UK-US trade deal, Shell, Uber, B&M, Nokia and Huawei, Amazon, Aldi: your commercial news round-up
updated on 01 October 2020
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- A trade deal between the UK and US must be agreed by mid-2021 before the US Congress’ power to approve trade deals expires, according to international trade secretary Liz Truss who spoke at a virtual Spectator event earlier in the week. Truss revealed that a deal between the UK and US will not be agreed unless it benefits the UK: “We’re only going to do a deal with the US if it improves on [the current UK-US] trading relationship and gives more of what the UK wants.” There are several barriers that could prevent a trade deal agreement between the parties, including issues around agricultural exports, whether the UK will adopt US food standards and the UK’s digital services tax. Truss has confirmed that the UK government will maintain EU laws on food standards: “We’ve imported all the EU laws on food standards… those remain.”
- As Royal Dutch Shell undergoes a restructuring brought on by the pandemic and looks towards a future with cleaner fuels, it announced that up to 9,000 jobs could be cut, including 1,500 people who have taken voluntary redundancy, in a bid to shave $2.5 billion in costs by 2022.
- Uber has been granted a new 18-month licence to continue working in the City, after Transport for London (TfL) rejected its application nearly a year ago due to safety concerns. The firm is now “fit and proper” to operate, according to Westminster magistrates. Sadiq Khan said: "I can assure Londoners that TfL will continue to closely monitor Uber and will not hesitate to take swift action should they fail to meet the strict standards required to protect passengers." One major flaw raised by TfL was the number of unauthorised drivers operating with the app.
- Up to 45 new B&M discount stores will open in the year to April following a rise in sales during lockdown as demand grew for DIY and foodstuffs. Between 29 March and 26 September, group sales increased 25.3%. The firm has warned that smaller stores could be closed.
- Finnish telecoms firm Nokia has agreed on a deal which will see it benefit from the government’s announcement in July that UK mobile providers can no longer buy new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December. As part of the deal, Nokia will become BT’s largest equipment provider and the firm will replace Huawei in BT’s 2G and 4G networks.
- Amazon is set to trial a new payment scanner, which registers an image of the user’s palm, at two of its physical stores in Seattle. The firm said: “In most retail environments, Amazon One could become an alternate payment or loyalty card option with a device at the checkout counter next to a traditional point of sale system.” The system could also be used as an alternative for ID cards to scan yourself into work, for example.
- Supermarket chain Aldi is trialling new online services, including a Deliveroo delivery service and a click and collect service as online sales surge during the pandemic. The pandemic saw online sales grow, which meant many discount stores with no online services missed out on the boom. Aldi will soon expand the click and collect trial to 15 additional stores.
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