UK Politics

With the normally brisk Easter season around the corner, the mood in Switzerland’s chocolate business is bittersweet, thanks to high cacao prices and — now — the newly added U.S. tariffs on imports.Many Swiss, from the government to chocolatiers to watchmakers and other businesses, are sensing “shock” over the tougher American position on trade, but many are also taking a wait-and-see stance.At the Festichoc chocolate festival in Geneva over the weekend, the Trump administration tariffs announced last week were on many minds, though they seemed to do little to sour the mood on Switzerland’s most famous sweets.Julie Jammes, marketing manager for Canonica, a Geneva chocolatier with three stores in San Francisco, said her company hasn’t yet made any decision on what actions might be taken. “We’re waiting a little longer, but it’s clearly a shock for us,” Jammes said.That meshes with Switzerland’s overall approach: Despite hefty 31% U.S. tariffs slapped on Swiss goods — well more than the 20% faced by exports from European Union – the government in Bern is taking a cautious approach for now. But it has warned of the impact on crucial Swiss industries like watches, coffee capsules, cheese and chocolate.“An increase in trade tensions is not in Switzerland’s interests. Countermeasures against US tariff increases would entail costs for the Swiss economy, in particular by making imports from the USA more expensive,” the government said last week, adding that the executive branch “is therefore not planning to impose any countermeasures at the present time.”The government said Swiss exports to the United States on Saturday were subject to an additional 10% tariff, and another another 21% beginning Wednesday. The United States is Switzerland’s second-biggest trading partner after the EU – a 27-member-country bloc that nearly surrounds the wealthy Alpine country of more than 9 million – and U.S.-Swiss trade in goods and services has quadrupled over the last two decades, the government said.The Swiss government said Switzerland abolished all industrial tariffs on Jan. 1 last year, meaning that 99% of all goods from the United States can be imported into Switzerland duty-free.The atmosphere remained bubbly at Festichoc, where eager shoppers nibbled chocolate squares and ogled at chocolate Easter bunny and egg sculptures at the annual gathering in the Geneva town of Versoix.Jammes, of Canonica, expressed hope that the “loyal clientele” in the United States would remain faithful, but she said “I put myself in the consumer’s shoes” and realized a pocketbook pinch might dissuade many shoppers.“I don’t see why I would pay $45 tomorrow for a box (of chocolates) that I’d pay $30 for today,” she said Saturday. “It’s still a very complicated issue.”The Swiss chocolate industry association Chocosuisse has expressed its disappointment over the Trump tariffs, even though it can still count on the domestic market: The Swiss are among the world’s top consumers of chocolate, scarfing down more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) per year.“It is completely incomprehensible that Switzerland is targeted by these tariffs,” Chocosuisse said, adding that it was taking the situation “very seriously” and decried how the U.S measure “hits our businesses hard and represents a heavy burden that will weigh on exports to the United States.” Philippe Pascoet, a chocolatier from Geneva, lamented a sharp increase in cocoa prices over the last six months, and said the U.S. market has always been tricky for smaller producers. “Trump now has wanted to impose taxes on imported products. But it has always been complicated to send chocolate to the United States, just for sanitary reasons,” he said. “They want to control what is imported into their country. So even people who used to order chocolate from us online often found it blocked at customs.”___Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed to this report. More

The UK should “notch up” its threats of retaliation towards Donald Trump after he imposed 10 per cent tariffs on UK exports, a former ambassador to the US has said. It comes as the government scrambles to boost support for British businesses and negotiate a trade deal with the US that would give Britain a carve-out to avoid the sweeping tariffs, which have been slapped on all major economies. While the UK has said nothing is off the table when it comes to responding to the tariffs, Sir Nigel Sheinwald said the UK should have gone further, earlier with its threats. “I think it’s right that we should say we’re going to think about retaliation. We might indeed have said that a little bit earlier on”, Sir Nigel told Sky News. “I think it’s always wrong to take that off the table or sound as if you don’t mean it, because in the world of trade policy and trade negotiators, this is a tough world where you’ve got to brandish those weapons and seem as though you’re prepared to use them.”Sir Nigel Sheinwald said the UK should have made threats of retaliation ‘a little bit earlier on’ More

A former National Farmers’ Union (NFU) chief who previously warned the so-called ‘tractor tax’ would “wipe out the family farm” has been hired by the government to lead a review into British farming. As part of the government’s latest attempt to show they are listening to farmers and rebuild trust within the community, environment secretary Steve Reed has now hired Baroness Minette Batters, who has previously voiced opposition to the extension of inheritance tax to family farms, to lead a review of farm profitability.The review, which will see the cross-bench peer provide recommendations to the department, is aimed at helping to ensure the farming sector is “more viable, self-sustaining and competitive in the long-term”. National Farmers’ Union (NFU) President Minette Batters speaking during the National Farmers’ Union annual conference (Jacob King/PA) More

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged “bold changes” to the rules around electric and new petrol and diesel cars in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs.The prime minister will announce Labour’s plan to reinstate the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales on Monday, in a move expected to pile pressure on Britain’s beleaguered motor industry.Businesses are currently grappling with the new rules from the White House, which mean a 25 per cent tariff is now applied to foreign cars imported into the US, while other products face a 10 per cent levy.The prime minister’s announcement follows Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to suspended shipments to the US over the weekend, as they look to “address the new trading terms”.Labour pledged in its election manifesto to restore the 2030 date, after it had been rolled back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government.Sir Keir Starmer will vow to support British carmakers amid Donald Trump’s tariff war More

Britain expressed outrage after Israeli authorities prevented two lawmakers from entering the country in order to visit the occupied West Bank. Israel accused the members of parliament of supporting boycotts against it.Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said late Saturday that it was “unacceptable, counterproductive and deeply concerning” that two British members of parliament were detained and refused entry to Israel. “I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians,” he said.Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang said they were “astounded at the unprecedented step taken by the Israeli authorities to refuse British MPs entry on our trip to visit the occupied West Bank.”“It is vital that parliamentarians are able to witness firsthand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,” they said, adding that they had planned to visit humanitarian aid projects and local communities.Medical Aid for Palestinians, a charity that helped organize the visit, said the two were questioned upon arrival at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport before being denied entry and deported.A statement from Israeli authorities accused the two lawmakers of having called for boycotts of Israel and said they were not visiting as part of an official delegation.Israeli law prohibits the entry of non-citizens and non-residents who support the Palestinian-led international boycott movement, known as Boycott, Divest and Sanctions, or BDS.Supporters portray BDS as nonviolent activism based on a similar campaign against apartheid South Africa. Israel views the movement as an attack on its very legitimacy and accuses some organizers of antisemitism, allegations they deny.In February, Israel denied entry to two European Union lawmakers, accusing one of promoting boycotts of the country.___Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war More

Esther Ghey has revealed that she now considers the mother of her daughter’s killer “a friend”.Brianna Ghey was murdered by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe in a premeditated attack in Cheshire in 2023.But Ms Ghey says she has developed a close bond with Scarlett’s mother, Emma, because she “had lost a child too”.She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I really appreciate Emma. I would call her a friend now.”​She added that Ms Jenkinson is “just a normal mother” who was unaware of her child’s online activities, highlighting “the danger with smartphones”.​Reflecting on their shared grief, Ms Ghey said: “It’s helped me to see that we are both navigating something extremely difficult – and she’s lost a child too.”​Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, lured Brianna to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington where she was fatally stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in February 2023.Jenkinson was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in December 2023 to a minimum sentence of 22 years in prison, and Ratcliffe to a minimum term of 20 years.In the same interview, Ms Ghey also called for stronger measures to protect children in schools.She supports a “blanket ban” on smartphones in schools across the country, citing concerns over how these devices can be misused by students.She explained: “We need to support teachers in a blanket ban across England. If a school has banned phones in one area and in the same area another school hasn’t – it becomes an issue with parents.“It needs to be done across the board to make it easier.”Ms Ghey has met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his predecessor Rishi Sunak to discuss the issue and has criticised the Online Safety Act, saying it does not go far enough.She has campaigned for an age limit on smartphone use, stricter controls on access to social media apps, tougher action on knife crime and for mindfulness to be taught in schools. More