内容摘要：Tariffs, defence spending and the war in Ukraine will be high on the agenda when Merz meets Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House.

Tariffs, defence spending and the war in Ukraine will be high on the agenda when Merz meets Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House.

Reeves is not the first chancellor to review the Treasury's investment rules; former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also reviewed the book as part of the Conservatives' Levelling up agenda.Sunak had also announced some of these same projects, including the development of a mass transit network in West Yorkshire, in his Network North plan, intended to compensate for the decision to scrap the HS2 line north of Birmingham.

Labour reviewed these projects when they came to power in July, arguing they had not been fully funded.Conservative shadow Treasury minister Gareth Davies accused Labour of copying and pasting announcements made by the Conservative government".Conservative mayor of Tees Valley Ben Houchen said Labour's decision meant projects in his area had been delayed by a year which was "frustrating" but added that he was "absolutely delighted" the funding had now been given the go ahead.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said the £1.8bn funding for her area was a "game changer", while Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said the investment was a "massive vote of confidence in our region".Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper warned the chancellor must now deliver, because "these communities have heard these same promises before, only to be left with phantom transport networks".

She added: "Extra investment in public transport must also focus on cutting fares for hard-pressed families being clobbered by a cost of living crisis."

Zoe Billingham, head of the IPPR North think tank, welcomed the investment but said that while money had been provided to lay the tracks there was "still a question about the ongoing running costs" and the extent to which the new transport networks would pay for themselves.More surprising, perhaps, is the opinion of his American competitors in California and Oregon who, you might think, would be cracking open something a bit special to celebrate.

"This looks horrible from our perspective. We don't like it one bit," says Rex Stults, vice-president of industry relations at Napa Valley Vintners, which represents 540 wineries in the sunny slopes of California's most famous wine region."Wine is an international product. Even here in the Napa Valley, our wineries primarily get their corks from Portugal, and their oak barrels, a key component in winemaking, from France.

Mr Stults adds: "They're already expensive and the potential is that they will get more expensive."Also, trade wars cut both ways. He says the tariffs announced against Canada are having a devastating impact on US wine exports.