter. But here he was under the bright lights regardless, sandwiched between Usher and Olly Murs in the (un)coveted Thursday 3pm slot at the Indigo Lounge, front and centre of the British & Irish Lions’ first live squad announcement show
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